Global Partitions Lecture Series
May 2021
Speakers:
- Dr. Yasmin Saikia, Professor of History and Hardt-Nickachos Endowed Chair in Peace Studies, Arizona State University
- Anna Oltman, Lecturer, Human Rights, University College London
- Heinz Klug, Evjue-Bascom Professor of Law and Sheldon B. Lubar Distinguished Research Chair, UW Law School, and Visiting Professor, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
A series of K-12 teacher training workshops around the theme of global partitions.
Each event will consist of a 45-60 minute presentation by an expert regional scholar followed by discussion and a Q&A session. All events will take place virtually.
Cosponsors: Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS), Center for European Studies (ES), African Studies Program (ASP), and the Center for South Asia (CSA) at UW-Madison.
Presentations and Resources
“The Told and Untold Stories of the Partitions on the Indian Subcontinent”
Topic: Impact of partition on Bangladesh
Yasmin Saikia is the Hardt-Nickachos Chair in Peace Studies at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict and a professor of history in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. Her work focuses on the histories of memory and identity; women, war, and peace; histories of premodern and contemporary South Asia (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and engaging the history of Islam and Islamic values of peace. She is the author of the award-winning books, “Fragmented Memory: Struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India” (Duke, 2005) and “Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh: Remembering 1971” (Duke 2010).
RESOURCES
Articles
- Effects of permanent settlement in Bengal and other regions
- About the first partition of Bengal (1905)
- Another article about the first partition of Bengal
- An article about the first partition of Bengal from a Bangladeshi’s perspective
- A history professor’s explanation of the first partition of Bengal
- A Guardian article on a study indicating that Churchill’s policies contributed to 1943 Bengal famine
- Another independent article on the British exacerbation of famines in Bengal
- Short dynamic overview of the British demand for indigo
- Dynamic timeline showing independence movement of Bangladesh
- A biography of and tribute to Fazl ul-Huq
- Persisting impact of the 1946 Calcutta killings following Direct Action Day
- Social and economic impact of 1947 partition of Bengal
- Book review of Joya Chatterji’s book on partition of Bengal in 1947
- A Scroll opinion piece about partition from Congress perspective
- East Pakistan’s independence from Bihari perspective
- A Pakistani’s perspectives on the mistakes that led to loss of East Pakistan
- Indian defense analyst on India’s strategy to help East Pakistan secede
- Opinion on how Pakistan lost the east in a Pakistan newspaper
- “Opinion: Even After 1947, The Idea Of A ‘United Bengal’ Lingers On”
- Visual tour of first few elections in Pakistan
- A Pakistani researcher’s reflections on Bengal’s secession
- “Remembering the war of 1971 in East Pakistan”
- Bangladeshi solemn editorial commemorates 50 years since Independence
Book Recommendations
- Bass, Gary J. (2013) The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide Paperback
- Blood, Archer K. (2013) The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh – Memoirs of an American Diplomat
- Chatterji, Joya (1994) Bengal Divided: Hindu Communalism and Partition, 1932-1947
- Chatterji, Joya (2007) The Spoils of Partition: Bengal and India, 1947-1967
- Eaton, Richard (1996) The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204-1760
- Iqbal, Iftekhar (2010) The Bengal Delta: Ecology, State and Social Change, 1840–1943
- Khan, Yasmin (2008) The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan Paperback
- Lewis, David (2011) Bangladesh: Politics, Economy and Civil Society
- Saikia, Yasmin (2011) Women, War, and the Making of Bangladesh: Remembering 1971
- Willem van Schendel (2020) A History of Bangladesh
- Zaheer, Hasan (2001) The Separation of East Pakistan – The Rise and Realization of Bengali Muslim Nationalism
- Zakaria, Anam (2019) 1971: A People’s History from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India Kindle Edition
Media Clips
- Short clip on the first partition on Bengal from West Bengali perspective
- Short clip on the rejected proposal to for an a separate, undivided Bengal
- Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech on the day of independence on August 14, 1957
