Indian mission in UK marks Partition Horrors Remembrance Day

London: The High Commission of India in London on Thursday commemorated Partition Horrors Remembrance Day with a special photography exhibition and a documentary screening reflecting upon India’s Partition in August 1947.

The solemn gathering of community leaders and Indian diaspora members recounted some of the painful memories of the past a day before the 79th Independence Day celebrations planned at India House on Friday.

“When we recall Partition, we must also recall that this was a tragedy for everybody, because it was a tragedy that happened to all communities,” said Indian High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami, in his address to the gathering.

Doraiswami said that many people were uprooted to come to India and likewise in Pakistan and that impact is still seen in the way people deal with each other even now.

"That at least should tell us, if nothing else, that the experiment that is the modern Indian nation is a valid argument,” he added.

“Our continued existence as a state that is there for all Indian citizens is the best answer we can give anybody who seeks to suggest that we are different by virtue of our faith or by dealing with the absence of faith,” he said.

UK-based filmmaker Lalit Mohan Joshi presented an abridged version of his documentary ‘Beyond Partition’, which captured the voices of leading artists such as Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani and Gulzar who have explored the subject of Partition in their cinematic journey over the years.

“My film explores the trauma of Partition and how it impacted on filmmakers from the Indian subcontinent,” said Joshi.

The memorial event, held in the Gandhi Hall of India House, concluded with the Indian National Anthem before moving to the Nehru Hall for a tour of the photographic exhibition tracing the history of the Partition.