Indian State and Abduction of Women during Partition Ritu Menon Kamla Bhasin The rending of the social and emotional fabric that took place with the Partition of India in 1947 is still far from mended. Each new eruption of hostility recalls the bitter and divisive erosion of social relations between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Official and historical accounts of Partition see it as the unfortunate outcome of sectarian and separatist politics and as a tragic accompaniment to the promise of freedom.
