never set eyes

on the land TOOLKIT

LEARNING

The story of the largest mass migration

in the history of the world.

‘The train that we were

supposed to go on, somehow
we couldn’t go on that train.
Next day we heard, it came into
the news, that train arrived
into Lahore fully slaughtered…
not a single person survived.
#neverseteyes Our relations came to see us at
Lahore, to receive us, and they
couldn’t find us. For them,
we were just gone – finished.’
nutkhut.co.uk
– Mr Malik
Oral history interviewee

1 1
Never again we say. never set
eyes on
Then it happens again, and we are not stopping it.
– ‘Never set eyes on the land’ installation visitor

Our approach
We aim to bring art and heritage together
to make history more accessible. We’re
passionate about the power of creativity to
‘Growing up half Pakistani and
half Indian, I was always taught
the values the two countries shared
the land...
promote a deeper understanding of complex
but never looked into the history.
It is heart breaking to learn of the
past events through a cross-curricular
approach wherever possible. In our experience struggles our ancestors faced and Contents
the seeds of emotional engagement are first I hope to teach my children the
Toolkit overview.................................................................... 4-5 How are the effects of partition still felt today?.......... 11
sown through art, drama or creative writing. history of their roots and embrace
Without this initial hook, young people are less the values and culture of both people. The ‘Never set eyes on the land’ project............... 6 How is all this relevant to a child living in Britain
in the 21st century?....................................................................... 11
likely to see the relevance of the subject matter It is important to remember our Partition by W.H. Auden ...................................................... 7
to their own lives. similarities and love for each other.’ Partition Timeline.................................................. 12-13
Historical Background
Who’s who in Partition......................................................... 14-15
– Never set eyes on the land What is partition?...........................................................................8
Learning Activities
installation visitor Why were the British in India?.................................................8 Suitcase Detective (Introductory)........................................ 16

‘Emotional engagement is a feature What was life like under British rule?...................................8 Trouble Brewing (History).................................................... 17-19
of effective teaching of controversial What were the causes of partition?.................................... 9 Drawing the Line (Geography)........................................... 20
issues. i.e. students have to want How did people decide how to divide
to care enough about the issues to A note on this toolkit the country?..................................................................................... 9
Survivor Stories (Drama, History)...................................21-25

arouse both their curiosity and their This toolkit is inspired by the memories that
In their Shoes (English)....................................................... 26-27
What happened once the new borders
willingness to engage fully with the partition survivors from all four corners of Take a Stand (British Values/PSHE)....................................28
were announced?...................................................................... 10
questions that are likely to require London so generously shared with us.
A Living Legacy........................................................................ 29
hard thinking and problem-solving.’ What criticisms do people have of partition
Partition continues to be an emotive and and the way it was carried out?......................................... 10 Finding out more.................................................................... 30
– T.E.A.C.H. (Teaching Emotive and controversial subject, particularly among
Controversial history), A Report from people whose families were directly affected
The Historical Association, 2007 by it. Teachers should be aware that there may
be disparities between the contents of this
toolkit and the way that this period of history
has been shared in families and communities.
Please approach it sensitively.

Much of this toolkit focuses on the partition

experience in Punjab, largely because this
reflects the experience of the survivors we
interviewed. This should in no way diminish the
experience of those displaced elsewhere in
India, particularly Bengal, where over 300,000
people were forced to cross the border
between east and west.

2 3
What is never set
eyes on the land?
‘Never set eyes on the land’ is an arts project starting a conversation
about the largest mass migration in the history of the world – triggered by
the partition of India in 1947. Over several months in 2018 we met with ‘‘It is an important experience to see and feel and hear their stories.
community groups, schools and partition survivors to research and This is what humanity is about. We all shape what we become and it is
explore this defining moment in world history. This toolkit provides a important that we share that together.’
legacy for the project. We aim to promote awareness about the – ‘Never set eyes on the land’ installation visitor
devastating human cost of this event and its relevance to young people
living in Britain today.

Who is this toolkit for? How does this toolkit link to There are also links to the British Values, Drama Feel free to use the suggested
and English curricula. class activities as they are or
It’s mainly designed for KS2 and KS3 teachers. the curriculum?
expand on or alter them. You might
However, anyone interested in the partition of The British Empire is first covered in Key Stage 3 The activities in this pack could form the basis
like to use the resource list at the back of
India or migration will find it useful. of the current History curriculum. of a cross-curricular post-SATS project for Year
the toolkit to conduct some more in-depth
6 students at KS2.
At KS3 India appears three times as a non- research with your class, focusing
What will I find in this toolkit? statutory example in three key areas described particularly on areas that interest them.
You’ll find: by the National Curriculum:
How should I use the toolkit?
• A brief overview of the partition of India. However is most useful to you!
• T he development of church, state and society
• Accompanying British Values, English, History in Britain 1509-1745. We’ve designed it as a springboard from
and Drama-based activities to complete with which to explore the partition story, rather
• The first colony in America and first contact
your class. than a stand-alone resource.
with India.
• A list of resources to help you find out more. • Ideas, political power, industry and empire:
Britain, 1745-1901.
• The development of the British Empire with a
depth study (for example, of India).
•C
 hallenges for Britain, Europe and the wider
world 1901 to the present day.
• Indian independence and end of Empire.
National curriculum in England: history programmes
of study, Published 11th September 2013

4 5
Who are we (Nutkhut)? Why never set
Nutkhut (Sanskrit for mischievous) is an
ideas-led, art-focused performance ‘The silence around partition spoke eyes on the land?
company creating work mixing performance, of the trauma and pain of this
dance, film and participation. We are often global event and I wanted to ensure ‘Never set eyes on the land’ is a phrase taken from W.H. Auden’s scathing
inspired by historical people and places that this period of history was not poem Partition. The poem focuses on Cyril Radcliffe, the British judge asked
and tell universal stories that bring people forgotten or swept under the carpet, to draw the boundary lines for the new India and Pakistan. Radcliffe arrived
together in unexpected ways. We’re London- like many aspects of British in India for the first time on 8 July 1947. The borders were finalised on 12 August,
based and led by co-Artistic Directors Ajay
colonial history.’ just five short weeks later. Then he left the country, never to return. Radcliffe
Chhabra and Simmy Gupta.
– Ajay Chhabra, Artistic Director, refused his fee for the work, burned all associated papers and maps and
‘Never set eyes on the land’
What did we do? refused to talk to anybody, even his family, about what happened. You can
In 2018 we started to explore the partition find the full text of the poem below.
of India through a comprehensive public
engagement programme including:

