👀 Partition: No Way Home

#64 | VR crosses borders

Today is India’s 75th Independence Day today. On this day, British Rule ended (officially), and the country has been limping towards a blurry vision of democracy and prosperity ever since. But I’m not here to talk about that. You can google today’s news to see what I mean – it’s a carnival of chaos as always.

Today I want to talk about Project Dastaan – a peacebuilding initiative that strives to connect people displaced by the Partition with their childhood neighbourhoods.

Partition, which I’ve written about before, was the largest forced migration in human history. Project Dastaan uses VR experiences to bring alive the childhood homes of 30 Partition survivors.

They have also created an interactive animated VR documentary experience which puts the viewer in the shoes of a migrant in 1947.

Short films and documentaries complement these VR initiatives and give voice to those displaced by the Partition.

No amount of state-mandated selfies with the tricolour can erase the heartache of those who lost everything they had 75 years ago. The least we can do is remember.

Proiti