New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that August 14 will now be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in memory of the struggles and sacrifices of people, and said the pain of partition can never be forgotten.
Modi noted that millions of people were displaced and many lost their lives due to the mindless hate and violence caused by the partition.
May the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, the prime minister said, keep “reminding us of the need to remove the poison of social divisions, disharmony and further strengthen the spirit of oneness, social harmony and human empowerment”.
Pakistan was carved out as a Muslim country after the division of India by the British in 1947. Millions of people were displaced and many lakhs of them lost their lives in the communal violence that followed.
India will celebrate its 75th Independence Day on Sunday. Pakistan’s independence day falls on August 14.
Hours after Modi’s announcement, the Union Home Ministry notified August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said Partition Horrors Remembrance Day will be a fitting tribute to all those who lost their lives due to the partition of the nation and were displaced from their roots.
Declaration of such a day would remind the present and future generations of Indians of the pain and suffering faced by the people during the partition, it said.
