ISAS-SASP Book Launch & Discussion

Date: 17 Jun 2023

Time: 10.00am to 12.00pm

Venue: The Pod, National Library Board, Level 16

Professor Tan Tai Yong, SUSS President, is launching his latest book Freedom and Partition this Saturday, 17 June.

Organised by Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS-NUS), Professor Tan will be joined by his fellow co-author Dr Gyanesh Kudaisya and other distinguished discussants, where they will discuss the new book and engage the audience in a Q&A session.

Freedom and Partition offers a reconstruction of four momentous days which shaped the lives of millions of people in the Indian subcontinent: 14-17 August 1947. Based on primary archival material, newspaper reports, oral histories, and private papers of leaders, it looks at how the outgoing British officials worked with the leaders of the Congress and the Muslim League to plan the ceremonies that would mark the birth of India and Pakistan. In doing so, this book offers a ringside view of events in New Delhi and Karachi. Moving away from official ceremonies, Freedom and Partition uses a ‘slice of life’ approach to see how ordinary people in cities and towns looked at the approaching moment, capturing the sense of trepidation and insecurity felt by minority communities in Bengal, Punjab, Sindh and across much of north India.

This volume provides vignettes of Gandhi’s peace mission for the safety and security of the minorities in Calcutta and recounts how the euphoria of freedom came to be overshadowed by the Radcliffe Award of 17 August 1947. Finally, it examines how popular meanings and memories of 14-15 August 1947 have changed over the decades, as shown by shifts in narratives which have marked the 25^th, 50^th and 75^th anniversaries of Independence and Partition.

10:00am	Registration and Tea/Coffee
10:30am	Introductory Remarks (10 mins) Professor Tan Tai Yong President, Singapore University of Social Sciences; Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS; and Co-author, Freedom and Partition
10:40am	Introduction to the Publication (8 mins) Dr Gyanesh Kudaisya Associate Professor South Asian Studies Programme Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, and Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS; and Co-author, Freedom and Partition
10:55am	Launch of the Publication Professor Wang Gungwu University Professor, NUS; and Emeritus Professor, Australian National University
10:55am	ISAS-SASP Book Discussion Co-Chairpersons Professor Tan Tai Yong President, Singapore University of Social Sciences; Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS; and Co-author, Freedom and Partition Dr Gyanesh Kudaisya Associate Professor South Asian Studies Programme Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, and Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS; and Co-author, Freedom and Partition Discussants Professor Wang Gungwu (10 mins) University Professor, NUS; and Emeritus Professor, Australian National University Professor Kanti Bajpai (10 mins) Vice Dean (Research and Development), and Wilmar Professor of Asian Studies Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS Associate Professor Iqbal Singh Sevea (10 mins) Director Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS
11:25am	Question and Answer Session
12:00pm	End

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ISAS-SASP Book Launch & Discussion

About the Event

Professor Tan Tai Yong

About Freedom and Partition

Programme