Guwahati, 14 August (HS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday observed Partition Horror Memorial Day across Assam, paying tribute to those who lost their lives, were displaced or were separated from their families during the Partition of India in 1947.

Speaking at the South Kamrup district event, BJP Assam Pradesh President Dilip Saikia said that, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2021 announcement, August 14 is now dedicated to remembering the victims of one of the world’s largest human displacements. “This is not a political act, but a moral duty to stand with those whom history abandoned,” Saikia said, describing the commemoration as a “step towards correcting a historic wrong.”

He recalled that over 1.5 crore people were forced to flee their homes during Partition, with 15–20 lakh losing their lives to communal violence, mass killings and targeted atrocities. Thousands of women were abducted, raped, and forcibly converted, many never reunited with their families. Saikia lamented that for decades, these horrors were excluded from official history, calling the new observance an act of “restorative justice.”

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal attended the programme in Tinsukia, while Union Minister of State Pabitra Margherita joined the event in Sivasagar. BJP leaders, ministers, and MLAs participated in commemorations across all districts, including Manav Deka (Lakhimpur), Bhuban Pegu (Dhemaji), Hitendra Nath Goswami (Jorhat) and Padma Hazarika (Biswanath) among others.

Saikia emphasised that, unlike other national tragedies such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Partition’s victims had never been formally honoured. “This memorial day institutionalises their memories and ensures they are never forgotten,” he said.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash