Partition Voices
Over the past twenty years or more, I have conducted scores of interviews with people with personal stories to tell of Partition - the botched division of British India in August 1947 to created two independent nations, India and Pakistan. It produced one of the great tragedies of a deeply tragic century - at least half-a-million dead, ten million or more migrants, and the rupture of a symbiotic culture, most notably in Punjab.
The tapes of my interviews are held at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. They have now been made available digitally, here's the link: https://digital.soas.ac.uk/oa3/all
I will in time post more details of the interviews on this site. Many were used in a radio series I made in 1997, India: a people partitioned - the audio of those programmes is available online and on BBC iplayer. The historian Yasmin Khan also made excellent use of some of the material in her book The Great Partition. The interviews relating to Kashmir in 1947 provide the foundation of my own book A Mission in Kashmir.
I have also posted quite a number of my Partition related interviews on YouTube - here's the Partition Voices playlist. The audio of a few of the interviews is posted lower down this page.
The tapes of my interviews are held at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. They have now been made available digitally, here's the link: https://digital.soas.ac.uk/oa3/all
I will in time post more details of the interviews on this site. Many were used in a radio series I made in 1997, India: a people partitioned - the audio of those programmes is available online and on BBC iplayer. The historian Yasmin Khan also made excellent use of some of the material in her book The Great Partition. The interviews relating to Kashmir in 1947 provide the foundation of my own book A Mission in Kashmir.
I have also posted quite a number of my Partition related interviews on YouTube - here's the Partition Voices playlist. The audio of a few of the interviews is posted lower down this page.
Remembering Partition
In August 2017 - seventy years after Partition - I was invited to talk at the National Army Museum in London about 'Remembering Partition', and included extracts from a few of the interviews I had conducted. The talk is now on YouTube:
Partition Voices: Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh (1915 - 2014) was about the last of India's independence generation. He knew many of the key figures (Jinnah was chief guest at his wedding in Delhi in 1939) - he attended India's independence celebrations - he witnessed some of the partition violence - and in the novel Train to Pakistan, he was among the first to bear witness in literary form to the rupture and trauma of Partition.
I spoke to Khushwant Singh in December 1996 about his memories of 1947. He was a marvellous raconteur, and spoke tellingly about seeing Lahore going up in flames, and his sense of guilt at not being able to do anything to prevent the communal carnage.
He travelled by road in early August 1947 out of what was about to become Pakistan. As he was approaching Delhi, he came across a group of armed Sikhs who spoke chillingly about eliminating Muslims in their area.
I spoke to Khushwant Singh in December 1996 about his memories of 1947. He was a marvellous raconteur, and spoke tellingly about seeing Lahore going up in flames, and his sense of guilt at not being able to do anything to prevent the communal carnage.
He travelled by road in early August 1947 out of what was about to become Pakistan. As he was approaching Delhi, he came across a group of armed Sikhs who spoke chillingly about eliminating Muslims in their area.
Train to Pakistan, Khushwant Singh told me, was set in a village - in the novel he called it Mano Majra - close to Lahore which he used to visit as a lawyer when he was representing in a murder case. 'It was a very enchanting village, largely Sikh owned with a few Muslim families. And that gave me the characters, the description of the village, and I located it along the river bank'. He talked of the models for the magistrate and for the communist in the novel (this latter was Danial Latifi, who I also interviewed). The central figure, he said, was 'based on my own Sikh servant, a boy of eighteen or nineteen, a very strapping young fellow, who couldn't care a damn about Pakistan'.
And he spoke tellingly of his approach to writing the novel: 'I deliberately made myself into a pro-Muslim, because I thought all this had come about because of the venom we storied in our bodies against Muslims.'
And he spoke tellingly of his approach to writing the novel: 'I deliberately made myself into a pro-Muslim, because I thought all this had come about because of the venom we storied in our bodies against Muslims.'
Khushwant Singh, February 1915 - March 2014 - photo from Penguin India website
Partition Voices: Khorshed Italia
Photo: Rosalind Miller
Of all the interviews with people who lived through Partition, it's the memories of a friend's mother which I recall most acutely. This photograph is of my friend Shernaz (Shenny) Italia and her mother Khorshed Italia (nee Mehta). Mrs Italia lived almost all her life in a top floor flat in Connaught Place in the centre of Delhi. In 1947, she was a volunteer worker at Lady Hardinge Hospital, helping women refugees as they flooded in from Punjab, many of them alone and in profound shock. That interview is a deeply moving account of the trauma of Partition, and the violence inflicted on the region's women - and also an uplifting story of the way in which some found the strength to help those most in need.
I have deposited the recordings and some transcripts of my Partition interviews at the archive of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. There have been three deposits, the first two are briefly described here (scroll down). I have posted below over five pages a very basic listing of the contents of the first deposit - the full listing including partial transcripts runs to 334 pages and is held along with the tapes at SOAS. The second deposit in 2000 was much smaller - and the listing is also posted below. SOAS has a much more detailed 36 page list and transcripts of these recordings. The final deposit, made in 2009, is posted at the end of this page, and SOAS holds 255 page list with transcripts of these interviews and items.
I have deposited the recordings and some transcripts of my Partition interviews at the archive of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. There have been three deposits, the first two are briefly described here (scroll down). I have posted below over five pages a very basic listing of the contents of the first deposit - the full listing including partial transcripts runs to 334 pages and is held along with the tapes at SOAS. The second deposit in 2000 was much smaller - and the listing is also posted below. SOAS has a much more detailed 36 page list and transcripts of these recordings. The final deposit, made in 2009, is posted at the end of this page, and SOAS holds 255 page list with transcripts of these interviews and items.
Khorshed Italia's memories feature in the radio series India: a people partitioned which sparked my interest in retrieving the memories of those who lived through Partition. There's a partial transcript of her remarks here.
Partition Voices: Amrita Pritam
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Amrita Pritam captured in the poem 'An Ode to Waris Shah the suffering of Punjabi women at the time of Partition. I interviewed her in Delhi in May 1997 - she talked about writing that poem on a train journey from Lahore to Dehra Dun in the aftermath of Partition. She also spoke of the women abducted at Partition and of the children they bore to unknown fathers. It was a short interview, just fifteen minutes, but powerful and deeply emotional. 'I'm sorry, it is so painful to remember', she declared.
Amrita Pritam in 1948
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Amrita Pritam
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In the radio series for which I interviewed Amrita Pritam, the third programme 'The Tearing of the Veil' begins with extracts from this conversation along with a musical rendition . The audio of that series is available elsewhere on this site. Amritra Pritam died in 2005 at the age of 86.
