Overview

UPDATED FOR THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PARTITION ‘Puri does profound and elegant work bringing forgotten narratives back to life. It’s hard to convey just how important this book is’ Sathnam Sanghera ‘The most humane account of partition I’ve read ... We need a candid conversation about our past and this is an essential starting point’ Nikesh Shukla, Observer 'Thanks to Ms. Puri and others, [that] silence is giving way to inquisitive—and assertive—voices. In Britain, at least, the partitioned have learned to speak frankly of the past—and to search for ways to reckon with it' Wall Street Journal ________________________ Newly revised for the seventy-fifth anniversary of partition, Kavita Puri conducts a vital reappraisal of empire, revisiting the stories of those collected in the 2017 edition and reflecting on recent developments in the lives of those affected by partition. The division of the Indian subcontinent in 1947 into India and Pakistan saw millions uprooted and resulted in unspeakable violence. It happened far away, but it would shape modern Britain. Dotted across homes in Britain are people who were witnesses to one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. But their memory of partition has been shrouded in silence. In her eye-opening and timely work, Kavita Puri uncovers remarkable testimonies from former subjects of the Raj who are now British citizens – including her own father. Weaving a tapestry of human experience over seven decades, Puri reveals a secret history of ruptured families and friendships, extraordinary journeys and daring rescue missions that reverberates with compassion and loss. It is a work that breaks the silence and confronts the difficult truths at the heart of Britain’s shared past with South Asia.

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9781526638403

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Reviews

Puri does profound and elegant work bringing forgotten narratives back to life. It's hard to convey just how important this book is -- Sathnam Sanghera Probably the closest thing to a partition memorial ... Heartfelt and beautifully judged -- John Keay * Literary Review * Kavita Puri's book is the most humane account of partition I've read ... Partition Voices is important because Puri does not flinch as she dissects the tumultuous event, never shying away from the trauma ... We need a candid conversation about our past and this is an essential starting point -- Nikesh Shukla * Observer * Opens a fascinating and necessary conversation about contemporary Britain and its people - where they have come from, what they have done, and who they may now want to be -- Anjali Joseph * Times Literary Supplement * An original and moving collection of testimonies from British Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus about the transformative era of India's partition * Guardian, 50 Best Books of the Summer * With a masterful mix of history, biography and contemporary reportage, Puri crafts a fascinating account of the living memory of South Asia in modern Britain. This book brings together a rich and disparate chronicle of lives ripped apart and remade by the trauma of partition, and deftly traces how the diaspora of post-colonial India and Pakistan helped to reshape the UK. Perceptive, enriching, shocking and joyful, Puri's is a powerful and courageous book for multicultural Britain -- Tristram Hunt Confronts the difficult truths at the heart of Britain's shared - and often ignored - shared history with South Asia * Stylist, Best non-fiction books of 2019 * An important book ... Changed the way I see the world -- Jeremy Vine An intimate, moving and important book by a daughter of partition. Kavita Puri reveals untold stories of those who lived through one of the most violent political earthquakes of the twentieth century. These are stories we need to hear -- Kirsty Wark This collection reveals how families are still impacted generations down the line and is a crucial read for understanding South Asian history * Cosmopolitan * An amazing, deeply moving book -- Dan Snow The most extraordinary book. The prologue already had me in tears. This is history - often being told out loud for the very first time ... The book of 2019 that opened my eyes more than anything else. Seminal work, beautifully told -- Emily Maitlis A powerful and timely work. Kavita Puri coaxes often unspeakable and unspoken memories from a time of unimaginable trauma. A must-read for those interested in the fault lines in today's geopolitics -- Anita Anand Powerful, compelling and heartbreaking - these are stories of division and conflict rescued from the past that offer valuable lessons for the present -- Sarfraz Manzoor Partition Voices takes its place alongside other valuable books on partition such as Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and Urvashi Butalia's The Other Side of Silence -- Amit Roy * Eastern Eye * An evocative book that leaves you breathless with its human predicament and gives voice to stories long held prisoner to silence ... Nobody has ever brought out the stories of South Asians now settled in the United Kingdom ... Kudos to Kavita Puri for documenting Partition's lasting legacy in Britain, an irony in itself. It is a unique book, one that lives with you long after the stories end -- Ziya Us Salam * Frontline Magazine * Puri's excellent book is a welcome antidote to British amnesia over its colonial legacy. Partition is not just an Indian story, it is a British one too * All About History * An important document of those turbulent times - raw and unbiased -- Bishwanath Ghosh * The Hindu *