Partition, W.H.Auden, 1966

Twenty-seventeen marked the 70th anniversary
• A training programme for a group of
of the independence of India and Pakistan.
committed community volunteers.
Most partition survivors are now rapidly
• Oral history interviews with partition survivors.
approaching old age. If we don’t reach out Unbiased at least he was when he arrived on his mission,
• A series of exploratory creative workshops
and listen now, the opportunity to hear their Having never set eyes on the land he was called to partition
with community groups and schools
voices will be gone forever. Between two peoples fanatically at odds,
throughout greater London.
With their different diets and incompatible gods.
• An immersive installation in a shipping
We’re also convinced of the need to raise the “Time,” they had briefed him in London, “is short. It’s too late
container that travelled around some of the
profile of this tragedy as the world faces a For mutual reconciliation or rational debate:
biggest South Asian festivals in the capital –
global refugee crisis on a scale not seen since The only solution now lies in separation.
including London Mela, Greenwich
the Second World War. Unfortunately the events The Viceroy thinks, as you will see from his letter,
& Docklands Festival and Croydon
we touch on here continue to have a chilling That the less you are seen in his company the better,
International Mela.
resonance today. So we’ve arranged to provide you with other accommodation.
• A short film brought to life with an original
soundtrack and animation highlighting the We can give you four judges, two Moslem and two Hindu,
personal testimony of our partition survivors An untold story? To consult with, but the final decision must rest with you.”
alongside our archival research. For many who lived through it, partition remains Shut up in a lonely mansion, with police night and day
too painful to discuss. The children and Patrolling the gardens to keep the assassins away,
Why did we do it? grandchildren of partition survivors are often He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate
left with a sense that a lot remains unsaid. Of millions. The maps at his disposal were out of date
We decided to launch the Never set eyes on
the land project because these stories are too And the Census Returns almost certainly incorrect,
The events of 1947 are unlikely to be familiar But there was no time to check them, no time to inspect
important to be forgotten. The more we found
to many living in the UK today, as learning Contested areas. The weather was frightfully hot,
out about what happened in India in 1947, the
about them is not a statutory requirement of And a bout of dysentery kept him constantly on the trot,
more we felt compelled to share what we learnt
the national curriculum. Adding to all this is the But in seven weeks it was done, the frontiers decided,
with as many people as we could.
fact that the events are complex, unwieldy, A continent for better or worse divided.
contentious and deeply harrowing. This painful
‘So distressing when mass migration The next day he sailed for England, where he could quickly forget
event in our collective memory seems distant
70 years later is still the narrative of The case, as a good lawyer must. Return he would not,
and unexplored. We hope this work will make
Afraid, as he told his Club, that he might get shot.
our time.’ some small inroads into ensuring these stories
– Never set eyes on the land installation visitor find their way out of the silence and back into
our collective consciousness.

Glossary
Mutual reconciliation: Restoring respect on both sides
Contested: Causing an argument
Dysentery: Infection of the intestines causing
severe diarrhoea
Club: A private social club for British upper-class men

6 7
 What were the
What is Why were the
British in India? causes of partition?

partition?
British interests in India date back
to the early 1600s, when British A lot of Indians opposed British rule and How did people
merchants began regular maritime wanted to govern themselves. Many felt decide how to divide
trade with the ‘East Indies’. By the let down by the British, who they thought the country?
middle of the nineteenth century,
were using their country for its wealth and A British judge, Cyril Radcliffe, was
the British dominated India,
On the stroke of midnight on 14-15 August extracting revenues and resources for soldiers to fight British battles, like the sent to India to decide how to split
Second World War (1939-1945). it up. The idea was that Muslim-
1947 British India was split into two new and recruiting a large army from
majority areas would be joined
among the Indian population.
independent nation states – Hindu-majority Non-violent activist Mahatma Gandhi together to form a new Muslim
India had become “the jewel in
India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. After the crown of empire”. launched the ‘Quit India’ campaign in 1942 homeland. However, partition was
almost 200 years the British had decided to easier in principle than in practice.
to try to put pressure on the British to leave.
leave. Pakistan was a single country split What was life like Radcliffe had never visited India
After the war, escalating tensions between
across two different areas that were over under British rule? before and the census returns and
India’s politicians, and rioting in the mixed maps he was given to work from
British rule in India always
1000 miles apart. East Pakistan has since provinces of Punjab and Bengal, added a were often inaccurate. Hindus,
depended on local allies and
become Bangladesh. supporters. For some Indians, sense of urgency. As disorder spread, the Muslims and Sikhs were dispersed
across Punjab. The situation was so
Sixteen million people decided to migrate British rule provided opportunities. British wanted out – and quickly.
complex that Radcliffe’s advisors,
For many others, it brought poverty,
across the newly formed borders, most by sent to him to provide local
hunger and suffering. The vast
train or foot. Up to a million died or were majority of Indians had little access
expertise, couldn’t agree on the
best way forward.
killed on the way. to education or to the comforts
of modern technology. When the
‘At the stroke of the midnight hour,
British left in 1947, 99% of India’s
when the world sleeps, India will awake villages had no electricity. Indian
to life and freedom.’ babies born in 1947 could expect to
– Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India live, on average, for just 32 years.

‘As long as we rule India,

we are the greatest power
in the world. If we lose it,
we shall drop straight away
to a third rate power’
– George Curzon, Viceroy of India 1899-1905

9
What happened once the How are the effects of partition
still felt today?
How is all this relevant to a child
living in Britain in the 21st century?

new borders were announced?