Partition Voices: Shingara Singh
Photo: Rosalind Miller
Another unsettling Partition interview - for a very different reason. Shingara Singh was one of a handful of people I spoke to who showed no remorse for the violence he had perpetrated in 1947. He lived in Sultanwind, a village on the outskirts of Amritsar in Indian Punjab. He was a Jat Sikh, an old style patriarch, as Rosalind Miller's photograph shows - taken at the time of the interview in 1997. When we came to talk to him (I was accompanied by Asit Jolly who arranged the interview and translated to and from Punjabi) he was sitting in a charpoi in a wheat field he owned in the nearby village of Rampura, overseeing a group of labourers who were fitting a new tube well.
By his own account, Shingara Singh was born at the close of the nineteenth century, and was already engaged to be married at the time of the Jalianwala Bagh massacre in Amritrsar in 1919. When he died in June 2009, he was described as the last survivor of the massacre.
The interview I have posted here includes Shingara Singh's memories of Jalianawala Bagh, but the focus is on the anti-Muslim gang he was involved in at Partition, 'the crows'. He told me he had kept the best of his swords from that time, but they had been taken away in a police raid - it seems that some of Shingara Singh's extended family were caught up in the Khalistan movement.
By his own account, Shingara Singh was born at the close of the nineteenth century, and was already engaged to be married at the time of the Jalianwala Bagh massacre in Amritrsar in 1919. When he died in June 2009, he was described as the last survivor of the massacre.
The interview I have posted here includes Shingara Singh's memories of Jalianawala Bagh, but the focus is on the anti-Muslim gang he was involved in at Partition, 'the crows'. He told me he had kept the best of his swords from that time, but they had been taken away in a police raid - it seems that some of Shingara Singh's extended family were caught up in the Khalistan movement.
Partition Voices: Gopal 'Patha' Mukherjee
Gopal Mukherjee - photo from wikipedia
Gopal 'Patha' Mukherjee was a goonda, a thug, who was part of Calcutta's underworld. He was also, in 1946-47, one of the key figures in the communal violence and retaliation which tore the city apart.
By the time I met him in 1997 - accompanied by Nazes Afroz, who also translated to and from Bengali - he was old and frail, and by his own account aged 83. He died a few years later.
He had a house near Wellington Square, and we met in an adjoining room, which also served as a clinic for Mukherjee's rather grandly named NGO, the National Relief Centre for Destitutes. On the walls were garlanded black-and-white photos of Bengal's finest, but the commanding feature of the room was a life size model of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in uniform.
Mukherjee, a Hindu, talked openly about his role in street violence at the time of Partition, and was proud of refusing to surrender any weapons to Gandhi. He explained that his nickname of 'Patha', goat, came from the family meat shop on College Street.
I wrote a newspaper article back in 1997 based on my interviews with Mukherjee and others who lived through the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946 - it's available on the web - and there's also a wiki article about Gopal 'Patha' Mukherjee, which has further references.
There's an entry on him in Suranjan Das and Jayanata K. Ray, The Goondas: towards a reconstruction of the Calcutta underworld (Calcutta, 1996), which says of him: 'Gopal was 5 feet 4 inches in height, wore long hairs like ladies, sported a moustache and long beards. He was a leader of leaders in the underworld. Gopal organised a big Resistance Group during the communal riot of 1946. Subsequently, during the 1950s, he and his underlings committed a large number of crimes, including dacoities. ...'
By the time I met him in 1997 - accompanied by Nazes Afroz, who also translated to and from Bengali - he was old and frail, and by his own account aged 83. He died a few years later.
He had a house near Wellington Square, and we met in an adjoining room, which also served as a clinic for Mukherjee's rather grandly named NGO, the National Relief Centre for Destitutes. On the walls were garlanded black-and-white photos of Bengal's finest, but the commanding feature of the room was a life size model of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in uniform.
Mukherjee, a Hindu, talked openly about his role in street violence at the time of Partition, and was proud of refusing to surrender any weapons to Gandhi. He explained that his nickname of 'Patha', goat, came from the family meat shop on College Street.
I wrote a newspaper article back in 1997 based on my interviews with Mukherjee and others who lived through the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946 - it's available on the web - and there's also a wiki article about Gopal 'Patha' Mukherjee, which has further references.
There's an entry on him in Suranjan Das and Jayanata K. Ray, The Goondas: towards a reconstruction of the Calcutta underworld (Calcutta, 1996), which says of him: 'Gopal was 5 feet 4 inches in height, wore long hairs like ladies, sported a moustache and long beards. He was a leader of leaders in the underworld. Gopal organised a big Resistance Group during the communal riot of 1946. Subsequently, during the 1950s, he and his underlings committed a large number of crimes, including dacoities. ...'
Partition Voices: Inder Kumar Gujral
I.K. Gujral (1919-2012) was India's Prime Minister, and twice served as foreign minister. He was a kind and thoughtful politician, his dove-ish views of relations with Pakistan forged by his painful personal experience of Partition. 'It makes me more human and it makes me more compassionate. And it makes me look at people in Pakistan as kin and not as enemies.'
I interviewed him in March 1997, while he was foreign minister, about his memories of Partition. He was brought up in Jhelum, which became part of Pakistan, into a nationalist family and was active in politics even before he reached his teens. In the course of 1947, he was in Lahore and later Karachi. He attended meetings of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly, of which his father was a member, and on Pakistan's independence day saw Jinnah and Mountbatten in procession through Karachi.
I interviewed him in March 1997, while he was foreign minister, about his memories of Partition. He was brought up in Jhelum, which became part of Pakistan, into a nationalist family and was active in politics even before he reached his teens. In the course of 1947, he was in Lahore and later Karachi. He attended meetings of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly, of which his father was a member, and on Pakistan's independence day saw Jinnah and Mountbatten in procession through Karachi.
An upsurge of rioting in Karachi prompted the family to move to Delhi. His father was involved in helping retrieve abducted women. At least one child in his extended family was lost amid the Partition mayhem - but survived, and crossed over to India many years later. Mark Tully's obituary of I.K. Gujral in the Guardian is an excellent introduction to his life and career.
I have also posted the radio series India: a people partitioned which prompted me to record memories of those who lived through Partition and includes the voices of many of those I interviewed.
Partition Voices - 1
INDIA: A PEOPLE PARTITIONED
a guide to the interview tapes: 83 audio cassettes
The original audio cassettes are deposited at the SOAS archive, as mentioned above, along with notes, and partial and abridged transcripts of the interviews running to more than 300 pages. The content has been made digitally available: here's the link.
