Despite the unprecedented scale upon which violence was waged between communities, and especially upon women, the social cost of partition had long been a tabooed topic. And though the past few decades have seen a remarkable increase in the historical and sociological research into the violence of 1947, neither the Indian, Pakistani nor Bangladesh government have ever recognized this tragedy through a national monument or museum, further lending to the aura of silence surrounding the subject. Nor did any government ever mount an official inquiry into the matter, making no attempt to take punitive legal action against the perpetrators of these crimes. Partition violence may be evidenced in the rich literary works concerning this period, but no trials or public hearings were ever held, disallowing the publicity of the carnal violence. There was not, as Veena Das has noted, “any enactment of putting history on trial,” which had been a particular feature of the 20th century (most famously so in the Nuremberg Trials). The only governmental “recognition” of this violence is found in Constituent Assembly Debates and other official (and thus mostly unpublicized) accounts.

The Indian government did, however, set up a Fact Finding Organization to measure the casualties of communal violence in the different provinces of the Punjab. However, the files containing these reports were never made public. There are several plausible reasons for the government’s secrecy concerning these findings.

1. Had the government published the number of casualties suffered by each religious group, it was entirely possible- given the environment of reprisals and revenge pervading the partition of the country- that communal rioting would only have increased or lasted longer than it already had. It was quite common to hear one community swear to avenge their own losses by murdering twice that many people of the opposing community- and this was simply on the basis of rumors. To give such numbers greater legitimacy by associating them with a government fact-finding mission could only have worsened this trend.
2. In addition to recounting the human and infrastructural losses in the various regions of the Punjab, the Fact Finding reports contained even more objectionable criminal evidence: the mass rape, molestation and abduction of South Asian women and girls. The hesitation and sometimes outright refusal on the part of many Indians and Pakistanis to discuss the violent events of 1947 may be largely due to the dishonorable acts perpetuated by both communities unto hundreds of thousands of females. Given the prevailing attitude at this time towards sexuality, and the obsession with female purity and chastity (discussed further in Honor), it is perhaps not so surprising that this history has been shrouded in silence. So unforgivable- and yet ultimately unforgettable- were these crimes that silence seems to have long been the chosen solution. This is best captured by one MP in Parliament:

“If there is any sore point or distressful fact to which we cannot be reconciled under any circumstances, it is the question of abduction and non-restoration of Hindu women. We all know our history of what happened in the time of Shri Ram when Sita was abducted. Here, where thousands are concerned, we cannot forget this. We can forget all the properties, we can forget every other thing, but this cannot be forgotten.”

By reading Punjab High Court justice G.D. Khosla’s version of the reports (published in 1949 as Stern Reckoning), it becomes abundantly clear that both the Indian and Pakistan governments were implicated in not only the armed violence perpetuated between both communities, but the rape and abduction of women whom they would later vow to “rescue.” Khosla’s reports are replete with the misconduct of police and military personnel who, taking advantage of both their authority and the chaotic atmosphere in the Punjab, subjected young girls and women to horrific sexual violations. Social workers such as Anis Kidwai and Kamla Patel corroborate this allegation. The foundling states of India and Pakistan could hardly afford to lose the trust of their populace before having ever truly gained it- silencing such matters negated this risk.

Because this sexual violence cannot be forgotten, but similarly cannot be discussed in public as a stigmatized topic, the only other option seems to have been to not discuss the matter at all.

But though the Fact Finding Organization’s reports were never published, G.D. Khosla, the aforementioned Punjabi justice in charge of collecting these reports, did publish an account of the information he had thus gathered in Stern Reckoning. Interviewing liaison officers of the Military Evacuation Organization, as well as some of the thousands of refugees streaming into each newly formed nation, Khosla documents in great detail the riots, massacres, and abductions in each part of the Punjab, Sindh and the North West Frontier Province.

This account is of great factual and historiographical use. In every village of the Punjab that Khosla reports upon, he notes, without fail, the rape, molestation, and abduction of Hindu and Sikh women. It is therefore clear that the silence that surrounds this subject in South Asian history is not due to a lack of truth or evidence. It would be macabre and insensitive, perhaps, to merely list the exact humiliations and types of violence that women were subjected to. But, in the same vein of thought as Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, “Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” For this reason, here is a selection of numbers and accounts of this violence: Stern Reckoning Evidence.

An estimated 100,00 Hindu, Sikh and Muslim women were abducted during Partition; only 25,000 were ever recovered

The way in which Khosla documents the violence against women is especially notable, perhaps most so for that which is not said. Though Khosla does not ignore the plight of women, there is a strong element of silence even within his reportage of their violation. Most abductions and rapes are mentioned at the end of a long list of other losses- particularly material and territorial loss. The abductions are stated in a matter-of-fact way, usually within a sentence and most often simply: “Many young girls were abducted.” This documentation suggests several things about the role and social standing of South Asian women:

1. Merely stating the violation of women, symbols of a community, is enough to raise the fury of the Hindus and Sikhs (or Muslims, respectively) – there is little more that Khosla has to say to convey this humiliation to his audience. Numbers alone are enough to foment the hatred between the communities of India and Pakistan.
2. Khosla, like most men of this time and place, understood the dishonor girls and women bore due to such violations. By foregoing the details and names of the few women he did interview, Khosla is exemplifying one of the most important reasons for the silence on violence against women: it is a shame for the woman, one she can only hope to escape or ignore by hushing over her pain and memories. The newly independent India had no interest in reliving this “scandal,” reasons for which are discussed in the following section: “Honor.”