This half term Mrs Webber led the History book club for Key Stage Three students, which discussed Torn Apart by Swapna Haddow on partition. This helped pupils build their historical imagination, learn more about historically significant events in the twentieth century, and for some, consider more of their South Asian heritage and history. Many pupils enjoyed discussing the book and sharing their reflections:

I liked how Swapna explained clearly about the mistakes the British Empire made and the problems people had to face. I think Haddow’s purpose in writing this book is to educate the people on how this was a significant, gory event which most people are not aware of. We learnt from this book that identity doesn’t matter at all (Hindu or Muslim). Amar was Hindu, but he put how own life in jeopardy by helping Ibrahim (Muslim) to get to Purana Qila (Islamic refugee camp) safely. My favourite part was when Ibrahim met Amar and they began their friendship helping each other. The ending was powerful, even though Ibrahim may have died, because if it had been a happy ending then people wouldn’t realise the struggle people faced in trying to get to the border.
Rohan

This book was a powerful story, and it is even more powerful when you realise that many pupils in the school are from South Asia. As a Bengali, we were part of Pakistan for two decades. Ibrahim is wealthy and his family is still attacked. He himself could have boarded a train near the end which could have been massacred. In an instant, families could die or go missing. Ibrahim is separated from his family. The ending leaves us in ambiguity if he made it to Pakistan. Though Amar was about to kill Ibrahim, however, they struck a friendship. This reminds us how Muslims in this school often have Hindu friends, it reminds us, even if our original countries have tension, we still can find brotherhood.
Farjad

I really liked the book Torn Apart on the partition of India. My favourite character is Amar as he went from trying to kill Ibrahim to doing every to doing everything in his power to keep him alive. Something new I learnt from the book is how violent the riots were, and I was shocked those hundreds of thousands of people died in the riots. Another thing I liked was the ending as Ibrahim was a refugee camp and a few weeks after a train was attacked and everyone died so we do not know if Ibrahim survived. One more thing I learn is that ‘friendship goes beyond religion.’
Kevin

I have enjoyed this book as it shows us a realistic version of the partition of India and how many struggles people had to face. I liked Ibrahim’s resilience and constant hope that his family are alive and that he will be united with them. As a Muslim and an Indian, this book has been a reminder of how much my ancestors have struggled to make the next generation live in peace. When I first read the ending, it made me sad and shocked as it was not the common ‘happily ever after.’ After reading it, I realised the author had to create such an ending to leave us in suspense and make us understand that so many people struggled through the attacks just to be killed in the last step. Both countries have suffered a lot with 14 million people being displaced.
Affan

I really liked the way that Amar and Ibrahim interact together, even when they’re not meant to be doing it positively. It helps us to understand that we may have more in common than others realise, especially regarding cultural differences. I never knew that people had to go through so much, just because of the British Empire leaving, as I thought that partition brought joy to India, but it brought suffering.
Devayan

I think Torn Apart is a brilliant, action-packed book that reflects true events with the use of fictional characters. This book also reminds me of the hardship that both Muslims and Hindus faced during India’s partition. One of my favourite parts of the book is when Amar (a Hindu boy suffering from poverty), is offered a lot of money by Ibrahim (a rich Muslim boy who was separated from his family in an attempt to cross the border into Pakistan), but Amar forgets about the money when Ibrahim was attacked by a man holding an iron bar.
Kalash

I think that Torn Apart is very realistic and shows how dramatic and impactful it was, in the span of a few days. The two main characters are representative of the countries and demographic. By the end, I thought that it was not meant to have a ‘happily ever after ending,’ and rather showed that these were no exceptions to the killings, and that many people could not avoid the violence.
Durjoe

I enjoyed this book as it was informative. My favourite part was where Amar gave up all the money Ibrahim was going to give him after he got him to Pakistan. Mar gave all the money so a man wouldn’t kill Ibrahim. I liked how it showed their true friendship and teamwork, despite their differences. This includes religion and background. I also liked the ending as the author leaves on a cliffhanger of whether Ibrahim died. This puts into perspective of how many people’s lives were lost. Ibrahim and Amar were only two out of the tens of millions affected.
Arjun

I have enjoyed this book because I love how it affects both sides. For Omar, he has lost a close friend due to Muslims and Ibrahim has been separated due to Hindus. From the book, I like Omar as at one part, he sacrifices a lot of money to protect a person he has only known for a few days. And even later, he does all he can to get him to the border safely. I however do not like the end as we have an uncertainly whether he survived or if he was on the train was attacked.
Safeer

I think this was a really good book and it really informed me about the partition of India. It was a deep look into what India was like and how Hindus and Muslims can work together. It taught me about how many were killed by the violence and story of independence. I believe that partition should be taught in schools in the UK as many people have South Asian heritage.
Nivan

I enjoyed many parts in the book; however, my favourite part was when Amar sacrificed the money given to him, even though he is on the streets and very poor as it shows that friendship is pure and a much deeper relationship than most, including religion. My favourite character in the book was a side-character: Ibrahim's mother. This is because she was a passionate believer in following your own passion. This changed my perspective of the partition because it minimalised a large scale 14 million displaced and a million killed, to just one. This shows that everyone has their own story, creating many.
Tanish

I liked this book because it taught me many things about the partition that I would never have learnt in school. For instanced I never knew how the effect of the partition reached displacing 14 million people and killing 1 million. It taught me how easy it is to look away from difficult or horrible things when we don’t like it.
Leo