TAPE SIDE DATE INTERVIEWEES MAIN TOPICS
1 A+B 17 Feb 1995 M. Farooqui Communist Party
2 A 17 June 1995 Alys Faiz Partition violence; Faiz
Faiz: Audio posted
3 A 22 Sept 1995 Danial Latifi Communist Party; Muslim League
B 23 Dec 1996 Danial Latifi (later i/v) Jinnah; Muslim League; Communism
4 B Danial Latifi (cont) Telangana uprising
RECORDINGS IN PAKISTAN
5 A+B 11 Oct 1995 Alys Faiz Communism; Partition; Faiz
Faiz 2: Audio posted
6 A 25 Sept 1995 Nasreen Azhar Violence in Simla
B 26 Sept 1995 Mushahid Hussain Pakistan's view of partition
7 A+B 1 Oct 1995 Jamaluddin Naqvi Communism; Pak left; muhajirs
8 A 11 Oct 1995 Amjad Hussain Lahore
9 A 15 Nov 1995 Gopal Das Khosla Lahore; independence day; Netaji
10 A 2 Feb 1996 Satyindra Singh Bombay naval mutiny; Sikhs
11 A 4 July 1996 Ram Advani Lahore; refugees
Ram Advani: audio posted
B 2 Jan 1997 Danial Latifi 'Train to Pakistan'; communism
12 A 5 July 1996 Shantanu Ray Great Calcutta Killing
13 A 5 July 1996 Shantanu Ray Great Calcutta Killing
14 A+B 11 July 1996 M.M. Khanna Army; Kashmir conflict
15 A+B 1 Aug 1996 Quarrutulain Hyder Escaping Dehra Dun; new Pakistan
16 A 14 Aug 1996 Kuldip Nayar Fleeing Pakistan
Nayar Aug 96: Audio posted
17 A+B 9 Sept 1996 Bhisham Sahni Well deaths; refugee trains; independence
Sahni: Audio and transcript posted
18 A 16 Oct 1996 Ashok Mitra East Bengal; Jinnah; language movement
19 A 29 Oct 1996 Kuldip Nayar Refugees on the move; Jinnah
Nayar Oct 96: Audio posted
RECORDINGS AT AND AROUND THE BORDER
20 A 5 Nov 1996 Recordings at Wagah Border
5 Nov 1996 Kuldip Nayar Partition refugee experience
Nayar Nov 96: Audio posted
B 7 Nov 1996 Recordings at Sialkot Kuldip Nayar
21 A 8 Nov 1996 Arif Nizami Kuldip Nayar
22 A 11 Dec 1996 Jack Jacob Bangladesh War
B 13 Dec 1996 Shashi Bhushan Bihar
23 A 20 Dec 1996 Nusli Wadia Jinnah
B 20 Dec 1996 Recordings at Bombay Jinnah
24 A+B 30 Dec 1996 Khushwant Singh Lahore; Jinnah; independence
Khushwant Singh: Audio posted
RECORDINGS IN KARACHI
25 B Temple recordings Karachi Hindus
B+A Khubchand Bhatia Karachi hindus
26 A Niaz Ahmed Madani Muhajirs
B Wedding recption Divided families
27 A Ghazi Salahuddin Muhajirs; Pakistani identity
B Ishtiaq Azhar Muhajirs
28 A Ishtiaq Azhar (cont) Migration from India
A+B Abdus Sattar Afghani Karachi; Pakistan's nation building
B Babar Ayaz Muhajirs
29 A+B Krishna Baldev Vaid Dinga riots
Vaid: Audio and transcript posted
30 A+B K.R. Malkani Sindh; RSS; refugees
31 A+B Khorshed Italia Rape victims; Delhi riots
Italia: Audio posted
32 A+B Sailen Chatterjee Gandhi; Noakhali; Calcutta
Chatterjee: Audio posted
33 A Sheela Sahni Refugee resettlement
B Saroj Pachauri Rawalpindi
34 A Shanti Sehgal Fleeing from west Punjab
35 A Edward Behr Peshawar rioting; Pathans; army
Behr: Audio posted
B Abid Zaidi Delhi Muslims; refugees
36 A+B Harbahksh Singh Fighting in Kashmir; army
RECORDINGS IN INDIAN KASHMIR
37 A Jamma Masjid recordings Kashmir
A+B Soofi Ghulam Moh'd Kashmir
B G.M. Sherwani Kashmir raiders
B Inayatullah Muslim League
38 A Inayatullah (cont) Kashmir; tribal raiders; Jinnah
B Sister Emilia Kashmir raiders
B Noor Mohammed Kashmir
39 A Ghulam Mohuddin Kashmir
A+B Abdul Ghani Lone Kashmir; Sheikh Abdullah
Lone: audio posted
B Mohammed Amin Kashmir
40 A L.K. Advani Karachi; Sindh; partition legacy
L.K. Advani: Audio posted
41 A Ajit Bhattacharjea Kashmir airlift; Sheikh Abdullah
B H.S. Surjeet Punjab; Communist Party; refugees
Surjeet: Audio posted
42 A Sahabzada Yaqub Khan Army; founding Pakistan; Jinnah; Nehru
B I.K. Gujral Punjab; Lahore; women; legacy of partition
Gujral: Audio posted
RECORDINGS IN INDIAN PUNJAB
43 A A.C. Jolly Punjab; partition violence
A H.S. Puri Lahore; trains; partition violence
A Rajeshwari Jolly Gurdaspur; abducted women
A Mrs Hardeep Puri Amritsar
B B.L. Dutt Lahore; RSS; women
B Brig. Dhillon Lahore; refugee convoys
44 A Brig. Dhillon (cont) Retrieving abducted women
A A.S. Bakshi Refugee convoys; violence
B Mrs A. Bakshi Amritsar
B Virender Mendiratta Lahore
B P.S. Narang Refugee life
B Veena Kumari Refugees in east Punjab
45 A Gurdial Singh Policing Lahore; Amritsar; refugees
A+B Sarla Agnihotri Refugee convoys
46 A Kharaiti Lal Retrieving abducted women
A H.S. Nirman Faridkot
B Jamsher village East Punjabi Muslims
47 A Dadwal village Partition violence; harijans
A + B Gandhi Vanita Ashram Women; partition violence
48 A M.S. Nirankari Amritsar; trains
A Shingara Singh Anti-Muslim violence
Shingara Singh: Audio posted
B Amritsar recordings Refugee resettlement
B Gandhi Vanita Ashram Women
49 A Malar Kotla recordings Muslims in East Punjab
50 A Yashpaul Vaid Dinga riots
RECORDINGS IN LUCKNOW AND MAHMUDABAD
51 A Aizaz Rasul Muslim League; Jinnah; migration; UP
Rasul: Audio posted
B Danish Mahal recording Urdu
B Muzaffar Ali Lucknow culture; Urdu
52 A Shakeel Ahmed UP Muslims
A Akhtar Jehan Urdu: UP Muslims
52 A + B S.M. Jaffar Congress Muslims; Muslim League
B Madeen Mian UP Muslims
53 A Madeen Mian (cont) UP Muslims
A + B Mahmudabad recordings UP Muslims; migration; divided families
54 A + B Mahmudabad (cont) Divided families; effects of partition
B Aizaz Rasul Muslims and partition
Rasul: Audio posted
55 A Ved Marwah Peshawar
B Urvashi Butalia Women
56 A Abdul Jabbar Divided families
RECORDINGS IN PAKISTAN
57 A Sardar Qayum Kashmir fighting; tribal raiders