India and Pakistan are still deeply divided, There are few families of Indian or
and went to war in 1965, 1971 and 1999. Pakistani origin in the UK that are
The border between them is still one of the untouched in some way by this event.
most difficult in the world to cross. Some In fact, most of the migration from South
Nobody involved in the process could have There was widespread panic. Horrific violence
families torn apart by events in the 1940s are Asia to the UK in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s can
guessed just how many families would be occurred on both sides, with people of all
unable to reunite even today. be traced back in some way to
forced to cross the new borders, and how backgrounds becoming both victims and
partition and its catastrophic effects.
many communities would be cut in two. aggressors. Family homes were looted or set Tension still simmers between the countries,
The provinces of Punjab, in the Northwest, on fire, sometimes before the last people had with governments and the military deliberately Children without links to India and Pakistan
and Bengal, in the northeast, were divided left. Massacres happened on a huge scale – stirring up emotions on both sides about the can also engage with partition’s universal themes
to create West and East Pakistan. with trainloads of bloody corpses arriving at events of 1947. They disagree about who – survival, difference vs. similarity
stations and whole villages ambushed and should rule Kashmir, in the north of India. and what constitutes home.
In Punjab, millions of Muslims crossed into
burned to the ground. You’re even unable to fly direct from the
Pakistan, and millions of Hindus and Sikhs
capital of India, Delhi, to the capital of Pakistan,
attempted to move the other way into India.
Islamabad.

People are particularly worried as India and

Pakistan both have nuclear weapons. Some
have even pointed to partition as a contributing
factor for the growth in religious extremists on
both sides and related terrorism and violence.
Seventy years later, the after effects of 1947
Special refugee trains, filled to bursting when they set out, suffered linger on.
repeated ambushes along the way. All too often they crossed the border
in funereal silence, blood seeping from under their carriage doors.’ Partition helps us to see how
connected communities in South
– Nisid Hajari, author of Midnight’s Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India’s Partition.
Asia and in Britain are – and to
remind us of the dangers of
dividing communities.
– Dr Gavin Rand, Principal Lecturer in History,
What criticisms do people University of Greenwich
have of partition and the way
it was carried out?
• The borders were drawn up using out of
date maps and census returns – so Radcliffe
had incorrect information about the people
and territory he was dividing.

• The British left the country very quickly,

and there were many issues that were not
properly sorted out before they went.

• There were insufficient troops to keep order

during the partition, and most British soldiers
in India were confined to barracks. Only
seven British lives were lost in their retreat,
compared to hundreds of thousands of
Indian lives.

• Many people see the British government as

out of touch and uncaring.

10 11
Partition
Timeline
20th February March 15th April 3rd June 1st July 8th July 14th August 15th August 17th September 21st November
1947 1947 1947 1947 1947 1947 1947 1947 1947 1947
British Prime Violent clashes Gandhi, leader The plan to The Partition Cyril Radcliffe, Independence Independence First British Troops More than eight
minister Attlee between Muslims, of the ‘Quit India’ partition India is Council is formed British judge Day in Pakistan Day in India sail from Bombay million people
states that they Sikhs and Hindus movement, and made public asked to draw leave Punjab
intend to grant in Lahore and Jinnah, leader via radio up the new
independence Amritsar of the All India boundary, arrives
not later than Muslim League, in India for the
June 1948 appeal for first time
peace

“The partition has often been

studied as a key moment in
“The National Archives holds South Asian history but its global
a wealth of material covering significance is sometimes
the period up to and including overlooked - not least in Britain.
Partition. Nutkhut’s Never Set Eyes Partition is rarely taught in schools
on the land has created a unique and few people understand how
opportunity for people to access the events of 1947 were shaped
this extraordinary but largely by British imperialism, or how
hidden history through the National the partition and its after-effects
Archive’s collection. We are influenced patterns of migration
delighted to have been able to to Britain.
support this exceptional project.” Dr Gavin Rand, University of
Iqbal Husain, The National Greenwich
Archives

12 13
 Who’s who in Partition
Lord Louis Sir Cyril Jawaharlal Muhammad Mahatma Mridula
Mountbatten Radcliffe Nehru Ali Jinnah Gandhi Sarabhai
Born: 25 June 1900, Born: 30 March 1899, Born: 14 November 1889, Born: 25 December 1876, Born: 2 September 1869, Born: 6 May 1911
Windsor, England Llanychan, Wales Allahabad, Northern India Karachi, present-day Pakistan present-day Gujarat, Died: 26 Oct 1974
Died: 27 Aug 1979 – aged 79 Died: 1 Apr 1977 – aged 78 Died: 27 May 1964 – aged 74 Died: 11 Sept 1948 – aged 71 North Western India Religion: Jainism
Religion: Christian Religion: Christian Religion: Hindu Religion: Muslim Died: 30 Jan 1948 – aged 78
Religion: Hindu

Involvement in partition: Involvement in partition: Involvement in partition: Involvement in partition: Involvement in partition: Involvement in partition:
•F  ormer soldier who was Viceroy • British Judge paid to decide • Wanted India to be free of • Leader of the All-India • Former leader of the Indian • Worked alongside Gandhi in
of India* at the time of partition. where to draw the dividing British rule and to become a Muslim League. National Congress political the Indian National Congress
• Brought the date of partition line on the map between secular, modern country. • Wanted Muslims to have party. political party.
forward by ten months, to India and Pakistan. • Became first Prime Minster their own secular, modern • Wanted India to be free of • Wanted India to be free of
August 1947. • Arrived in India for the first of India. country once the British left. British rule. British rule.
time just five weeks before Did you know? • Became first Governor- • Set up a movement of non- • Rushed to the Punjab
Did you know?
he had to submit his final • Nehru studied Law at General of Pakistan. violent protests called the once she heard of the riots
• Mountbatten had connections
plan to carve up a country Cambridge University. ‘Quit India’ campaign. breaking out and attempted
to the British Royal family – he Did you know?
that was home to almost • On Nehru’s birthday every • Wanted all faiths to live to keep the peace.
was the great grandson of • J innah loved Shakespeare
400 million people. year Indians celebrate Bal peacefully side by side. • In charge of helping women
Queen Victoria. Prince Louis, when he was younger and
• Never returned to India to Diwas (Children’s Day) – who ended up on the wrong
the Duke and Duchess of wanted to be a professional Did you know?
see the devastating effects which promotes the rights, side of the new border
Cambridge’s third baby, is actor, but had to give it up • Gandhi was nominated for
of his decisions. care and education after independence was
said to be named after him. because his father didn’t like the Nobel Peace Prize five
of children. declared.
• Mountbatten was felt by Did you know? the idea. times.
many, including Jinnah, to be • Radcliffe burned all his The achievement we celebrate
• When he was twenty • Gandhi’s birthday is a Did you know?
over-friendly with Nehru and partition-related paperwork today is a step, an opening of
Jinnah became the youngest national holiday in India as • As a child of ten she worked
congress. and refused his £3000 fee opportunity, to the greater
Indian ever to pass his well as the International Day with the Vanara Sena (or
from the British government. achievements that await us.
English law exams. of Non-violence. Monkey Army) – a group
I have faith in the future of India
• The line he drew on the map Are we brave enough and
of child activists – and
and am proud to be with you all A division had to take place. In the democracy which I have
in 1947 is still known as the wise enough to grasp this
persuaded lots of people
at this momentous time. May On both sides, there are envisaged, a democracy
Radcliffe line. opportunity and accept the
not to buy British goods.
your decisions be wisely sections of people who may established by non-violence,
challenge of the future?
• She was put in jail by the
guided and may they be not agree with it, who may not there will be equal freedom for
British for walking in the Salt
carried out in the peaceful and – Nehru’s speech to the Constituent like it; but in my judgement all. Everybody will be his own
Assembly of India, August 14, 1947 March – a 24 day march in
friendly spirit of the Gandhi there was no other solution, master. It is to join a struggle for
1930 pointing out how unfair
Jinnah appeal. and I am sure future history will such democracy that I invite you
British taxes were.
– Mountbatten radio broadcast record its verdict in favour of it. today. Once you realise this you
on partition, June 4, 1947 • She was famous for wearing
– Jinnah’s first Presidential Address to will forget the differences
the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, men’s clothing and her short,
August 11, 1947 between the Hindus and
boyish haircut.
Muslims, and think of yourselves
as Indians only, engaged
in the common struggle for
© The Estate of Yousuf Karsh