Puri does profound and elegant work bringing forgotten narratives back to life. It's hard to convey just how important this book is -- Sathnam Sanghera Probably the closest thing to a partition memorial ... Heartfelt and beautifully judged -- John Keay * Literary Review * Kavita Puri's book is the most humane account of partition I've read ... Partition Voices is important because Puri does not flinch as she dissects the tumultuous event, never shying away from the trauma ... We need a candid conversation about our past and this is an essential starting point -- Nikesh Shukla * Observer * Opens a fascinating and necessary conversation about contemporary Britain and its people - where they have come from, what they have done, and who they may now want to be -- Anjali Joseph * Times Literary Supplement * An original and moving collection of testimonies from British Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus about the transformative era of India's partition * Guardian, 50 Best Books of the Summer * With a masterful mix of history, biography and contemporary reportage, Puri crafts a fascinating account of the living memory of South Asia in modern Britain. This book brings together a rich and disparate chronicle of lives ripped apart and remade by the trauma of partition, and deftly traces how the diaspora of post-colonial India and Pakistan helped to reshape the UK. Perceptive, enriching, shocking and joyful, Puri's is a powerful and courageous book for multicultural Britain -- Tristram Hunt Confronts the difficult truths at the heart of Britain's shared - and often ignored - shared history with South Asia * Stylist, Best non-fiction books of 2019 * An important book ... Changed the way I see the world -- Jeremy Vine An intimate, moving and important book by a daughter of partition. Kavita Puri reveals untold stories of those who lived through one of the most violent political earthquakes of the twentieth century. These are stories we need to hear -- Kirsty Wark This collection reveals how families are still impacted generations down the line and is a crucial read for understanding South Asian history * Cosmopolitan * An amazing, deeply moving book -- Dan Snow The most extraordinary book. The prologue already had me in tears. This is history - often being told out loud for the very first time ... The book of 2019 that opened my eyes more than anything else. Seminal work, beautifully told -- Emily Maitlis A powerful and timely work. Kavita Puri coaxes often unspeakable and unspoken memories from a time of unimaginable trauma. A must-read for those interested in the fault lines in today's geopolitics -- Anita Anand Powerful, compelling and heartbreaking - these are stories of division and conflict rescued from the past that offer valuable lessons for the present -- Sarfraz Manzoor Partition Voices takes its place alongside other valuable books on partition such as Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and Urvashi Butalia's The Other Side of Silence -- Amit Roy * Eastern Eye * An evocative book that leaves you breathless with its human predicament and gives voice to stories long held prisoner to silence ... Nobody has ever brought out the stories of South Asians now settled in the United Kingdom ... Kudos to Kavita Puri for documenting Partition's lasting legacy in Britain, an irony in itself. It is a unique book, one that lives with you long after the stories end -- Ziya Us Salam * Frontline Magazine * Puri's excellent book is a welcome antidote to British amnesia over its colonial legacy. Partition is not just an Indian story, it is a British one too * All About History * An important document of those turbulent times - raw and unbiased -- Bishwanath Ghosh * The Hindu * Partition Voices brings the difficulty of how we pass on stories across generations into a moving and beautiful focus. It is a book of witness and testimony that should have the widest readership possible * Edmund de Waal *

Puri does profound and elegant work bringing forgotten narratives back to life. It's hard to convey just how important this book is -- Sathnam Sanghera Probably the closest thing to a partition memorial ... Heartfelt and beautifully judged -- John Keay * Literary Review * Kavita Puri's book is the most humane account of partition I've read ... Partition Voices is important because Puri does not flinch as she dissects the tumultuous event, never shying away from the trauma ... We need a candid conversation about our past and this is an essential starting point -- Nikesh Shukla * Observer * Opens a fascinating and necessary conversation about contemporary Britain and its people - where they have come from, what they have done, and who they may now want to be -- Anjali Joseph * Times Literary Supplement * An original and moving collection of testimonies from British Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus about the transformative era of India's partition * Guardian, 50 Best Books of the Summer * With a masterful mix of history, biography and contemporary reportage, Puri crafts a fascinating account of the living memory of South Asia in modern Britain. This book brings together a rich and disparate chronicle of lives ripped apart and remade by the trauma of partition, and deftly traces how the diaspora of post-colonial India and Pakistan helped to reshape the UK. Perceptive, enriching, shocking and joyful, Puri's is a powerful and courageous book for multicultural Britain -- Tristram Hunt Confronts the difficult truths at the heart of Britain's shared - and often ignored - shared history with South Asia * Stylist, Best non-fiction books of 2019 * An important book ... Changed the way I see the world -- Jeremy Vine An intimate, moving and important book by a daughter of partition. Kavita Puri reveals untold stories of those who lived through one of the most violent political earthquakes of the twentieth century. These are stories we need to hear -- Kirsty Wark This collection reveals how families are still impacted generations down the line and is a crucial read for understanding South Asian history * Cosmopolitan * An amazing, deeply moving book -- Dan Snow The most extraordinary book. The prologue already had me in tears. This is history - often being told out loud for the very first time ... The book of 2019 that opened my eyes more than anything else. Seminal work, beautifully told -- Emily Maitlis A powerful and timely work. Kavita Puri coaxes often unspeakable and unspoken memories from a time of unimaginable trauma. A must-read for those interested in the fault lines in today's geopolitics -- Anita Anand Powerful, compelling and heartbreaking - these are stories of division and conflict rescued from the past that offer valuable lessons for the present -- Sarfraz Manzoor Partition Voices takes its place alongside other valuable books on partition such as Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and Urvashi Butalia's The Other Side of Silence -- Amit Roy * Eastern Eye * An evocative book that leaves you breathless with its human predicament and gives voice to stories long held prisoner to silence ... Nobody has ever brought out the stories of South Asians now settled in the United Kingdom ... Kudos to Kavita Puri for documenting Partition's lasting legacy in Britain, an irony in itself. It is a unique book, one that lives with you long after the stories end -- Ziya Us Salam * Frontline Magazine * Puri's excellent book is a welcome antidote to British amnesia over its colonial legacy. Partition is not just an Indian story, it is a British one too * All About History * An important document of those turbulent times - raw and unbiased -- Bishwanath Ghosh * The Hindu * Partition Voices is a book of witness and testimony that should have the widest readership possible. It brings the difficulty of how we pass on stories across generations into a moving and beautiful focus ... An essential book, remarkable in its reach and power * Edmund de Waal *