B H.K. Burki Lahore; leaving east Punjab; muhajirs
Burki: audio posted
58 A Altaf Gauhar Lahore; Muslim identity
B Zawwar Zaidi UP Muslim League; Jinnah
59 A Thoha Khalsa recordings Well deaths
A + B Dinga recordings Dinga riot; Hindus in west Punjab
60 A Fahim Mazhar Amrita Pritam
A + B I.A. Rehman Aligarh; violence in Haryana
B Rao Abid Hamid UP; Pakistani identity; Pakistan army
61 A Nighat Said Khan Violence against women
A + B Alipur Sayyaidam rec Partition riots
62 A + B Maskhoor Hussein Surviving partition massacre
B Zakia Hamid Jalal Manto
63 A + B Lahore recordings Refugees; divided families
B Jaffar Hasan Migration; divided families
RECORDINGS IN BANGLADESH
64 A C.R. Dutta Minorities; migration
A Teddy Rozario Great Calcutta Killing
B Arun Dutta Gupta Noakhali
B Chatkhil recordings Noakhali riots; Gandhi
65 A + B Chatkhil rec (cont) Noakhali riots; Gandhi; migration
B Neezbaur recordings Gandhi in Noakhali
66 A + B Gandhi Ashram, Jayag Gandhi; Noakhali riots
B Gopalpur recordings Great Calcutta Killing; Noakhali
67 A Gopalpur rec (cont) Noakhali riots; east Bengali Hindus
B M.A. Chowdhury Gandhi in Noakhali
B Paral Guha Noakhali riots
68 A Paral Guha (cont) Noakhali riots
A + B Kalim Sharifi Communists; Great Calcutta Killing
B Abol Hussain Great Calcutta Killing; Bangladesh
69 A + B Salahuddin Ahmed Calcutta; Noakhali; Gandhi; Jinnah
B Hamida Khan Great Calcutta Killing
B Shaukat Osman Legacy of partition
70 A G.G. Ajmiri Calcutta; Muslim League
Ajmiri: audio posted
A + B Badruddin Umar Great Calcutta Killing
B Afifa Haq Social work in Calcutta
B Lyla Murshed Divided Bengal
71 A Jahanara Karim Great Calcutta Killing
B Nazimuddin Hashim Great Calcutta Killing
Hashim: audio posted
RECORDINGS IN CALCUTTA
72 A S.K. Bhatacharjee Calcutta; police; criminal gangs
A + B Jugal Ghosh Calcutta; criminal gangs; Gandhi
Ghosh: audio posted
73 A Sisir Mitra Calcutta; Communists; trade unions
B Abdul Mannan Calcutta; Communists
B J.N. Bannerjee Calcutta; police; criminal gangs
74 A Ashoka Gupta Noakhali; Gandhi; women
Gupta: audio posted
B Sheila Sen Gupta Retrieving abducted women
Sengupta: audio posted
B Gopal Mukherjee Calcutta; criminal gangs
75 A + B Gopal Mukherjee (cont) Calcutta; criminal gangs; Gandhi
Mukherjee: audio posted
B Ajit Bose Calcutta; Communists; trade unions
76 A Rashid ul-Hussain Great Calcutta Killing
B Annada Shankar Ray Dividing Bengal
Ray: audio posted
B Jolly Kaul Calcutta; Communists; trade unions
Kaul: audio posted
77 A + B Jadavpur recordings Migration; refugees; divided Bengal
78 A Farooq Abdullah Kashmir; Sheikh Abdullah
B Karan Singh Kashmir; accession to India
79 A Anusuya Das Lahore; Delhi refugee camps
B Amrita Pritam Lahore; women of Punjab; abduction
Pritam: Audio posted
80 A + B Bir Bahadur Singh Thoha Khalsa
Bir Bahadur Singh: Audio posted
A + B Bhola Singh Thoha Khalsa
B Basant Kaur Thoha Khalsa
81 A Basant Kaur (cont) Thoha Khalsa
Basant Kaur: Audio posted
82 A Urvashi Butalia Thoha Khalsa
A + B T. Khalsa memorial mtg Thoha Khalsa; Sikhs
83 A + B Sheila Sen Gupta Retrieving abducted women; Bengal
Sengupta 2: audio posted
Partition Voices 2
INDIA: A PEOPLE PARTITIONED
a guide to the additional interview tapes: a further 6 audio cassettes
The original audio cassettes are deposited at the SOAS archive, as mentioned above, along with notes, and partial and abridged transcripts.
84 A Benazir Bhutto Ind-Pak relations
Bhutto: audio posted
85 A Umar Farooq Kashmir conflict
86 A Niaz Naik Ind-Pak relations
A Abdullah Muntazer Kashmir militancy
B General K.M. Arif Ind-Pak relations
87 A Tanvir Ahmed Khan Ind-Pak relations
B Roedad Khan Ind-Pak relations
88 A Recordings at Muridke Kashmir militancy
B Sanjeev Sharma Kandahar hijack
89 A I.K. Gujral Ind-Pak relations
A Shekhar Gupta Lahore process
A Bharat Verma Ind-Pak relations
a guide to the additional interview tapes: a further 6 audio cassettes
The original audio cassettes are deposited at the SOAS archive, as mentioned above, along with notes, and partial and abridged transcripts.
84 A Benazir Bhutto Ind-Pak relations
Bhutto: audio posted
85 A Umar Farooq Kashmir conflict
86 A Niaz Naik Ind-Pak relations
A Abdullah Muntazer Kashmir militancy
B General K.M. Arif Ind-Pak relations
87 A Tanvir Ahmed Khan Ind-Pak relations
B Roedad Khan Ind-Pak relations
88 A Recordings at Muridke Kashmir militancy
B Sanjeev Sharma Kandahar hijack
89 A I.K. Gujral Ind-Pak relations
A Shekhar Gupta Lahore process
A Bharat Verma Ind-Pak relations
Partition Voices 3
47 further audio CDs, most with transcripts, of interviews relating to the Partition of India in 1947 and to events in Kashmir in that year
Deposited at the S.O.A.S. archive in London by Andrew Whitehead in May 2009
Available for consultation from 1st May 2012, or earlier than that date with the express written consent of Andrew Whitehead [email protected]
In 1997, I compiled and presented a series of five radio programmes on the BBC World Service entitled ‘India: a people partitioned’. This was a social and oral history of the trauma of Partition as experienced by those across south Asia, and I was in the privileged position to be able to travel widely to conduct interviews and gather material. I deposited in the SOAS archive 83 audio cassettes of interviews, along with partial transcripts and notes and copies of the programmes as broadcast.