- Indira Gandhi, then prime minister of India, defends 1971 intervention in East Pakistan
- Yahya Khan, then president of Pakistan, gives his perspective about resistance of Bengalis in East Pakistan
- BBC interview, Indira Gandhi again defends intervention
- A 24-min detailed overview of the independence war with historical footages and interviews
- George Harrison’s fundraising concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden on August 1, 1971
- Famed Bengali singer remained in Pakistan, performing in Urdu on PTV (Pakistan public broadcasting channel)
- Sheikh Mujib ur-Rahman shares reflections on the war and leadership right after release from jail
- Sheikh Mujib ur-Rahman appeals to Britain for aid after independence
- A short biography on Sheikh Mujib and his involvement in freedom struggle by an Indian news channel
“Irish Partition and Brexit in Historical Context”
Topic: Brexit’s Impact across the United Kingdom
Dr. Anna Oltman is a lecturer and researcher in international human rights with a focus on the politics of refugees and asylum. She completed her doctoral research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2020, where she taught courses on human rights, international relations, and American foreign policy. Dr. Oltman’s research is on the institutional and political sources of compliance with international human rights agreements. Her current project focuses on the individualized systems through which countries process claims to asylum, what are known as “Refugee Status Determination” procedures, and the shortcomings of individual rights claims for providing protection to vulnerable migrant communities.
RESOURCES
The Border
- “The history of the Irish Border: From Plantation to Brexit.” Ronan McGreevy. The Irish Times.
- “Revealed: Number of border crossings between Ireland and the Republic.” Belfast Telegraph.
- Drawing the Line: The Irish Border in British Politics. Ivan Gibbons.
- Birth of the Border: The Impact of Partition on Ireland. Cormac Moore.
- “Residents of historic Irish border village Pettigo that was repeatedly bombed during the Troubles reveal Brexit fears.” Kieran Dineen. The Irish Sun.
Irish History
- “What were The Troubles? Northern Ireland spotlight.” Video by the Imperial War Museum.
- “A history of Ireland for outsiders: From Henry VIII to the Troubles.” Ronan McGreevy. The Irish Times.
- “Good Friday Agreement: The peace deal that ended the Northern Ireland Troubles 20 years ago.” Ben Kelly. The Independent.
- “From certain war to uncertain peace: Northern Ireland’s Good Friday Agreement turns 20.” John W. Mackey. The Conversation.
- Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Patrick Radden Keefe.
- “Investigations into the Troubles are vital—and that includes ex-soldiers.” Kieran McEvoy. The Guardian.
- “Bloody Sunday 1972: The day’s events explained.” Video by On Demand News.
Brexit
- “Brexit: What is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why are there checks?” Tom Edgington and Chris Morris. BBC.
- “In Northern Ireland there is both division and consensus between different ethno-national groups on Brexit.” John Garry.
- “Brexit and Ireland, north and south.” By Cathy Gormley-Heenan. UK in a Changing Europe.
- “How Brexit could create a crisis at the Irish border.” Video by Vox.
- “Tony Blair and John Major: Brexit would close Irish border.” Heather Stewart. The Guardian.
“Global Partitions: Self-determination in Southern Africa — The contending forces of division and unification from the colonial to post-colonial eras”
Topic: Historical and colonial contexts in South Africa and beyond
Heinz Klug will present on partition through a historical and contemporary lens. Featuring Southern Africa as the case study, Klug will use these lenses to help attendees understand the conditions that either hinder or facilitate partition, particularly in the colonial and post-colonial context.
Heinz Klug is Evjue-Bascom Professor of Law and the Sheldon B. Lubar Distinguished research Chair at the University of Wisconsin Law School and Visiting Professor in the School of Law at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Growing up in Durban, South Africa, he participated in the anti-apartheid struggle, spent 11 years in exile and returned to South Africa in 1990 as a member of the ANC Land Commission and researcher for Zola Skweyiya, chairperson of the ANC Constitutional Committee. He was also a team member on the World Bank mission to South Africa on Land Reform and Rural Restructuring. He has taught at Wisconsin since September 1996.