Crossing Over
Subtitle: Partition Literature from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2007
Language: eng
Number of pages: 200
ISBN-13: 9780824832278
Subjects: Indic literature, translations into english; Literature, modern, history and criticism, 21st century; Politics in literature; India, history, 1947-; Bangladesh, history; Pakistan, history; Literature, modern, history and criticism, 20th century
Description: In their rich diversity of languages, religions, traditions, and ethnicities, the two billion people in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are unmatched in the world. For nearly a century, Britain directly ruled the region as a colony. But when the British hastily departed in 1947, giving India and Pakistan independence, communities that had lived side by side in relative peace were torn apart by unfathomable sectarian violence. The stories in "Crossing Over" depict the responses and emotions of ordinary people caught in a tragic turning point in history, when tolerance, respect, and compassion broke down. Written by some of the region's finest writers, these works make us aware that such responses are not exclusive to South Asia. They are possible everywhere.