PM Modi announces August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that August 14 will now be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people, and said the pain of partition can never be forgotten. Modi noted that millions of people were displaced and many lost their lives due to the mindless hate and violence caused by the partition. May the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, the Prime Minister said, keep “reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony, and human empowerment”.
Prime Minister Modi tweeted:
Partition’s pains can never be forgotten. Millions of our sisters and brothers were displaced and many lost their lives due to mindless hate and violence. In memory of the struggles and sacrifices of our people, 14th August will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 14, 2021
Pakistan was carved out as a Muslim country after the division of India by the British in 1947. Millions of people were displaced and many lakhs of them lost their lives in the communal violence that followed. India will celebrate its 75th Independence Day on Sunday. Pakistan’s Independence Day falls on August 14. Hours after Modi’s announcement, the Union Home Ministry notified August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said Partition Horrors Remembrance Day will be a fitting tribute to all those who lost their lives due to the partition of the nation and were displaced from their roots. Declaration of such a day would remind the present and future generations of Indians of the pain and suffering faced by the people during the partition, it said.
“Independence Day, which is celebrated on August 15 every year, is a joyous and proud occasion for any nation; however, with the sweetness of freedom also came the trauma of partition. The birth of the newly independent Indian nation was accompanied by violent pangs of partition that left permanent scars on millions of Indians,” the I&B Ministry said.
The Ministry said the pain and violence of partition remain deeply etched in the nation’s memory. While the country has moved on to become the largest democracy and the third-largest economy of the world, the pain of partition suffered by the nation can never be forgotten. “While celebrating our Independence, a grateful nation also salutes those sons and daughters of our beloved motherland who had to sacrifice their lives in the frenzy of violence,” the I&B Ministry said in a statement. The partition caused one of the largest migrations in human history, affecting about 20 million people, it noted.
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