Partition of 1947 and intergenerational trauma

Intergenerational exchange trauma It has become a buzzword in the last few years. This issue was first investigated in 1966 by Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Rakoff and his colleagues. They found higher levels of distress among descendants of Holocaust survivors. This important discovery helped provide a fundamental understanding of this phenomenon.

Studies in the 2000s looked at groups affected by significant life-disrupting events. Bezo, a doctoral student in Ottawa, studied Soviet Ukrainians who experienced the Holodomor, a mass famine in the 1930s under Stalin. He identified the following intergenerational influences: anxietyfood-related behaviors (hoarding, overeating), authoritarianism child rearingand community trust declines, with life often described as “survival mode.” This research is currently expanding, including the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge killings, the Rwandan genocide, displacement The enslavement of American Indians and the enslavement of African Americans.

Additionally, Rachel Yehuda’s epigenetic Research shows that trauma changes genes and can be passed down. For example, the Children of Holocaust Survivors exhibits include: stressRelated genes even without direct exposure to trauma.

In my work, I have observed intergenerational patterns of authoritarian parenting, scarcity mindset, pressure to achieve, suppressed emotions, and abuse. alcoholism Across generations. These issues are often met with silence, an outdated coping mechanism in South Asia. The study of Holocaust survivors is a reflection of others, such as those affected by the 1947 Partition, which displaced 12 million to 20 million people in what is now India and Pakistan, sparked widespread violence, and deepened religious hostilities. This raises questions about similar intergenerational and epigenetic effects on the population.

“The Partition of 1947 was the largest mass migration in history, but little has been written about the mental health toll it took on survivors and their families.” –Dr. Amara Khalid, Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Ammara Khalid, a Pakistani psychologist living in Chicago, draws on decolonized cultures. treatment Bowenian family systems model that allows clients to trace back issues such as alcoholism. sex violence, anxiety, depressionand trauma. She argues that “how a person feels today may be rooted in how their ancestors felt yesterday,” and that patterns of intergenerational trauma are not just learned behaviors. genetics.

Studying the impact of division on mental health is deeply personal for Khalid. Like many families, her family crossed the border during Partition, with her paternal grandparents remaining in Pakistan and her maternal grandparents eventually immigrating to the United States. They talked about the challenges before Partition and the painful “inevitable reality” of leaving behind their families and migrating to Pakistan. It’s a new country ruled by Muslims. Khalid points out that while some people openly talk about their experiences of separation, others struggle to talk about their fears and some suppress their trauma completely.

Given her strong connection to Partition, her own work with clients, and limited research, Khalid decided to write a book about the impact of this massive event on mental health. She collected stories from second, third and fourth generations of families affected by Partition. They included scenes of violence such as the shooting of children, the rape of women, and the burning alive of migrant trains.

She points out that many people thought crossing the border was temporary and that they could return to retrieve their belongings and say goodbye. Although peace was promised between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, this was not the reality and its effects are still being felt.

“I spent most of my youth in the shadow that overshadowed his life. No matter how much I loved him, and he loved me, a part of him… I felt that by 1947 it had changed forever and remained inaccessible.” -Dr. Shairi Jain, Psychiatrist and Trauma Specialist

In a 2020 interview hinduismtrauma expert Dr. Shaili Jain narrated her family’s tragic history during the Partition era. Her paternal grandfather was murdered, and her father, who was 10 years old at the time, ran away from home and became a refugee and child laborer in India. Twenty years later, he moved to England, where Jainism was born and raised.

Jain said her family rarely visited India, and there were no photos or family heirlooms of her paternal grandparents, “no physical reminder of their presence. So I learned from this family history. “I grew up feeling disconnected,” Jayne recalls. However, Jayne believes that her family’s trauma ultimately shaped her by influencing her deep interest in understanding thoughts, emotions, and behavior. career As a psychiatrist.

her book A heart that cannot be expressed in words This is evidence of her family’s trauma during the partition. “I finally realized, () partition It made sense to me that this story should be at the center of my book, as it has always been central to my own life and career choices. Honoring family stories in this way was very important to me. ”

Impact on South Asian generations

There has been limited research into the impact of large-scale tragedies like Partition on Jainism.oppressiondissociation, and rejection It operates on a societal level. ” This tracks trends in SA. shy Stay away from discussing pain and suffering and paying for it later through mental or physical suffering.

Professor Jain warned that “collective denial comes at a high price. This old trick will eventually backfire,” adding, “Unprocessed trauma could create a future spiral of mass violence in South Asia.” “There is a strong possibility that this violence has continued to be reproduced in the 21st century.”

Khalid shares that too many Hindu, Sikh and Muslim families are still haunted by the genocide of their ancestors. This partition, she writes, had a direct impact on the generation of South Asians who lived through it. PTSD to matter addictionextreme poverty and malnutrition. It also carries the weight of subsequent generations growing up in abusive homes, with parents who are always in economic survival mode, or suffering from scarcity thinking and hypervigilance towards potential threats to the status quo. It also meant that he would feel the same.

This is because SA “always strives for perfection, struggles with addiction and eating disorders, attachment Problems and codependency. ” As a systemic therapist, Khalid also believes that “colonization, white supremacy, patriarchy, It also explores the effects of oppression.

Khalid shares how that trauma manifests as “legacy burden” (beliefs passed down through generations), scarcity thinking, anxiety, and insecurity. fear loss, cultural discontinuity, and shame And secrecy. All these issues can influence a rigid diaspora view of career. marriagesocial status, time, productivityand financial security.

Efforts by Jains, Khalids, and others to expand on topics like Partition could significantly change considerations in mental health treatment to include harmful ancestral events. The history of South Asia includes many life-changing events such as the Bangladesh war, the Indo-Pak war, the Idi Amin dictatorship, and natural disasters such as the Gujarat earthquake.

Further research on intergenerational trauma can help mental health professionals understand and more meaningfully cope with depression, anxiety, and depression. angerultimately alleviating the ancestral burden.