The Partition Predicament: A Personal Tragedy of Two Refugee Families

Read the tragic accounts of two families that were stuck in the confusion of partition. They forged a deal together but only one side got their share of the bargain because the brutality of the Property Partition laws came their way.

Partition displaced millions of people who had to leave behind everything they had ever known, Source: Pinterest

The Partition of India, though a political event in the history of three countries- India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, became a social tragedy for the people who were severely affected by it. The scars of partition run deep, with so many wounds dotting the edifice of these three countries.

History doesn't remember the personal tragedy of the families who lost their homes, relatives, and even their identity in the massive displacement of people from one corner of the country to another. History records facts while lacking empathy for the havoc on humanity that was caused due to the decision of the partition. This story defines personal tragedy under the broad spectrum of the collective trauma caused due to the partition.

There were two families, the Das' and the Hussiens who became victims of a political predicament that killed thousands of Hindus and Muslims around the country. But the loss faced by these two families was not committed by death or massacre but by law. The Das family, headed by B.K Das was an aristocratic family who dealt in furniture making. They had a huge bungalow, ‘Lakshmi Villa’ on the outskirts of Dhaka, which became East Pakistan when the Partition of India was announced.

The other family was the Hussien, a family of lawyers and they used to live in a colony called the Shakespeare Sarnal in Kolkata. When the Partition was announced, the Hussiens thought it would be beneficial to leave India and begin a new life in their community in Dhaka. The Das family on the other side of the country in Dhaka were suddenly stuck with the fact that they needed to relocate to India.

Partition created a chasm in the world of these two families and they needed to cross this void of uncertainty to soak instability. Though it is not clear how the two families came into contact somehow the two families were united in their predicament and a decision was made. As both families had large families but no austerity of accommodation they decided to swap their houses in their respective destinations.

Lakshmi Villa was a luxurious bungalow but the Hussien’s had modest lodgings. The Das’ were dismayed at this but they had no option but to keep the part of their bargain as time was of the essence. And so the long trek from their homes to their future home began. While the Hussiens got Lakshmi Villa to its true promise, the Das' were not so fortunate. The Das family was stuck by the absurdity of their faith which was created by the brutality of the Partition laws.

The properties of the Muslims who left the country to go to East and West Pakistan were confiscated and labeled as ‘Enemy Properties’. That means that Das was not able to claim their swap deal because the law barred their way from entering Hussein’s residence. Life must have felt such a burden at that time when the Das, on reaching Kolkata had realized the moral and economic trap they had laid themselves in.

They were deprived of a roof over their heads and uncertainty met them at every corner as they tried to survive in a strange city. Somehow the Das' started their new home as they were wealthy just adjacent to the Hooghly river while they started legally claiming Hussein’s residence back. All this was happening in the 1960s when the country was in national turmoil.

The Das family tried very hard but then the unforeseen circumstances of life came in the way and the government without even informing the Das and the Hussiens demoralized the property leaving just a plot and caretaker in its place. A ruin of promises and memories. Arjun Das, the current so-called owner of Hussien’s residence shares the trauma of the whole ordeal when they fought with the government to no avail.

Eventually, time heals the wounds but the memories always come back, equally agonizing as if it is a matter of the previous day. This was one of the personal tragedies which must be compiled to relieve the pain of the past which was inflicted by Partition.