Partition Museum

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox museum | name = Partition Museum | native_name = | native_name_lang = | logo = Partition museum logo.jpg | logo_size = 150px | logo_upright = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = Logo | image = Amritsar 9125.jpg | image_size = 250px | image_upright = | alt = | caption = View of Partition Museum | map_type = | map_relief = | map_size = | map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|31.6258|N|74.8787|E}} | former_name = | established = {{Start date|2017|08|25|df=yes}} | dissolved =  | location = Town Hall, Katra Ahluwalia, Amritsar, Punjab, India | type = Museum | accreditation = | key_holdings = | collections = 1947 archives, oral histories | collection_size = | visitors = | founder = The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust (TAACHT) | executive_director = | leader_type = | leader = | director = | president = | ceo = | chairperson = Kishwar Desai | curator = | architect = | historian = | owner = Government of Punjab | public_transit = | parking = Limited | network = | website = {{url|www.partitionmuseum.org}} | embedded = }} The '''Partition Museum''' is a public museum located in the town hall of Amritsar, Punjab, India.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/country-s-first-partition-museum-a-story-of-pain-and-resurgence/story-7AfmmILUM1BhYPOsCpWFiP.html|title=Country’s first Partition Museum: A story of pain and resurgence|last=Kaur|first=Usmeet|date=2016-10-25|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=2019-01-06}}</ref> The museum aims to become the central repository of stories, materials, and documents related to the post-partition riots that followed the division of British India into two independent dominions: India and Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web | title=Partition Museum curates online events to allow visitors to sneak a peek into the pages of history | website=The Tribune | date=2020-09-12 | url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/amritsar/partition-museum-curates-online-events-to-allow-visitors-to-sneak-a-peek-into-the-pages-of-history-139897 | access-date=2020-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bhatia |first=Arjun |date=2017 |title=Partition Museum Project: Creating a refuge for the memories of Partition |url=https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/74554/ |journal=LSE Blogs |access-date=30 March 2026}}</ref> The museum also focuses on the history of the “anti-colonial movement, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Komagata Maru incident, the All India Muslim League and the Indian National Congress, and the journey of resilience and recuperation for women”.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Gite |first=Veidehi |date=April 27, 2023 |title=Amritsar's Partition Museum, which was once the British Headquarters and a jail, conceals more surprises than you can fathom |work=Outlook India |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/73246/discover-the-worlds-first-partition-museum-in-amritsar}}</ref> The building wherein the museum is located in Amritsar was also “once the British headquarters and a jail”.<ref name=":0" /> The museum was inaugurated on 25 August 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Menon |first=Parvathi |date=2015-12-03 |title=Amritsar’s Partition museum to relive a generation’s sacrifices |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/amritsars-partition-museum-to-relive-a-generations-sacrifices/article7942816.ece |access-date=2019-01-06 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 17, 2017 |title=Walk down memory lane at Amritsar’s Partition Museum |work=The Indian Express |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/walk-down-memory-lane-at-amritsars-partition-museum-4801163/}}</ref>

==History== {{Main article|Partition of India}} thumb|150px|right|Partition museum in Amritsar, Punjab In 1947, British India was divided into India and Pakistan. The partition lines, drawn on a map by the British lawyer Cyril Radcliffe, divided the province of Punjab and Bengal into two parts on the basis of religion. As a result, millions of people found themselves on the wrong side of the border overnight. According to various estimates, more than 800,000 Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs were killed in the riots that followed the partition between August 1947 to January 1948. Additionally, more than 1,400,000 people became refugees.

The Government of Punjab founded this museum with The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust of the United Kingdom as a way to memorialize those who were affected by the partition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.partitionmuseum.org/about-us/|title=Partition Museum, India|website=The Partition Museum|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-06}}</ref> Therefore, the museum documents the catastrophic history of migration, loss of life and livelihood through testimonies of the first-generation partition survivors and their lived experiences.

Based on extensive oral testimonies from individuals who witnessed the partition, the experiences of their family members, and material memories (the various objects that individuals managed to migrate with - be it jewelleries, clothes, or cooking utensils),<ref>{{Cite news |last=Biswas |first=Soutik |date=March 27, 2017 |title=How a jacket and a briefcase shaped a partition love story |work=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-39362534}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Malhotra |first=Aanchal |title=Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2018 |isbn=9789353022952}}</ref> the museum provides a platform for the younger generations to know the aftermath of what has been dubbed as one of the cataclysmic events in the recent history of the Indian subcontinent. The museum acts as a reminder of not only the millions of individuals who lost their lives owing to violence as a result of the Partition of India but also one of resilience as many individuals despite finding themselves in challenging circumstances turned their lives around and contributed in their own ways towards the cause of nation-building.

Mallika Ahluwalia, the Managing Trustee and co-founder of the Partition Museum, has documented some of the notable stories of individuals in her book titled ''Divided by Partition, United by Resilience: 21 Inspirational Stories from 1947'' (2018).

== Collections == The museum is divided into fourteen galleries: "Why Amritsar?, Punjab, Resistance (1900-1929), The Rise (1930-1945), Differences (1946), Prelude to Partition, Boundaries, Independence, Borders, Migrations, Divisions, Refuge, and Hope".<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Zabi |first=Syeda Arman |title=Studying Museums in Qatar and Beyond |publisher=UCL Qatar |year=2020 |editor-last=Bounia |editor-first=Alexandra |location=Doha, Qatar |pages=129-152 |chapter=Difficult Heritage in Museums: India’s first Partition Museum |editor-last2=Hendrick |editor-first2=Catharina}}</ref> With a "linear and chronological narrative"<ref name=":1" /> structure, the museum seeks to provide a history of the partition and why it took place. In doing so, the museum focuses on the people's perspectives and their experiences of living through that time in history. These galleries comprise “oral history accounts, object biographies, photographs, music and audio, contemporary artwork, and various unique exhibits such as a jail cell, train platform, riot-hit house, metal saw, a well, hanging banners, refugee tent, and a tree of hope (paper leaves on barbed wire, a participatory installation)”.<ref name=":1" />

== References == {{reflist}}

Category:Museums in Punjab, India Category:Tourist attractions in Amritsar Category:History museums in India