independence.
– Gandhi speech to supporters at
Gowalia Tank Maidan park in
Bombay (now Mumbai), 8 August, 1942

*The Viceroy was the highest-ranking

government official in British India –
they were in charge of the country
14 15
 Student Hand Out

Suitcase Detective
Link to Never set eyes on the land We believe in the power of objects to tell stories.

‘My grandfather’s rice bowl,

the only surviving heirloom from
Sargodha, the ancestral home
and lands from which my father’s
family lived for centuries, became
the catalyst for this project.
Seven metals were used to make
this bowl… iron, copper, zinc,
brass, mercury, gold and silver,
over 100 years old, it is a symbolic
reminder of the past.
Ask for volunteers to talk through how they
– Ajay Chhabra, Artistic Director, Never set eyes arrived at their ideas. Explain that the suitcase
on the land
represents what a refugee finding themselves
We used specific objects as the basis on the wrong side of the Radcliffe line might
of creative work with both school and have packed to cross it during the partition
community groups. We did this in the of India in 1947. Use the rest of this pack to
project’s exploration phase. It was a introduce the basics. Alternatively, this BBC
fruitful way to start discussing complex animation provides a useful overview:
historical events. www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/40848391

More ideas
Curriculum focus: Ask students to write their own list of what they
Introductory activity might pack if confronted with a similar journey.
It might be useful to set up some ground rules
You will need Object image cards – either cut here. For example, everything must fit in a small
out or displayed on whiteboard. suitcase you can comfortably carry, or no tech/
gadgets allowed.
What to do
Explain that all the objects the students are Ask if anybody would like to share any migration
about to see were found in an old-fashioned stories of their own or that they know of from
brown leather suitcase. In pairs ask the their families.
students to decide:

• What are these objects?

• Who did the suitcase belong to?
• Why did they pack it?
• When did they pack it?
• Where they were going?
• How they were travelling?

16 17
Trouble Brewing
Link to Never set eyes on the land, The events of 1947 are complex and
contentious. For younger people they can sometimes feel dusty and
irrelevant. By giving a (fictional) name to those involved, and inviting students
to step into their shoes, we hope to create empathy and make partition
seem more relevant to their everyday lives.

Curriculum focus: History

You will need Debate Character
Cards (See overleaf)

One - What to do b. Take it in turns to read out your fact. Does it

Set the scene: a group of young people living in change the way anybody thinks?
the Punjab, in North West India, come together in c. Ask your question to another character of
the spring of 1947 to debate the idea of your choice.
independence and partition.
Four
Two Discuss as a group what surprised you about
Split into eight pairs or groups (or work alone the activity (if anything) and if your initial ideas
if you have a small group). Take some time to have developed or changed.
read over your character card. If you like try
to find a prop in the room that in some way Five
represents your character or make yourself a Look up where your character lives on a
name label. pre-partition and post-partition map (widely
available online). What do you think is most likely
Three - Time to debate! to have happened to your character after 14
a. Take it in turns to introduce your character August 1947? Share your findings with the group.
to the room and read out your key More ideas
information. What are the group’s initial Use your character card to write a diary entry or
thoughts? Who do you agree with? Who do letter from your character exploring their views
you disagree with? on partition more fully.

18 19
 Student Hand Out Student Hand Out

Frances Mandeep Sunila Harpinder

Wilkinson Sandhu Kapoor Singh
Age: 13 Age: 11 Age: 15 Age: 22
Living in: Malout Living in: Lahore Living in: Ludhiana Living in: Karachi
About: I have lived in About: I have lived in the About: At school we sing About: I am a Sikh but
India since my father middle of Lahore all my songs that Gandhi wrote fought for the British
moved here to work as an engineer when I was life. My family is Sikh and we have Muslim and when he was in prison. He is an inspiration to alongside my Muslim and Hindu brothers in
two. I love our servants and the sunny veranda Hindu neighbours. We all play together in the me and I share his vision that all faiths can live the Second World War. We became very close.
shaded by a mango tree. I overheard my parents street. We make a good living from our fruit and side-by-side in peace. I want the British to ‘Quit Many of my friends will choose to serve the new
talking about Indian independence last night. vegetable shop. People are saying that because India’ and give us a chance to do things our own Pakistani army after independence. But as a Sikh
It worried me because they said if it goes ahead Lahore is mostly Muslim that soon Sikhs like us way. They do not care about us and have no I will probably be forced to join the Indian army
there won’t be as many jobs and we would have won’t be welcome here. place here. and leave my home in Karachi. I will miss my
to go back to England. I can’t even remember friends and my British Commander hugely.
Fact: People of all faiths have been living Fact: In this country an Englishman who shoots
what England looks like and I would miss the hot
peacefully side-by-side in Lahore for many years. dead an Indian servant gets six months in jail Fact: Two-and-a-half million Indian soldiers of
weather and all my friends. India is my home!
and a small fine. An Indian convicted of trying to all faiths fought for the British in the Second
Question: The children on my street are
Fact: The British have been in India for rape an Englishwoman gets twenty years. World War.
saying that the British government will draw
almost two hundred years. Nobody in this room
the dividing line between the new India and Question: What business do the British have in Question: After all the upheaval of the Second
has even met anybody who was around before
Pakistan. How will they ensure they get it right India anyway? All they do is take our money and World War isn’t it time to think about coming
they came.
when they don’t know India like we do? try to stir up arguments between us. together peacefully – not drawing new lines to
Question: Why do you have more of a right to divide us?
call India your home than I do?

