Torn from the Roots: A Partition Memoir

by Kamla Patel

An extraordinary first-hand account of Operation Recovery, an operation carried out by the newly constituted governments of India and Pakistan in 1947 to recover abducted women and children and restore them to their families. Kamlaben Patel, right-hand woman of Mridula Sarabhai who oversaw Operation Recovery, conveys the pathos and urgency of those turbulent times in her candid, no-holds-barred memoir of the more than five years that she spent in Pakistan and on the recovery mission; of how women were exchanged like oranges and apples; of the heartbreaking stories she heard and the lives she saved. Compassionate in its humanitarianism, this book is also of rare archival value, restoring women to a central place in the history of India s Partition.

Genres: Nonfiction

235 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[swords & sweets · Rating 4 out of 5]

This memoir provides important insight into the recovery of abducted women following Partition.

[Saisudha Acharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book quite by accident at a cute little bookshop and took it more to help support the new place than out of actual interest. I am so glad I actually bought the book! First, this is a translation so am sure the original is far better. But the simple English serves Patel's story well. Kamala Patel was part of Operation Recovery - an operation supported by the government of India and Pakistan that was supposed to locate and recover women and children abducted during Partition riots and violence. I rate the book really high in part because it is very matter of fact, not over doing the commentary or the dwelling too long on her emotional response to events. The other reason is because of how balanced and impartially she narrates her story. She sees the arbitrariness of the border and she sees how absurd the waste that lies before her is, but she is a practical narrator, wasting very little time on the history and politics and coming rapidly to the point viz story telling. She writes about muslim women abducted by Hindus and Sikhs and Hindu/Sikh women abducted by Muslim men with equal care and compassion for the women and she describes the awful attitude Sikh, Muslim and Hindu men had towards women - viewing them as little more than objects to be replaced if lost or taken away in some cases.

If you steer away from Partition history because of how overwhelmingly tragic it can be, try reading this book. It has sad moments and more optimistic ones that highlight how humans who are so capable of depravity are also capable of courage and compassion. I feel it should be part of curriculum for young people learning about that period of time regardless of where they are - in high schools in India or Pakistan.

[Brooklynn Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of Kamla's memoir for further research on the recovery program and she gave invaluable details on the organization and her experiences!! It's a side of history unfortunately most people don't give time for. The work they did was difficult and they didn't even know if they were doing the right thing, they were just trying to do their best.
The reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it wasn't totally well organized and the stories weren't fully developed or explained. Like the two pages about the weavers? I didn't know why they were significant enough for her to mention when there were so many other stories I wish she went into more detail with. Also I would have liked to know more about Kamla herself and the friendships she made. It had the potential to be a much longer book!

[Vaibhav Patel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in Gujarati, and it left a deep impact on me. Some stories in the book touched my heart so profoundly that I became eager to know what happened to those individuals afterward. The author’s leadership and fearless personality stood out, helping her navigate and overcome various challenges. Her resilience in the face of adversity is truly inspiring. This memoir provides a powerful and emotional account of the Partition, making it a compelling read.