In Conversation with Salman Khurshid: Kishwar Desai, the founder-chairperson of India’s Partition Museum

In the latest episode of In Conversation with Salman Khurshid, Kishwar Desai, the founder-chairperson of India’s Partition Museum, joins former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid for a conversation marking the 79th anniversary of India’s Independence. Desai says the museum, curated along the lines of Apartheid and Holocaust museums, serves as a reminder to the world of how a line drawn on a map split a nation in two, resulting in the displacement and deaths of millions. For her, the museum is a “site of conscience” that reminds us that these tragedies must never be repeated. She blames the British and their policy of divide and rule for partitioning the nation, and for doing so in haste, leaving behind two newly formed countries and millions of people to fend for themselves. Desai says the Partition Museum also celebrates the innate goodness of humanity by showcasing how people from different communities saved one another’s lives during the violence of partition. According to her, both India and Pakistan need to overcome the burden of the cultural disruption, and the museum plays an important role in preserving uncomfortable memories while promoting understanding and reconciliation.