Amira Devinder Sanjay Karim

Shah Brar Kapoor Malik
Age: 14 Age: 10 Age: 19 Age: 17
Living in: Shimla Living in: Rawalpindi Living in: Lahore Living in: Amritsar
About: I am a Muslim About: I live with my About: I am a Hindu About: There are more
girl with a good job here family in a big house. studying politics and more fights between
in the kitchens of the Viceregal Lodge, where I Last week there were raids on nearby villages at university. I have been on ‘Quit India’ Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims now. I can’t see
work with my mother. My father was a soldier and I could see the fires raging from my bedroom demonstrations and refuse to buy anything what choice we have other than to split India in
who died in the Second World War. Shimla is window. Me and my younger brothers are not made by the British. India needs to move with two. But I’m worried about it being fair. As most
where all the rich and important British people allowed to go outside and play by ourselves any the times and look to a modern independent people who live in Amritsar are Muslim people
in India come to holiday in the summer. If they more. Our parents don’t want to talk about it, future. Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan sounds say the city will go to Pakistan once the borders
leave I don’t know what will happen to Shimla, but we are scared about what might happen next. forward-thinking and exciting. However I am are announced. I hope they are right or as a
or to me and my mother. worried about dividing a country up based on Muslim my life will be in danger here.
Fact: In March 1947 clashes between Muslims
Fact: British rule gave some Indians and Sikhs in the Rawalpindi area resulted in people’s religion – can it really work? Is there a
Fact: In the 1946 elections almost 90% of
opportunities and brought some technological many Sikh homes being looted and burned to better way to do it?
Muslims voted for the party that were pushing
advances to the country, including the railways. the ground. Fact: Since the British took over in 1770, for a new independent state of Pakistan.
Question: Everybody is talking about getting Question: I don’t have a problem with anybody famine has killed 35 million people.
Question: If Muslims are unsafe in India what
the British out of India, but what will happen to from any background. Why should I be forced to Question: How can we be sure that the choice do we have other than to have our own
all the Indians who are employed by them when move from my home just because of a bunch of British government will put our safety first new country?
they leave? politicians and protestors? when implementing their independence plan?
They haven’t shown us any respect in the last
200 years!

20 21
 Student Hand Out

Drawing the Line

Link to Never set eyes on the land Cyril Radcliffe, who’s often seen as a
hapless civil servant, had an impossible task. It inspired our title, Never set
eyes on the Land – taken from a W.H. Auden poem about partition. How do
you begin to fairly divide a country that is home to almost 400 million
people? As well as protecting people’s safety, how do you ensure that
physical resources, skills and knowledge are correctly allocated?

Curriculum focus: Geography

You will need More ideas

Copies of the Punjab map, red pens.

What to do
The Punjab is known as the ‘bread basket’ of
India as it produces a large proportion of the
country’s wheat and rice. Can you identify which
Survivor Stories
Could you do a better job than Cyril Radcliffe, Link to Never set eyes on the land The oral history interviews with partition
natural features make the ground so fertile?
the British judge asked to draw the dividing line
survivors we conducted form the backbone of the entire project. We
between two new independent countries? The border between India and Pakistan is almost
2000 miles long and runs through the Indian states feel privileged to have had the opportunity to capture these unique and
One
of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and the disputed valuable voices and hope the following extracts from the transcripts will
Look at the map of the contested area of the
territories of Jammu and Kashmir. Imagine walking give your students a personal insight into the tragic events. As well as
Punjab, in the north west. What do you think you
the border from the southern end, on the Arabian
should take into consideration when deciding raising some interesting questions about the nature of how we record and
sea, to the northern end, in the foothills of the
where to draw your line to make it fair to all sides? understand the past, we hope these will prove useful stimulus for drama-
Himalayas. What different landscapes and
Two features would you pass on your way? based activities. At Nutkhut we believe that performance can be a powerful
Work in pairs to draw your own line through way to explore difficult themes.
the province.

Three Curriculum focus: Drama, History

Present your line and reasoning to another pair
or the rest of the class. Who do you think would You will need Five
be happy with your decision? Who would be Oral history summaries. Discuss as a whole class what you’ve learned
unhappy? Why? about partition from the exercise.
One - What to do
Four Assign each pair an Oral history summary sheet More ideas
Take a look at the Radcliffe line. to read through. Watch the Nutkhut Never set eyes on the land
Does anything surprise you about film, which combines the oral history interviews
his decision? Do you think he
Two
with music, animation and archive material about
Ask the pair to write a list of further questions
had an easy job? partition – https://vimeo.com/294343308.
they would like to ask the interviewee, and to
Ask students to jot down any images, colours,
brainstorm potential responses.
words and sounds they notice, and use these
Three as the basis of a short poem about the subject.
Join up with another pair with the same
An oral history is a personal account of the past,
summary sheet and take it in turns to hot seat in
usually told to an interviewer. How reliable is it? Is
your role answering the other pair’s questions.
it useful? What ethical questions does it raise? Are
Four there any questions that should be off limits? What
Ask for volunteer pairs representing all three advice would you give an oral history interviewer?
interviewees to perform a section of the
From this exercise you can develop a one-
imagined interview to the room.
minute scripted dialogue piece for performance.