The series was repeated in 2000, and to update the last programme in the series I conducted several further interviews and six more cassettes, numbered sequentially (that is, tapes 84 to 89), were also deposited at SOAS.
I am delighted by the use that has been made of this resource, most notably by Yasmin Khan in her book The Great Partition.
This further deposit consists of 47 audio CDs with further interview material relating to Partition and to events in Kashmir in 1947. These fall into three categories:
· a few interviews conducted in the 1990s which, for whatever reason, were not included in earlier deposits
· interviews relating to the invasion of Kashmir in October 1947 conducted as part of the research for my book A Mission in Kashmir which was published in India by Viking Penguin in November 2007. Some of this material was also used in a Radio 4 programme ‘An Incident in Kashmir’ which is also included in the deposit.
· a late burst of interviews conducted in 2006-7 while living in Delhi with those with first-hand memories of Partition, with a ‘Partition Voices’ book and project in mind
There are also a few interviews conducted since moving back to Britain in the summer of 2007.
In all cases, those interviewed knew that their words were likely to be in the public domain. There was no concealed recording and no concealed purpose. Some interviews were conducted on my behalf by colleagues, and I would like to acknowledge their kindness and professionalism. In all such cases, the name of the interviewer is included in the notes that follow.
Most of the transcripts were made by me to help in the making of programmes and the writing of my book on Kashmir. They are not flawless, and they should not be takes as a full and authoritative record.
I am happy for brief written extracts from these interviews, that is up to 50 words, to be published subject only to proper acknowledgement. The publication of longer extracts, or the broadcast in any form (including on the internet) of any of the audio on these CDs, requires my advance written approval. Copyright of the radio programme included in this deposit rests of course with the BBC.
Andrew Whitehead London, May 2009
CD-1 Anima Dasgupta
Anima Dasgupta speaking at the London home of her friend Ralph Russell about memories of Communist activism in Bihar and Calcutta during the Ranadive period of the 1940s.
Recorded London, 24 June 1992 - 17:41 Audio posted
No transcript.
CD-2 Sir Peter Scott
Sir Peter Scott on working at the Viceroy's office 1946-7. Recorded by Clare Jenkins.
Recorded U.K., 22 July 1996 - 45:24 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-3 Sir Ian Scott
Sir Ian Scott on working for the Viceroy in run up to independence. Recorded by Clare Jenkins
Recorded Suffolk, 24 August 1996 - 46:26 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-4 Mrs Kapoor and Mrs K. Tukraal
Mrs Kapoor and Mrs K. Tukraal in Hindi on personal memories of 47
Recorded by Anuradha Awasthi in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, ? 1997 – 39:51
No transcript.
CD-5 Vishwanath Mathur
V. Mathur aged 85 (died June 2004), born Bihar, active in revolutionary groups in 30s, jailed in cellular jail in Andamans, became a communist there, founder member of CPI in Bihar in 39 (sd later spent 18 yrs in UK working for CPGB; still mbr of CPI)
Recorded Delhi, 10 Sept 1998 – 53:17
No transcript.
CD-6 Bapsi Sidhwa
Bapsi Sidhwa by phone on 'Ice Candy Man' and film version 'Earth'
Recorded by phone 26 April 1999 – 6:28
No transcript.
CD-7 Bapsi Sidhwa and Urvashi Butalia
Bapsi Sidhwa and Urvashi Butalia (both Delhi) in discussion with AW in London. This formed the basis for an abridged transcript published in History Workshop Journal, 50, 2000.
Recorded 4 January 2000 – 29:06 Audio posted
No transcript.
CD-8 Sam Manekshaw
Sam Manekshaw interviewed by Bhavna Kumar about his memories of Tom Dykes, a fellow officer in the 1930s
Recorded Delhi, July 2000 – 32:33
Partial transcript.
CD-9 Tom Dykes
Tom Dykes Jr interviewed by Bhavna Kumar about his memories of the attack on the Baramulla convent and his parents’ death
Recorded Johannesburg, 22 January 2001 – 31:05
Partial transcript.
CD-10 Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan
Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan talking about the current situation in Kashmir and his memories of and reflections on 1947
Recorded Muzaffarabad, 6 April 2001 – 27:46
Partial transcript.
CD-11 Baramulla convent
Baramulla convent: Sisiter Emilia, Dr Melanie, , location recordings, and snatches of the Easter Sunday service in the mission chapel
Recorded Baramulla, 15 April 2001- 38:21
Partial transcript.
CD-12 Frank Leeson
Frank Leeson his role in the evacuation of the Baramulla convent in Nov 1947 and more generally about the Frontier tribes and Kashmir
Recorded Worthing, 20 June 2001- 45:44 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-13 Lt Col Patric Emerson
Lt Col Patric Emerson of the Indian Army Association on his memories of Kashmir in 47
Recorded Kingston, 31 Jan 2001 – 33:18
Partial transcript.
CD-14 Tom Dykes 2
Tom Dykes Jr interviewed at his brother's home outside London on his memories of the attack on the Baramulla conventand his parent’ death
Recorded Dorking, 26 June 2001 – 20:23
Transcript
CD-15 General Stanley Menezes
General Stanley Menezes of the Indian Army interviewed at the National Army Museum about Baramulla and Kashmir in 1947
Recorded London, 5 October 2001 – 44:35
Partial transcript.
CD-16 Father Gerry Dunne
Father Gerry Dunne on talking at St Joseph's College, Mill Hill - by Fr Shanks's grave, at the 'rogues' gallery' photo boards – mainly about Shanks
Recorded Mill Hill, 19 April 2002 – 26:12
Partial transcript.
CD-17 Major Ben and Marguerite Suter
Major Ben and Marguerite Suter on Tom and Biddy Dykes
Recorded Surrey, 4 August 2002 – 49:54 Audio posted
Transcript.
CD-18 Brigadier Kuldip Chadha
Brigadier Kuldip Chadha talking about his service with the Frontier Force in Kashmir from 28 Oct 1947, supportive of 'Bogey' Sen
Recorded Hounslow, 19 July 2002 – 32:21
No transcript.
CD-19 Angela Aranha
Angela Aranha (nee Barretto) interviewed by Charles Haviland about her memories of the attack on the Baramulla convent in which her father was killed
Recorded Bangalore, 8 Feb 2003 – 1:00:53 Audio posted
Transcript.
