Partition and Border making in Okara

Abstract

This thesis studies the impact of Partition and border making on the definition of community in Okara has been discussed at the time of Partition of Punjab in June 1947 to July 1950. It does so by collecting the oral history of Muslims who came as migrants in Okara in 1947, the Sikhs and Hindus who migrated from Okara to East Punjab in 1947 and the Muslims who stayed in Okara during British period and after the creation of Pakistan. There are three objectives of the present study: Firstly, the effect of the border making on the lives of the people in Okara will be seen; Secondly, the experience of the migrant and local in Okara related to the border making will be analyzed; Thirdly, the assimilation of the migrated people with the local people will be analyzed. The research looks at three aspects of Partition in Punjab by A) looking at the inter-communal relationship between Sikh, Hindu, and Muslims in Okara during the British rule in India. B) Then it discusses the border making between India and Pakistan in the Punjab region generally and the Okara district specifically. C) It discusses the relationship between the local and the migrant in Okara. The study argues that in Pre-Partition Punjab the identity was derived on the basis of locality in Okara, but at the time of Partition of Punjab, and the creation of India and Pakistan, the identity was constructed on the basis of religion, the basis of identity again became localized when the refugees arrived in Okara, and the tensions surfaced between refugees and locals. Key words: Communal Violence, Community of Interest, Community of Residence, Janglee, Border Making, Partition