After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Oral History Recording: Harjit Singh Kang's Story

Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan.

This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

We aim to capture people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews. We will also create a touring pop-up exhibition with original images, memories, materials and artefacts, belongings from the time of the Partition which migrants bought with them when settling in the UK.

After the Partition: Harjit Singh Kang's Story

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Oral History Recording: Prabhjot's Story

Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan.

This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

We aim to capture people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews. We will also create a touring pop-up exhibition with original images, memories, materials and artefacts, belongings from the time of the Partition which migrants bought with them when settling in the UK.


After the Partition: Parbhjot Kaur's Story

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Oral History Recording: Mohinder's Story

Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan. This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

We aim to capture people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews. We will also create a touring pop-up exhibition with original images, memories, materials and artefacts, belongings from the time of the Partition which migrants bought with them when settling in the UK.

https://essexcdp.com/project/afterthepartition/

After the Partition: Mohinder Kaur Kang's Story

After the Partition: Birbhadhur Singh’s  Story

In this short snippet, Birbhadhur Singh talks about his journey from Daska in the Sialkot District in the Punjab, to Tilbury in Essex in 1961. He also shares a story about his trip to Pakistan in 2004/5, when he was reunited with an old friend of his father. 

"All in all, when we consider what's happening in different countries, England ... is a land of living in harmony. Believe it or not, this country is a nation where we all live in harmony" Birbhadhur Singh

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, 2025

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan. This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

We aim to capture people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews. We will also create a touring pop-up exhibition with original images, memories, materials and artefacts, belongings from the time of the Partition which migrants bought with them when settling in the UK.

essexcdp.com/project/afterthepartition/

After the Partition: Birbhadhur Singh's Story

After the Partition: Mohammed Nawaz's Story

In this short clip, Mohammed Nawaz talks briefly about his father's experience in the early days after partition. Mohammed came to the UK in 1971, aged 11, to join his father who had come to England in 1960, and they settled in Manchester. He eventually settled in Essex, coming to the University to study for his Masters Degree, and worked for Marconi in Chelmsford for over forty years as an Electronic Engineer. 

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, 2025

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan. This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

We aim to capture people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews. We will also create a touring pop-up exhibition with original images, memories, materials and artefacts, belongings from the time of the Partition which migrants bought with them when settling in the UK.

essexcdp.com/project/afterthepartition/

After the Partition: Mohammed Nawaz's Story

After the Partition: Muhammad Ahsan's Story

In this short clip, Muhammad Ahsan talks briefly about his forefather's experiences of life immediately after Partition, in the city of Firozpur and surrounding villages on the new India-Pakistan border. 

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, 2025

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan. This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

We aim to capture people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews. We will also create a touring pop-up exhibition with original images, memories, materials and artefacts, belongings from the time of the Partition which migrants bought with them when settling in the UK.

essexcdp.com/project/afterthepartition/

After the Partition: Muhammad Ahsan's Story

After the Partition: Shahnaz Nawaz's Story

In this short clip, Shahnaz Nawaz shares her Grandmother's story about her Grandad, who was a police inspector and had prior knowledge of Partition, so managed to cross the border comfortably a few days before the division. Shahnaz briefly talks about living in Chelmsford, and how it has changed over the last 20 years or so.

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, 2025

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan. This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

We aim to capture people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews. We will also create a touring pop-up exhibition with original images, memories, materials and artefacts, belongings from the time of the Partition which migrants bought with them when settling in the UK.

essexcdp.com/project/afterthepartition/

After the Partition: Shahnaz Nawaz's Story

After the Partition: Suman Gujral's story

Artist Suman Gujral became interested in Partition through stories shared by her mother, weaving those stories and memories into her poetry and art practice. Suman's parents were Sikhs living in Lahore, who fled to Amritsar to meet family and friends very soon after Partition. She moved to England in 1965 with her parents and sister, leaving her brother behind with grandparents. She moved to Essex recently, when she was offered an art studio at Parndon Mill in Harlow, where she continues to make work about Partition and the effect it has on the displacement of families. 

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, 2025

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan. This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

Through this project, we have captured people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews, and have created a touring pop-up exhibition. 

essexcdp.com/project/afterthepartition/

After the Partition: Suman Gujral's story

After the Partition: Trilochan Kaur Gujral's Story

Artist Suman Gujral became interested in Partition through stories shared by her mother, weaving those stories and memories into her poetry and art practice. Here, she interviews her very elderly mother, who shares her opinions and politics around Partition, as well as some difficult memories about the violence at the time. 

ECDP would like to thank Suman Gujral for sharing this interview with the After the Partition project. 

Content warning: please note that some listeners may find some of this content upsetting. 

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex
Funded through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, 2025

Over half a million Sikhs, Hindu’s and Muslims came to Britain because of the upheaval of Partition, the promise of economic opportunities and a safer life. Essex Cultural Diversity Project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for Sikh, Hindu and (Pakistani) Muslim communities living in Essex to reflect on seven decades of their family’s lives, to explore experiences, challenges, successes, and social change from 1947 to today. The project will pose the question: how has British culture changed and how have they changed British culture?

With few original settlers surviving, this is the last chance to bring three generations together to document the fortunes of settlers and their families who can trace their migration directly to Partition between India and Pakistan. This will be a rare chance to focus on lived experiences since Partition, rather than on the experience of Partition itself, opening opportunities to explore this unique cultural context within and between communities. As time passes and memories fade, it is important for Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims to capture what shaped their modern heritage for posterity, and to reflect on wider issues of migration and colonialism today.

Through this project, we have captured people’s memories through oral history recording, films and interviews, and have created a touring pop-up exhibition.

essexcdp.com/project/afterthepartition/

After the Partition: A Shared Cultural Heritage in Essex

Essexcdp