Australian press representations of the partition violence in Punjab

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores how the Australian press interpreted the 1947 partition violence. The coverage holds considerable interest both from the point of view of Australian press history and ‘imperial relations' on Indian affairs. What aspects of the events represented and interpreted? Was there a tendency to follow the British colonial narrative of ‘communal violence', rather than the Indian and Pakistan press interpretation of the events. Using Australia’s two oldest continuing newspapers Sydney Morning Herald and West Australian, this documentation offers a refreshing perspective to the partition violence reporting that provides an insight into a human dimension of Partition studies.