CD-20 D.N. Kaul
D.N. Kaul a police officer in Srinagar in 1947 and a Kashmiri Pandit on policing and Kashmir in 1947
Recorded Delhi, 29 April 2003 – 37:12 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-21 Karan Singh
Karan Singh was the teenaged crown prince in 1947 - talking about his memories of that time.
Recorded Delhi, 29 April 2003 – 18:10 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-22 Bali family
Anoop Singh Bali, Gunwant Kaur Bali (in Urdu) and Randir Singh Bali on Sikhs' experience of the 1947 invasion in Baramulla
Recorded Baramulla, 1 May 2003 – 49:42 Audio and transcript posted
Partial transcript.
CD-23 Father Jim Borst
Father Jim Borst MHM on what he has heard about events in Baramulla in 1947
Recorded Srinagar, 1 May 2003 - 10:10
Transcript.
CD-24 Sheikh Ghulam Mohammed
Sheikh Ghulam Mohammed on childhood memories of the 1947 invasion
Recorded Baramulla, 1 May 2003 – 22:10
Partial transcript.
CD-25 Mohammed Asadullah Malik
Malik in Urdu, in a village beyond Baramulla, talking about childhood memories of 1947
Recorded Zandfaran near Baramulla, 1 May 2003 – 14:20
Interview notes only.
CD-26 Farooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister and son of Sheikh Abdullah, on memories of 47
Recorded Srinagar, 1 May 2003 – 28:28
Transcript.
CD-27 Baramulla convent 2003/1
Sister Emilia; being shown round by a Keralite nun; location recordings; including a moving singing of grace by the nuns in the convent refectory
Recorded Baramulla, 2 May 2003 – 1:08:59
Partial transcript.
CD-28 Baramulla convent 2003/2
Continued - with Sister Rosy Joseph on Sister Emilia and the events of October 1947
Recorded Baramulla, 2 May 2003 – 20:44
Partial transcript.
CD-29 Sardar Sherbaz Khan Mazari
Sherbaz Khan Mazari about going to support the 'liberation' of Kashmir only to find that the lashkar was looting and raping – simulrec, only answers audible
Recorded phone simulrec to Karachi, 12 May 2003 – 16:30
Transcript.
CD-30 Khan Shah Afridi
Khan Shah Afridi talking in Pashto to Haroon Rashid about his role in the lashkar of 1947 - with Haroon's translation
Recorded Mattni near Peshawar, May 2003 - 14:59
Transcript.
CD-31 Leela Thompson
Leela Thompson, nee Pasricha, about Baramulla and Srinagar in the autumn of 1947
Recorded Boothbay Harbour, Maine, 12 October 2003 - 1:14:45 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-32 Inder Cheema
Inder Cheema on his childhood memories of Baramulla - also involving a conversation with his mother, Leela Thompson
Recorded Southport Island, Maine, 13 October 2003 – 19:53
Transcript.
CD-33 Sat Paul Sahni
Sat Paul Sahni, a junior journalist in 47, on his memories of that time and the reporting of the Kashmir conflict
Recorded Jammu, 27 March 2005- 1:15:17 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-34 Harshi Anand
Mrs Harshi Anand, nee Kashyap, on Srinagar in 1947 as the raiders advanced, including the militia
Recorded Delhi, 25 May 2005 – 19:03
Partial transcript.
CD-35 Francis Rath
Dr Francis Rath, a survivor of the raid on the Baramulla convent, talking about his memories of that and linked events
Recorded Baramulla, 8 Sept 2006- 34:31 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-36 Pran Nath Jalali
Pran Nath Jalali on Kashmir in 1947 - Quit Kashmir, pro-NC movement in Kashmir, role of Communists, and of the NC-aligned militia.
Recorded Delhi, 30 March 2007 - 1:20:36 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-37 K.S. and Ayesha Duggal
The writer K.S. Duggal talking about Partition, his memories and its role in his writing - and his wife, Ayesha, talking about her time as a doctor working with abducted Muslim women in Jallandhar post-47
Recorded Delhi, 8 April 2007 – 43:49 Audio posted
No transcript.
CD-38 Raj and Indu Mahajan
Mrs Raj Mahajan, eldest daughter of M.C. Mahajan, and her own daughter Indu Mahajan talking about M.C. Mahajan and 1947
Recorded Delhi, 9 April 2007 – 33:59
No transcript.
CD-39 Pran Nath Jalali 2
More on role of CP in Kashmir nationalist movement, jail on independence day, militia, and identifying militia members in pamphlet photo.
Recorded Delhi, 11 April 2007 – 35:23 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-40 Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh
Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh, born in Lyallpur and in charge of the Ambala flying training station in 1947, on Partition. Audio and transcript posted
Recorded Delhi, 18 April 2007 – 36:44
Partial transcript.
CD-41 Pran Chopra
Pran Chopra's personal memories of Partition and independence, including a brief visit to Kashmir and memories of the Bedis
Recorded Delhi, 18 April 2007 – 34:22 Audio posted
No transcript.
CD-42 Krishna and Mohan Lal Misri
Krishna and Mohan Lal Misri talking about Srinagar in 47 and esp the NC militia and women's self-defence corps - and identifying people on Kashmir pamphlet cover.
Recorded Faridabad, 26 May 2007 – 1:09:36
Transcript.
CD-43 Krishna and Mohan Lal Misri 2
A second interview with the Misris about Kashmir in 1947
Recorded Faridabad, 12 June 2007 – 30:37
No transcript.
CD-44 Betty Keyes
Betty Keyes, an Anglo-Indian, talking about her life and her personal incidental memories of Partition
Recorded Calcutta, 1 June 2007- 25:25 Audio and partial posted
Partial transcript.
CD-45 Mahmooda Ahmed Ali Shah and Sajida Malik
Mehmooda Ahmed Ali Shah and Sajida Zameer Ahmed (nee Malik) talking about Kashmir in 47 and particularly the CP and women's self-defence corps.
Recorded Srinagar, 18 June 2007 – 54:46 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-46 Helen Baldwin
Helen Baldwin (nee Pratt) talking about time as armed forces welfare officer in Lahore, 1945-47
Recorded Bournemouth 28 July 2008 – 25:27 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-47 Usha Khanna
Usha Khanna (nee Kashyap) about her personal memories of Kashmir in 47 and involvement in the left, its cultural front and the militia
Recorded by phone to Mumbai, 31 August 2008 – 22:12 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD of Radio 4 programme ‘An Incident in Kashmir’, compiled and presented by Andrew Whitehead – broadcast August 2003. Audio posted
[ENDS]
Deposited at the S.O.A.S. archive in London by Andrew Whitehead in May 2009
Available for consultation from 1st May 2012, or earlier than that date with the express written consent of Andrew Whitehead [email protected]
In 1997, I compiled and presented a series of five radio programmes on the BBC World Service entitled ‘India: a people partitioned’. This was a social and oral history of the trauma of Partition as experienced by those across south Asia, and I was in the privileged position to be able to travel widely to conduct interviews and gather material. I deposited in the SOAS archive 83 audio cassettes of interviews, along with partial transcripts and notes and copies of the programmes as broadcast.
