This project is a visual representation of the geographical distribution of abductions of women and children during Partition. Tens of thousands of Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh women were abducted from both sides of the border. In response to these abductions, the governments of India and Pakistan passed ordinances mandating the ‘recovery’ of abducted women from both countries. For scholars studying the gendered nature of Partition violence, the recovery of abducted women was significant for the national and patriarchal honor of both countries. It is difficult to calculate the total number of women and children abducted as there is no estimate of the number of abductions that went unreported. The abductions that were officially reported in Pakistan amounted to roughly 50,000 Muslim women and children, while 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women and children were reported missing or abducted in India. The noted historian, Urvashi Butalia estimates the number of abducted women on both sides to be around 75,000. In contrast, Mridula Sarabhai, the organizer of the Indian recovery operation believed that the official figure of 12,500 women abducted in Pakistan in 1948 was incorrect and the actual figure was probably ten times more. Of those abducted, 9032 Hindu and Sikh women were ‘recovered’ from Pakistan while 20,728 Muslim women were ‘recovered’ from India by 1955.
This map draws on data from three volumes of government records on abducted persons. ‘The List of Muslim Abducted Women and Children’ reports were compiled by the Pakistan government and they contain the names, places of origin, details of abduction, caste, and familial relationships of nearly 8000 Muslim women and children from East Punjab and the Princely States. More strikingly, this collection also contains the names, castes, and addresses of alleged abductors or men who might have information on the whereabouts of specific abducted persons.
In due course, we hope to visually represent the abductions of Hindu and Sikh women from records gathered in India. We also hope to gather more records from the Pakistan side. Eventually, our aim is to map this data down to the tehsil and village level, which would provide students and researchers with a finely grained understanding of the extent, spread, and geographical distribution of violence and abductions during Partition. We invite other researchers and interested persons, and particularly our colleagues in India, to contribute to this repository. Our aim is to build a more representative visualization of abductions in memory of all those who suffered during Partition.