Written by Jess Magee
The latest season of Doctor Who has been serving up a lot of controversial and landmark moments throughout their journey into key historical periods in time. The main storyline that caught my eye in terms of identity was seen throughout season 11 episode 6 titled ‘Demons of the Punjab’. This saw one of the main character’s family members affiliation with the partition of India and how her identity changed with, in turn, how she was treated within the community.
The partition of India took place in 1947 with over 10 million people affected by it. After colonial India were granted independence from the British empire, the area was divided into separate states: Pakistan with a Muslim majority and India with a Hindu majority. The hope in doing this was to create a somewhat ‘homeland’ for minority and majority religious groups. However, this only led to one of the largest and most violent mass migrations in history as millions of families were uprooted from their homes and communities and made to travel to new countries. People were cut off from their loved ones at a moment’s notice, leaving a damaging legacy that still affects the countries after generations.
The idea of what constitutes national identity and a sense of belonging is very much put to the test within this event. Groups that had existed together in harmony and called each other friend, neighbour or even partner ended up on the ‘wrong side’ of the border and were forced to move to completely new areas, mainly based on their religious identity. This idea is pulled to the forefront of the episode, with two characters (one Hindu and one Muslim) planning to get married against family wishes. Although they have lived in the same small village their entire lives, their religious views make them more strangers than lovers in the newly formed states.
But this can only be taken so far in many ways. Before partition even began to reach the forefront of politicians’ minds, people were already using their religious affiliation as their identity with areas such as Bengal and Punjab already known as being Muslim-majority before World War II. It brings forward the debate of religious identity or territorial identity. Where do people feel belonging and what do they believe makes them who they are today?
With estimates of the death toll reaching 2 million in some cases, the partition sent the newly founded India and Pakistan into an identity crisis. This legacy is still deeply set within India-Pakistan relations, which has provoked four wars since and created a hostile environment between the neighbours. Years of entrenched identity clashes won’t be changed any time soon, with a recent poll finding that a third of young Pakistanis support strict Sharia-law punishments. However, events like the partition teach us that there are many different forms of identity that make up us, and many will die for that feeling of belonging.
