Descendants of a Difficult Past: Narratives of the Sindhi Partition Refugees in Bangalore

Abstract

Severed from the immediate physical realities of the Indian partition, Bangalore, a city in South India, witnessed a large influx of Sindhi refugees during the partition years. However, the lived narratives of these refugees haven’t been examined in the Indian partition historiography. Identifying this discernible research gap, the paper examines the diverse resettlement strategies and practices adopted by the Sindhi refugees in Bangalore. Through an ethnographic lens and analysis of archival records, the paper also illustrates the various relief efforts implemented by the Mysore state to welcome the refugees to its fold. Beyond mere historical documentation, it delves into the dynamics of memory transmission among the refugees and the variations engendered in remembering partition when the community is settled in a South Indian state. Furthermore, the paper investigates how these memories continue to shape the political choices of the Sindhi community.

Keywords:

• Indian partition
• Sindhi Hindu refugee
• Bangalore
• Mysore State
• Rehabilitation Efforts

Disclosure Statement

The authors report that there are no competing interests to declare.

Notes

1 Interview with Punjabi partition survivors in Bangalore, July 2020 to September 2022.

2 Details extracted from the original site plan of the colony.

3 Interviews with residents of Sindhi colony, Sindhi colony, July 2020 to September 2022.

4 Interviews with residents of Sindhi colony, Sindhi colony, July 2020 to September 2022.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aiswarya Sanath

Aiswarya Sanath is a PhD research scholar at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India.

Anjali Gera Roy

Anjali Gera Roy is a Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Kharagpur, India. Her research interests span postcolonial fiction and theory, media, cultural and performance studies, Punjab and Sikh Studies, diaspora, migration and mixed race. Her published works include Memories and Postmemories of the Partition of India (Routledge, 2019), Imperialism and Sikh Migration: the Komagata Maru Incident (Routledge, 2017), Cinema of Enchantment: Perso-Arabic Genealogies of the Hindi Masala Film (Orient Blackswan, 2015) and Bhangra Moves: From Ludhiana to London and Beyond (Aldershot: Ashgate 2010). She has recently coedited (with Robyn Andrews) Beyond the Metros: Anglo-Indians in India’s Smaller Towns and Cities (Primus Books, 2021).