22 23
 Student Hand Out Student Hand Out

Mr. Malik
Oral history summary 1
Mrs. Knight
Oral history summary 2

I can still close I was extremely

my eyes and picture unhappy about
my old house, my leaving all my
street… if I was friends.
an artist I could Mrs Knight was a thirteen-year-old girl living

paint it. The journey

in Delhi at the time of partition. She moved
to England in 1959 to study at the institute of
these dogs, particularly King, had given us such
good service.’
‘The train that we were supposed to
education. She lived in Queensway and made
Mr Malik was a six-year-old boy living in go on, somehow we couldn’t go on ‘I had a Bible and it was totally mine in the sense
a living while studying by doing dishes at a
Delhi at the time of partition. His father was a that train. Next day we heard, it came into that my parents couldn’t read Urdu and my
student hostel. In 1961 she got a job teaching
Superintendent of the Federal Court of India the news, that train arrived into Lahore fully brother and sister both did Hindi. I was totally
biology and chemistry at a comprehensive
in Delhi during the British Raj. The family would slaughtered… not a single person survived. Our secure in the feeling that it was mine only. And I
school. Mrs Knight married Lionel, a British
spend six months of the year in Delhi and relations came to see us at Lahore, to receive us, had to leave it behind.’
history teacher with a love of India. They have
the other six months in the cooler climate of and they couldn’t find us. For them, we were just
children and grandchildren together and live The journey
Shimla, in the hills, when the heat of the city gone – finished.’
in Finchley, North London. They travel to India ‘In the event we were trying to take as much as
became too much to bear. Mr Malik moved to
‘All the ladies on the train changed themselves every year. Mrs Knight speaks five languages. possible, and we were in a truck – I wish I had
Stoke Newington in England in 1962, where he
out of burkas and into sarees so they looked like a photograph of it – and I was wearing all my
found work with an accounts department. He
Hindus. Karachi took us four days to reach. Name: Mrs Knight mother’s jewellery. I wore it all and I was in a
now lives in Tottenham, where he enjoys train
On the way there was a lot of hassle, I still Born: September 1933 chador* so I was covered completely, sitting
spotting and photography.
remember that. They used to stop the train in the Religion: Christian on the back of the truck with all our trunks and
middle of the night, in the pitch dark and people Home before partition: Delhi, capital of India things… we looked quite poor but if they had
Born: December 1938
used to make noise – shouting… we were scared, Home after partition: Allahabad, India – later found out I had all that jewellery there would have
Religion: Muslim
me and my cousins…that feeling was unbearable moved to Calcutta been a problem. We never went back.’
Home before partition: Delhi, capital of India
really. We didn’t know what was going to happen Distance travelled – 435 miles
Home after partition: Karachi, largest city in Life in her new home
the next moment.’
present day Pakistan Life before partition ‘They resented anyone not with a Muslim name.
Distance travelled: 677 miles Life in his new home ‘My father converted to Christianity when he was They had suffered you see. They didn’t want to
‘They took us off the train. We had nowhere to a student. So my first cousins were Hindus. I was know if you were a Christian if you looked Hindu
Life before partition
live... We lived in a camp for three days – queuing the youngest of three so my parents were more enough, and your name was Hindu.’
‘Next door we had Hindu neighbours… it was
up for food and everything. My father used to tell relaxed. I was playing around with the street
just like one big family. I still remember they used ‘What I was horrified at… some of my very good
me that he felt so embarrassed that we had to children as well as other professors’ children…
to have Diwali and other functions. We used to Muslim friends when the trains were coming from
stand in this queue to get food.’ ‘Then we started we never had a lot of money – ever. A professor’s
have Eid and other functions and we used to join Jammu with dead bodies of Hindus. Their mothers
off our life in Martin Road in Karachi. We found salary is quite limited. But we had everything to
together. It was just so nice.’ were dressing up in burkas and going to the
other families as well my father knew from Delhi.’ make us happy.’
railway station to look at those bodies, because
Finding out about partition ‘We missed… the good life really. Old friends,
Deciding to leave they said our relatives have also suffered. I think
‘The next-door neighbour, I don’t remember his school, the neighbours, family friends – we missed
‘We had three dogs. That was the saddest thing. people just completely forgot about their feelings
name, was a Hindu. He came to see my father and all that. We had to start a new life – new friends,
We brought the youngest, Prince. But King and – they were enraged and angry. Seeing it all
said “Mr Malik, I think it’s time for you to leave. My new neighbours, everything new, everything
Queen had to be left and I was broken hearted around you, you are affected by it.’
suggestion is there’s going to be a lot of trouble strange. It took us time to settle down… my father
for them. I said to my parents that we would never
in this area…things are going to be different very never enjoyed living there. He still missed Delhi, *Chador – a large piece of cloth wrapped around the head and body,
have left our own brothers and sisters and that leaving only the face showing.
soon.” My father then decided that we should go.’ but that was how life was.’

