Literature through Cinema: Unveiling the Plight of Women and Socio-Political Unrest of Partitioned India

Among the scholars of South Asia, the partition of India and Pakistan has always been a compelling subject for debate. The partition of the Indian subcontinent in August 1947, proved as a kairotic moment to the Indian modern history. If we look at the documentation of partition, it is mostly recorded concerning its constitutional history. The aim of my research paper is to analyze the Partition of India and conditions of women through the cinema. The cinematic representation of the Partition helps better in understanding the human struggling with trepidation, grief, and displacement. These films have represented women and their agony of being labelled as refugees and their struggle for existence in refugee camps. While some filmmakers opted for the theme of the Partion that happened during the displacement of people, few others chose to recreate the repercussions of partition encountered by women. It has been more than 70 years of independence, yet many novelists and filmmakers work on the subject matter of Partition of India. The August of 1947 not only witnessed the travail of two countries but, also came up with the dawn of two diverse film industries. As Gaston Roberge writes- “Cinema is the great interpreter of the past and constantly programs the memory of its audience.” All these films have not only represented women in terror, anger, and trouble but have also depicted episodes of gender violence and displacement. In this movement of disunion, thousands of innocent lives were exterminated by miscreants. Most of the women were assaulted, abducted, and raped in revenge motivated by communal cacophony.