'World's Largest' Collection of Partition Interviews to Be Released for Public
Islamabad: A collection of accounts narrated by those who witnessed the partition between India and Pakistan, The 1947 Partition Archive, will be released on August 10 in collaboration with universities in Pakistan, India and America, according to a press release received on Monday.
The 1947 Partition Archive is an organization that has compiled over 4,300 interviews of Indian and Pakistani citizens who experienced the tumultuous event. So far, the collection was only accessible by researchers. Now the organization, in collaboration with universities in Pakistan, India and America, is making parts of its archives available for the public. The organization is also trying to get universities in Britain and Bangladesh on board.
A portion of its compiled interviews will be available from August 10 via live streaming from Stanford University Library's Digital Repository to anyone with an access to internet. The rest of the interviews, those "deemed too delicate or sensitive for open accessibility", will be available to researchers and interested parties through the libraries of universities which have collaborated. The universities include Ashoka University, University of Delhi, and Guru Nanak Dev University in India, along with Lahore University of Management Sciences and Habib University in Pakistan.
"The stories are changing the way we see ourselves and our history. We are immensely excited to be releasing this work into the public domain, so that it is accessible to all, giving each of us an opportunity to discover our rich history for ourselves,” Guneeta Singh Bhalla, Founder of The 1947 Partition Archive, was quoted as saying.
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