Probably the closest thing to a partition memorial ... Heartfelt and beautifully judged -- John Keay * Literary Review * Kavita Puri's book is the most humane account of partition I've read ... Partition Voices is important because Puri does not flinch as she dissects the tumultuous event, never shying away from the trauma ... We need a candid conversation about our past and this is an essential starting point -- Nikesh Shukla * Observer * With a masterful mix of history, biography and contemporary reportage, Puri crafts a fascinating account of the living memory of South Asia in modern Britain. This book brings together a rich and disparate chronicle of lives ripped apart and remade by the trauma of partition, and deftly traces how the diaspora of post-colonial India and Pakistan helped to reshape the UK. Perceptive, enriching, shocking and joyful, Puri's is a powerful and courageous book for multicultural Britain -- Tristram Hunt An important book ... Changed the way I see the world -- Jeremy Vine An intimate, moving and important book by a daughter of partition. Kavita Puri reveals untold stories of those who lived through one of the most violent political earthquakes of the twentieth century. These are stories we need to hear -- Kirsty Wark The most extraordinary book. The prologue already had me in tears. This is history - often being told out loud for the very first time ... The book of 2019 that opened my eyes more than anything else. Seminal work, beautifully told -- Emily Maitlis A powerful and timely work. Kavita Puri coaxes often unspeakable and unspoken memories from a time of unimaginable trauma. A must-read for those interested in the fault lines in today's geopolitics -- Anita Anand Powerful, compelling and heartbreaking - these are stories of division and conflict rescued from the past that offer valuable lessons for the present -- Sarfraz Manzoor Partition Voices takes its place alongside other valuable books on partition such as Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan and Urvashi Butalia's The Other Side of Silence -- Amit Roy * Eastern Eye * An evocative book that leaves you breathless with its human predicament and gives voice to stories long held prisoner to silence ... Nobody has ever brought out the stories of South Asians now settled in the United Kingdom ... Kudos to Kavita Puri for documenting Partition's lasting legacy in Britain, an irony in itself. It is a unique book, one that lives with you long after the stories end -- Ziya Us Salam * Frontline Magazine * Puri's excellent book is a welcome antidote to British amnesia over its colonial legacy. Partition is not just an Indian story, it is a British one too * All About History * Opens a fascinating and necessary conversation about contemporary Britain and its people - where they have come from, what they have done, and who they may now want to be -- Anjali Joseph * Times Literary Supplement * An important document of those turbulent times - raw and unbiased -- Bishwanath Ghosh * The Hindu *

Author Information

Kavita Puri is an award-winning BBC journalist, executive producer and broadcaster. She presents documentaries on Radio 4 and the World Service including The Inquiry. She devised, wrote and presented the landmark three-part series Partition Voices for Radio 4, which won the Royal Historical Society’s Radio and Podcast Award and its overall Public History Prize. It is currently being adapted for the stage by the Donmar Warehouse in London with Tara Theatre. She is the creator and presenter of the critically acclaimed Radio 4 series Three Pounds in My Pocket, which charts the social history of British South Asians from the post-war years. It is on its fifth series. While editor of Our World, its foreign documentaries were recognised with awards including the Royal Television Society and the Foreign Press Association. She worked for many years at Newsnight and studied Law at Cambridge University.

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