The series was repeated in 2000, and to update the last programme in the series I conducted several further interviews and six more cassettes, numbered sequentially (that is, tapes 84 to 89), were also deposited at SOAS.
I am delighted by the use that has been made of this resource, most notably by Yasmin Khan in her book The Great Partition.
This further deposit consists of 47 audio CDs with further interview material relating to Partition and to events in Kashmir in 1947. These fall into three categories:
· a few interviews conducted in the 1990s which, for whatever reason, were not included in earlier deposits
· interviews relating to the invasion of Kashmir in October 1947 conducted as part of the research for my book A Mission in Kashmir which was published in India by Viking Penguin in November 2007. Some of this material was also used in a Radio 4 programme ‘An Incident in Kashmir’ which is also included in the deposit.
· a late burst of interviews conducted in 2006-7 while living in Delhi with those with first-hand memories of Partition, with a ‘Partition Voices’ book and project in mind
There are also a few interviews conducted since moving back to Britain in the summer of 2007.
In all cases, those interviewed knew that their words were likely to be in the public domain. There was no concealed recording and no concealed purpose. Some interviews were conducted on my behalf by colleagues, and I would like to acknowledge their kindness and professionalism. In all such cases, the name of the interviewer is included in the notes that follow.
Most of the transcripts were made by me to help in the making of programmes and the writing of my book on Kashmir. They are not flawless, and they should not be takes as a full and authoritative record.
I am happy for brief written extracts from these interviews, that is up to 50 words, to be published subject only to proper acknowledgement. The publication of longer extracts, or the broadcast in any form (including on the internet) of any of the audio on these CDs, requires my advance written approval. Copyright of the radio programme included in this deposit rests of course with the BBC.
Andrew Whitehead London, May 2009
CD-1 Anima Dasgupta
Anima Dasgupta speaking at the London home of her friend Ralph Russell about memories of Communist activism in Bihar and Calcutta during the Ranadive period of the 1940s.
Recorded London, 24 June 1992 - 17:41 Audio posted
No transcript.
CD-2 Sir Peter Scott
Sir Peter Scott on working at the Viceroy's office 1946-7. Recorded by Clare Jenkins.
Recorded U.K., 22 July 1996 - 45:24 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-3 Sir Ian Scott
Sir Ian Scott on working for the Viceroy in run up to independence. Recorded by Clare Jenkins
Recorded Suffolk, 24 August 1996 - 46:26 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-4 Mrs Kapoor and Mrs K. Tukraal
Mrs Kapoor and Mrs K. Tukraal in Hindi on personal memories of 47
Recorded by Anuradha Awasthi in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, ? 1997 – 39:51
No transcript.
CD-5 Vishwanath Mathur
V. Mathur aged 85 (died June 2004), born Bihar, active in revolutionary groups in 30s, jailed in cellular jail in Andamans, became a communist there, founder member of CPI in Bihar in 39 (sd later spent 18 yrs in UK working for CPGB; still mbr of CPI)
Recorded Delhi, 10 Sept 1998 – 53:17
No transcript.
CD-6 Bapsi Sidhwa
Bapsi Sidhwa by phone on 'Ice Candy Man' and film version 'Earth'
Recorded by phone 26 April 1999 – 6:28
No transcript.
CD-7 Bapsi Sidhwa and Urvashi Butalia
Bapsi Sidhwa and Urvashi Butalia (both Delhi) in discussion with AW in London. This formed the basis for an abridged transcript published in History Workshop Journal, 50, 2000.
Recorded 4 January 2000 – 29:06 Audio posted
No transcript.
CD-8 Sam Manekshaw
Sam Manekshaw interviewed by Bhavna Kumar about his memories of Tom Dykes, a fellow officer in the 1930s
Recorded Delhi, July 2000 – 32:33
Partial transcript.
CD-9 Tom Dykes
Tom Dykes Jr interviewed by Bhavna Kumar about his memories of the attack on the Baramulla convent and his parents’ death
Recorded Johannesburg, 22 January 2001 – 31:05
Partial transcript.
CD-10 Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan
Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan talking about the current situation in Kashmir and his memories of and reflections on 1947
Recorded Muzaffarabad, 6 April 2001 – 27:46
Partial transcript.
CD-11 Baramulla convent
Baramulla convent: Sisiter Emilia, Dr Melanie, , location recordings, and snatches of the Easter Sunday service in the mission chapel
Recorded Baramulla, 15 April 2001- 38:21
Partial transcript.
CD-12 Frank Leeson
Frank Leeson his role in the evacuation of the Baramulla convent in Nov 1947 and more generally about the Frontier tribes and Kashmir
Recorded Worthing, 20 June 2001- 45:44 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-13 Lt Col Patric Emerson
Lt Col Patric Emerson of the Indian Army Association on his memories of Kashmir in 47
Recorded Kingston, 31 Jan 2001 – 33:18
Partial transcript.
CD-14 Tom Dykes 2
Tom Dykes Jr interviewed at his brother's home outside London on his memories of the attack on the Baramulla conventand his parent’ death
Recorded Dorking, 26 June 2001 – 20:23
Transcript
CD-15 General Stanley Menezes
General Stanley Menezes of the Indian Army interviewed at the National Army Museum about Baramulla and Kashmir in 1947
Recorded London, 5 October 2001 – 44:35
Partial transcript.
CD-16 Father Gerry Dunne
Father Gerry Dunne on talking at St Joseph's College, Mill Hill - by Fr Shanks's grave, at the 'rogues' gallery' photo boards – mainly about Shanks
Recorded Mill Hill, 19 April 2002 – 26:12
Partial transcript.
CD-17 Major Ben and Marguerite Suter
Major Ben and Marguerite Suter on Tom and Biddy Dykes
Recorded Surrey, 4 August 2002 – 49:54 Audio posted
Transcript.
CD-18 Brigadier Kuldip Chadha
Brigadier Kuldip Chadha talking about his service with the Frontier Force in Kashmir from 28 Oct 1947, supportive of 'Bogey' Sen
Recorded Hounslow, 19 July 2002 – 32:21
No transcript.
CD-19 Angela Aranha
Angela Aranha (nee Barretto) interviewed by Charles Haviland about her memories of the attack on the Baramulla convent in which her father was killed
Recorded Bangalore, 8 Feb 2003 – 1:00:53 Audio posted
Transcript.
