The Partition of India

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The Partition of India

• Roots Hindu-Muslims riots in 1881
• Time August 14, 1947birth of the Islamic
  Republic of Pakistan / August 15birth of the
  secular state of India
• A moment comes, which comes but rarely in
  history, when we step out from the old to the
  new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a
  nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.
  Jawaharlal Nehru

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Timeline 1

• 1600-British East India Company is established.
• 1905-First Partition of Bengal for administrative
  purposes. Gives the Muslims a majority in that
  state.
• 1906-All India Muslim League founded to promote
  Muslim political interests.
• 1909-Revocation of Partition of Bengal. Creates
  anti-British and anti-Hindu sentiments among
  Muslims as they lose their majority in East
  Bengal.

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Timeline 2

• 1929-Congress calls for full independence.
• 1930-Dr. Allama Iqbal, a poet-politician, calls
  for a separate homeland for the Muslims.
• 1940-Jinnah calls for establishment of Pakistan
  in an independent and partitioned India.
• 1947-Announcement of Lord Mountbatten's plan for
  partition of India, 3 June. Partition of India
  and Pakistan, 15 August.
• 1971-East Pakistan separates from West Pakistan
  and Bangladesh is born.

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Impact and Aftermath

• "ghost trains"
• 15 million refugees
• Division of the provinces of Punjab and Bengal,
• Ruined economies and lands no established,
  experienced system of government.
• Separation of Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1971.
• Wars between India and Pakistan deadlocked over
  Kashmir.

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EARTH (1998)

• Director Deepa Mehta
• Adapted from Bapsi Sidhwa's semi-autobiographical
  novel Cracking India
• Setting Lahore

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Deepa Mehta

• Born in India in 1949
• Based in Toronto since 1973
• Her Indian film trilogy
• Firelesbian plot
• Earththe partition of India
• Waterlives of Indian widows in the 1930s
• What is the meaning of the films title?

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EARTHNarrative Structure

• Narrative frame Lenny 58 (1997) Lenny 8
  (1947)
• A childs perspectivea witness of the trauma of
  partition
• the breaking up of the nation, the violence, and
  the distortion of human nature (the image of
  lion, beast)love and sexuality
• Why does the director choose to tell the story
  from Lennys perspective?
• innocence Parsees neutrality

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EARTHThemes and Motifs

• Religious and ethnic conflictsMuslims, Hindus,
  Sikhs migrations and uprooting (6 million Muslims
  to Pakistan 5 million Hindus and Sikhs to India)
• What are the metaphors for partition in the film?
• broken plate, torn doll
• Indian customs kite flying, Child bride
• The Parsees and their identity problem
• Lovea love triangle
• Park
• What are the significances of the park
  scenes?What is the symbolic meaning of the park?

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EARTHCharacters

• Who is your favorite character in the film and
  why?
• Compare the characters of Hassen and Dil Navaz.
• Discuss Dil Navazs changes in the film. Why do
  think the original novel is subtitled The Ice
  candy Man
• What do you think about the betrayal at the end
  of the film?