24 25
 Student Hand Out

Mr. Husain
Oral history summary 4

Mrs. Husain
Oral history summary 3 The only thing I
knew was that the
We were always name Gandhi was
asking w“ hy are they very prominent, the
fighting?”. Children name Jinnah was
don’t understand. very prominent. We knew there was going
He was a friend to be a partition, but we never knew
yesterday and now what that meant.
he is an enemy.
Mr Husain was a sixteen-year-old boy living house, that night Hindu people would be coming
Mrs Husain was a ten-year-old girl living in Finding out about partition in Badaun at the time of partition. He met his in to attack us – to attack the whole area: “So
Rawalpindi, in present day Pakistan, at the ‘The riots started in October 1946… everybody wife, a Sikh, on the boat over to England in 1960. there are vigilantes around to protect you but
time of partition. She met her husband, a started coming to our house and we were told Though he was Muslim they were immediately you will hear a lot of sounds. Don’t get disturbed.”
Muslim, on the boat over to England in 1960. not to go out. From the upstairs windows we could drawn to each other through a mutual love In the night we did hear the noises coming from
Though she was Sikh they were immediately see the burning. Fire – all the houses – and lots of traditional music and singing – and they outside. They didn’t allow the Hindus to come
drawn to each other through a mutual love of of shouting. They were shouting “Allahu Akbar”. entertained their fellow passengers by inside the area at all, so the real fight was outside,
traditional music and singing. They entertained There were lots of bodies. We were frightened.’ performing on tabla* and harmonium** together. but that’s when I realised that things were bad.’
their fellow passengers by performing on He lived in Shepherd’s Bush and took a job at
‘My grandfather was all the time stuck to the radio Life in his new home
tabla* and harmonium** together. Mrs Husain Selfridges, where he worked for 35 years. Mr
– the news and all that, what is happening…how ‘We reached Lahore and we went to this flat there.
studied art and design at the prestigious Husain has always been a keen traveller – and
many people have been killed, dead bodies – all In that flat there was nothing inside. No chairs, no
Heatherley School of Fine Art, and went on to has lots of stories from travelling all over Europe
that. It was frightening.’ benches – nothing. We went to the local market
work as a designer for the Oriental Carpet on his Vespa in the 1960s and an ambitious
and bought some mats made of tree bark – and
Manufacturers company. She lives with her ‘My grandfather made up his mind and we took all family road trip to Pakistan in 1975 in a little
we sat on that.’
husband in Lewisham, and they have a son – our belongings… we went by train…’ Skoda car. He still loves to sing and play music.
He lives with his wife in Lewisham, and they have ‘The problem was that the culture was so different
Iqbal – together. Life in her new home
a son – Iqbal – together. – we came from Utter Pradesh and we spoke
Name: Mrs. Husain ‘Dehra Dun was beautiful – lots of trees and
Urdu. There they spoke Punjabi. If you go to the
Born: December 1936 lychees, mangoes, all of that. We were children, Name: Mr Husain
market, you have to ask them in Punjabi. Only
Religion: Sikh we were just playing – but we knew there were Born: December 1931
my mother could speak Punjabi, so she had to
Home before partition: Rawalpindi, present refugees, there was a shortage of food – there Religion: Muslim
go with us everywhere we wanted. We thought
day Pakistan was all rationing – that I remember. There was not Home before partition: Badaun, India
the people were very rude. The way they talk, it
Home after partition: Dehra Dun, India enough wheat.’ Home after partition: Lahore, present-day Pakistan
looks like they’re fighting or they’re not very happy
Distance travelled: 370 miles Distance travelled: 374 miles
about it, so it seemed very rude for somebody
Life before partition Life before partition new like me! It was a completely different culture.’
‘We were happily living in a very big house *Tabla: small hand drums. ‘My father had all these Hindu friends – we had
**H armonium: a keyboard instrument in which the notes are produced by
in Rawalpindi.’ air driven through metal reeds by foot-operated bellows. food together, we had drinks together – just like
one. They used to play cards.’

Finding out about partition

Abla: small hand drums.
‘The first time I realised that things were not right
Harmonium: a keyboard instrument in which the notes are produced by
was when there was rioting between Hindus and air driven through metal reeds by foot-operated bellows.
Vespa: an Italian scooter brand associated with the mod movement from
Muslims. One day somebody told me, near our the 1960s.

26 27
 Student Hand Out Student Hand Out

In their Shoes
Link to Never set eyes on the land An eerie silence filled the room when we
saw the powerful and provocative iconic photographs of American
photojournalist Margaret Bourke White. We use them here to inspire
poetry, another subject close to our hearts. In fact, the title of our project,
Never set eyes on the land, is a quote from W.H. Auden’s poem Partition,
which you can find on page 6 of this toolkit.

Curriculum focus: English

You will need Four

Margaret Bourke White image cards, slips of Use the new picture cards and word slips to write
plain paper. a poem or a short piece of descriptive writing.

One - What to do More ideas

Give each pair a Margaret Bourke White image One Add some slips featuring words from W.H.
card from these pages Auden’s Partition on page 6 or other poems
and prose that deal with the subject, such as
Two
Sujata Bhatt’s poem of the same name.
Ask each pair to pick a person from the image
and imagine being in their place Two Read through the full text of W.H. Auden’s
Partition and do some whole class discussion
• What can you see?
around the following questions
• What can you hear?
• What can you smell? 1.  How does Auden draw attention to
• What can you feel? Radcliffe’s status as an outsider?
• What can you taste? 2. What do you think Auden thought about
Radcliffe and his role in the process?
Ask pairs to write as many responses to these
3. How do you think Radcliffe felt about this
questions as they can on slips of paper, and
poem and the way Auden has chosen to
place in an envelope on the table
present him?
Three
Ask the pairs to swap their picture cards and
word slips with another pair

28 29
 Student Hand Out

A Living Legacy
Take a Stand Partition lives on not just in the memories of people that experienced it
first hand, but in their children, who grew up in its shadow, and in their
Link to Never set eyes on the land We feel passionately that partition is a story Grandchildren, who are often taught so little about it. You don’t have to
for now. As hundreds of thousands of people worldwide make the decision to look far in London and beyond to find families who have been touched by
pack up and embark on treacherous journeys towards new unknown futures, this tragic episode in our history. Read the stories of three of them below.
we are forced to ask ourselves important questions about what kind of world
we want to live in. We hope the last activity in this pack will encourage students Second generation story girls. This was a great advantage as we were a
– Mrs Kiran Thapar ‘fascination’ for our English counterparts ‘exotic’ even.
to explore their feelings on this and generate discussion and debate. We managed do really well at school and were

