Delhi marks Partition Remembrance Day with survivors’ stories at museum gathering

Delhi’s post-Partition neighbourhoods took centre stage at a Partition Remembrance Day gathering on Friday, where survivors and their families revisited stories of displacement, loss and rebuilding.

The event was held at the Partition Museum and Cultural Hub inside the Dara Shikoh Library Building at Dr B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi. It marked the 79th anniversary of Partition and drew attention to localities including Lajpat Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Model Town and Khan Market, which became home to many families arriving from what became Pakistan.

Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who was due to attend as chief guest, sent a letter citing health issues. In it, he described Partition as the uprooting of millions and said Delhi still carries that history through neighbourhoods shaped by rehabilitation and resettlement.

Among those present was 84-year-old Jagmohan Bharadwaj, who left Sheikhupura district with his family as a child. Retired JNU professor Sudha Bhattacharya spoke of recording her parents’ memories after they began sharing them in 2002. Attendees later toured the museum’s visual exhibits. The commemoration follows Partition exhibitions at Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate Metro.