CD-20 D.N. Kaul
D.N. Kaul a police officer in Srinagar in 1947 and a Kashmiri Pandit on policing and Kashmir in 1947
Recorded Delhi, 29 April 2003 – 37:12 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-21 Karan Singh
Karan Singh was the teenaged crown prince in 1947 - talking about his memories of that time.
Recorded Delhi, 29 April 2003 – 18:10 Audio posted
Partial transcript.
CD-22 Bali family
Anoop Singh Bali, Gunwant Kaur Bali (in Urdu) and Randir Singh Bali on Sikhs' experience of the 1947 invasion in Baramulla
Recorded Baramulla, 1 May 2003 – 49:42 Audio and transcript posted
Partial transcript.
CD-23 Father Jim Borst
Father Jim Borst MHM on what he has heard about events in Baramulla in 1947
Recorded Srinagar, 1 May 2003 - 10:10
Transcript.
CD-24 Sheikh Ghulam Mohammed
Sheikh Ghulam Mohammed on childhood memories of the 1947 invasion
Recorded Baramulla, 1 May 2003 – 22:10
Partial transcript.
CD-25 Mohammed Asadullah Malik
Malik in Urdu, in a village beyond Baramulla, talking about childhood memories of 1947
Recorded Zandfaran near Baramulla, 1 May 2003 – 14:20
Interview notes only.
CD-26 Farooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister and son of Sheikh Abdullah, on memories of 47
Recorded Srinagar, 1 May 2003 – 28:28
Transcript.
CD-27 Baramulla convent 2003/1
Sister Emilia; being shown round by a Keralite nun; location recordings; including a moving singing of grace by the nuns in the convent refectory
Recorded Baramulla, 2 May 2003 – 1:08:59
Partial transcript.
CD-28 Baramulla convent 2003/2
Continued - with Sister Rosy Joseph on Sister Emilia and the events of October 1947
Recorded Baramulla, 2 May 2003 – 20:44
Partial transcript.
CD-29 Sardar Sherbaz Khan Mazari
Sherbaz Khan Mazari about going to support the 'liberation' of Kashmir only to find that the lashkar was looting and raping – simulrec, only answers audible
Recorded phone simulrec to Karachi, 12 May 2003 – 16:30
Transcript.
CD-30 Khan Shah Afridi
Khan Shah Afridi talking in Pashto to Haroon Rashid about his role in the lashkar of 1947 - with Haroon's translation
Recorded Mattni near Peshawar, May 2003 - 14:59
Transcript.
CD-31 Leela Thompson
Leela Thompson, nee Pasricha, about Baramulla and Srinagar in the autumn of 1947
Recorded Boothbay Harbour, Maine, 12 October 2003 - 1:14:45 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-32 Inder Cheema
Inder Cheema on his childhood memories of Baramulla - also involving a conversation with his mother, Leela Thompson
Recorded Southport Island, Maine, 13 October 2003 – 19:53
Transcript.
CD-33 Sat Paul Sahni
Sat Paul Sahni, a junior journalist in 47, on his memories of that time and the reporting of the Kashmir conflict
Recorded Jammu, 27 March 2005- 1:15:17 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-34 Harshi Anand
Mrs Harshi Anand, nee Kashyap, on Srinagar in 1947 as the raiders advanced, including the militia
Recorded Delhi, 25 May 2005 – 19:03
Partial transcript.
CD-35 Francis Rath
Dr Francis Rath, a survivor of the raid on the Baramulla convent, talking about his memories of that and linked events
Recorded Baramulla, 8 Sept 2006- 34:31 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-36 Pran Nath Jalali
Pran Nath Jalali on Kashmir in 1947 - Quit Kashmir, pro-NC movement in Kashmir, role of Communists, and of the NC-aligned militia.
Recorded Delhi, 30 March 2007 - 1:20:36 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-37 K.S. and Ayesha Duggal
The writer K.S. Duggal talking about Partition, his memories and its role in his writing - and his wife, Ayesha, talking about her time as a doctor working with abducted Muslim women in Jallandhar post-47
Recorded Delhi, 8 April 2007 – 43:49 Audio posted
No transcript.
CD-38 Raj and Indu Mahajan
Mrs Raj Mahajan, eldest daughter of M.C. Mahajan, and her own daughter Indu Mahajan talking about M.C. Mahajan and 1947
Recorded Delhi, 9 April 2007 – 33:59
No transcript.
CD-39 Pran Nath Jalali 2
More on role of CP in Kashmir nationalist movement, jail on independence day, militia, and identifying militia members in pamphlet photo.
Recorded Delhi, 11 April 2007 – 35:23 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-40 Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh
Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh, born in Lyallpur and in charge of the Ambala flying training station in 1947, on Partition. Audio and transcript posted
Recorded Delhi, 18 April 2007 – 36:44
Partial transcript.
CD-41 Pran Chopra
Pran Chopra's personal memories of Partition and independence, including a brief visit to Kashmir and memories of the Bedis
Recorded Delhi, 18 April 2007 – 34:22 Audio posted
No transcript.
CD-42 Krishna and Mohan Lal Misri
Krishna and Mohan Lal Misri talking about Srinagar in 47 and esp the NC militia and women's self-defence corps - and identifying people on Kashmir pamphlet cover.
Recorded Faridabad, 26 May 2007 – 1:09:36
Transcript.
CD-43 Krishna and Mohan Lal Misri 2
A second interview with the Misris about Kashmir in 1947
Recorded Faridabad, 12 June 2007 – 30:37
No transcript.
CD-44 Betty Keyes
Betty Keyes, an Anglo-Indian, talking about her life and her personal incidental memories of Partition
Recorded Calcutta, 1 June 2007- 25:25 Audio and partial posted
Partial transcript.
CD-45 Mahmooda Ahmed Ali Shah and Sajida Malik
Mehmooda Ahmed Ali Shah and Sajida Zameer Ahmed (nee Malik) talking about Kashmir in 47 and particularly the CP and women's self-defence corps.
Recorded Srinagar, 18 June 2007 – 54:46 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-46 Helen Baldwin
Helen Baldwin (nee Pratt) talking about time as armed forces welfare officer in Lahore, 1945-47
Recorded Bournemouth 28 July 2008 – 25:27 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD-47 Usha Khanna
Usha Khanna (nee Kashyap) about her personal memories of Kashmir in 47 and involvement in the left, its cultural front and the militia
Recorded by phone to Mumbai, 31 August 2008 – 22:12 Audio and transcript posted
Transcript.
CD of Radio 4 programme ‘An Incident in Kashmir’, compiled and presented by Andrew Whitehead – broadcast August 2003. Audio posted
[ENDS]
.
.