Curriculum focus: British Values, History

U ntil recently I have never connected my own
life with partition until I was invited to contribute
towards the project Never Set Eyes …
both encouraged by our teachers who loved our
motivation, we had ambitions and a reason to catapult
ourselves out of our circumstances. We were taken
This engagement awakened a curiosity into my
to factories as we reached 14 years as potential
own past: the experience of my grandparents
You will need Three and parents as they endured and no doubt
employment for the future. I think it was then I decided
Debate statements. Watch the following short animation it was not for me.
suffered the pain caused by partition simply
Despite difficulties I managed to complete a degree
addressing some of the concerns people because they were uprooted from the place of
One - What to do their birth, Sialkot.
and decided to become a teacher. I have been
have about EU immigration from the National successful in my teaching career rising to deputy
Ask for volunteers to come and argue in Typically, as a second generation child of the
Institute of Economic and Social Research headship and to headship for the last 19 years.
support of one of the following statements. partition, I have taken all I have for granted and
on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ We all need to take stock of our past and explore
After one minute ring a bell to signal that they never really reflected on how things came to be.
how it can be the reason why we are successful. I
watch?v=HpLvw8au1AI. Write down five benefits I was born in 1958 and am the fifth child of six.
should now start arguing against it. You might have a latent sense of my past, which remaining
of immigration stated in the film. Has anything My parents, like those around us, were struggling
want to set some ground rules about mutually suppressed for so long has been awakened through
to establish themselves. My grandfather was
about this surprised you, or made you change my involvement with the Never Set Eyes.
acceptable language before you begin. very ambitious and had tried hard to set up
your mind? businesses, unsuccessfully, as did my father. Third generation story
Two Connections with Malaysia and business
– Diren & Aneya Chhabra
Read out each of the following statements in
More ideas opportunities led my father to pursue a home for
turn and let people find their position
Gather a selection of headlines from British
newspapers relating to immigration and
his family in England.
Like many others, he compromised his own
ambitions to give his family a secure future by
W e were both born in England and our late
grandparents and late great grandparents
were affected by Partition.
In a line that runs across the classroom running place on a line from ‘positive’ to ‘negative’.
slowly saving up for his children to enter England. Aneya - ‘My face appears as part of Never Set eyes.
from ‘absolutely agree’ to ‘don’t agree at all’. Discuss differences in tone and terminology First my two older brothers, and then my mother, My daddy wanted to show how children can become
Debate it Statements for example the different meanings of ‘illegal my 9 year old sister and myself aged 8, arrived separated from their families and from the past.’
immigrant’ ‘refugee’ and ‘asylum seeker’. Ask in the UK. Finally my third brother joined us at the Diren - ‘As part of the 70th anniversary of Partition,
• We should all be free to live where we choose age of 16 years. It had taken my father nearly --- me, my father and my grandfather were invited
• Your home is the country you were born half the class to write a pro-immigration article years to get us all here. to a live BBC News show to talk about how three
• People should live and work in the country and the other half to write an anti-immigration Our experience was not unique in the early generations of my family view partition.’
article. Share and discuss. days with struggling and making ends meet, but Our Dada -ji (fathers father) Sham Sundar Chhabra
they are born in
there was real sense of feeling secure, feeling was born on the banks of one of Punjab’s greatest
• A diverse population is good for a country Create a display celebrating all the things that settled and feeling hope. rivers, the Jhelum, in the 1920’s, in Sargodha, British
• If governments didn’t interfere, people of all immigration has brought to Britain in terms of My older siblings were disadvantaged simply India (now Pakistan).
kinds could get along peacefully together because of their age, they went to work in From the stories we hear from our family, due to
music, food, books, clothing and leisure activities.
factories and took up apprenticeships, formal the links he had with the Quit India Movement (he
• There should be more help available for education was acquired for a purpose. My attended rallies and demonstrations where Nehru
people adapting to a new country sister and I were fortunate because we were and Gandhi would be key speakers, against the
young enough to take advantage of the British British) and he was instrumental in helping many of our
Education system. extended family and others in the wider community,
We did not speak English and despite having evacuate and leave the place which they had called
been in school in Delhi, we were placed, as was home.
the practice at the time in the Remedial Class Our mothers Dada ji, Krishan Lal, was born in Sailkot,
where we spent a great deal of time drawing and British India (now Pakistan) in 1929. On the cusp of
copying and learning nothing more. Partition, he moved to Delhi and in the mid 1950’s he
I don’t know when ambition set in, but I always moved to Malyasia and then in the early 1960’s he
had to work hard to get the best grades in school. moved to England.
My sister and I were part of Enoch Powell’s policy Its important to remember who we are and where
to prevent ethnic groups forming ghettos, so we come from. It must have been a very difficult time
we were picked up by coach and taken to a for many of our family members and we should never
secondary modern school for girls in a different take things for granted. If we remember the past we
area of the city, where we were the only ‘brown’ can build a better future.

30 31
Find out more
You can find out more about the Never set eyes on the land project online
at our website, nutkhut.co.uk. We would love to hear from you if you have further
questions, comments or ideas. Get in touch at connect@nutkhut.co.uk

Find out more about the partition of India online Nations Divided: how to teach the history of partition –
Runnymede Trust report
Aik Saath Partition project – Women’s Voices
https://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/Partition%20
https://partitionwomensvoices.com/
History%20Project%20Evaluation.pdf
Al Jazeera Partition resources
Orality and the Archive: Teaching the Partition of India
https://www.aljazeera.com/topics/events/india- through Oral Histories
pakistan-partition.html https://radicalteacher.library.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/
radicalteacher/article/view/274/187
BBC Newsround – what was the Partition of India?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zp6fmsg The Partition Archive – thousands of collected
interviews of Partition survivors, based in Berkeley
Project Dastaan
BBC Partition Voices Politics and Partition – activity sheets
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b090rrl0 https://www.rgs.org/CMSPages/GetFile.
aspx?nodeguid=6018d580-b16a-40a7-9243-
British Library – Partition and Independence of India 1947 97eac55db016&lang=en-GB
https://www.bl.uk/projects/partition-and-
independence-of-india-1947 https://www.bl.uk/ The Road to Partition 1939-1947 – The National Archives
collection-guides/indian-independence online classroom resources
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/
Child of the Divide – activity pack resources/the-road-to-partition/
https://polkatheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/
Child-of-the-Divide-Education-Pack_UK-Tour-2017.pdf South Asia Citizens Web
http://www.sacw.net/partition/index.html and http://
India Partition by Stanford History Education Group – www.sacw.net/rubrique20.html
US based resources for teaching Partition
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/india- Why Was British India Partitioned in 1947? Royal
partition-6364474 Geographical Society Key Stage 4 resource

https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/files
teachingresourcewhywasbritishindiapartitionedin1947pdf

Written by Ellie Newland

Credits: Ajay Chhabra (Artistic Director),
Matthew Jones (Producer), Rajpal Pardesi (Project Manager),
Ellie Newland (Education & Communities Manager),
Dr Gavin Rand (Academic Consultant)
Photography: Alex Bamford, Kois Miah
Design: iDivision.co.uk

Special thanks to all our partition survivors who shared

memories and stories of life, family and friendship. Without you
this story could not have been told.

32