Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 14 (IANS) The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Thursday observed Partition Horrors Remembrance Day across multiple college campuses in Kerala, despite a directive from the CPI-M-led state government prohibiting the commemoration.

The day marks the anniversary of the 1947 division of India and Pakistan along communal lines, which resulted in mass displacement, violence, and suffering.

ABVP said the initiative aimed to bring to light the “traumatic and obscured” stories of Partition for the student community, and to raise awareness about what it described as the “vested interests” behind the event.

According to ABVP, the state government’s restrictions were imposed in defiance of Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s (he is also the Chancellor) instructions to hold commemorative events.

The organisation also alleged that its members faced hostility from Left-affiliated student groups, interference from left-leaning teachers’ associations, and opposition from both the state government and the Congress-led UDF.

ABVP Kerala State Secretary E.U. Eswaraprasad called the partition “one of the most horrendous and frightening incidents” in the nation’s history, claiming it was “orchestrated for the vested interests of some political leaders.”

He accused the Congress and Left parties of concealing the true history of Partition to serve “appeasement politics”.

“The fragmentation of Akhand Bharat led to the persecution of millions and left deep trauma. Despite the Kerala government’s authoritarian directive, we successfully held events across campuses to tell the real stories of partition,” Eswaraprasad said.

ABVP National Secretary Shravan B. Raj said the division of the country was “not merely a partition of land” but left “deep wounds in the hearts of our people”.

He alleged that “power-hungry leaders” were responsible for leading the nation into one of its darkest chapters.

“Despite opposition from both the ruling dispensation and the UDF, the student community in Kerala engaged with immense interest, eager to learn the precarious history of partition,” Raj said.

Partition Horror Remembrance Day is observed nationwide on August 14 to remember the victims and the human cost of the subcontinent’s division, as well as to foster awareness about its historical significance.

–IANS

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