US Ambassador visits Dara Shikoh library in Delhi, donates artefact to Partition Museum

The US ambassador to India, Atul Keshap on Monday visited the Dara Shikoh library in Delhi. The envoy visited the library located in Ambedkar University to meet with Mallika Ahluwalia, founder-trustee of the Partition Museum. During the meeting, the ambassador donated an artefact belonging to his family to the history museum. The US diplomat, who comes from a family affected by the partition, said that the journey was ‘extremely meaningful’ to him and his family.

Taking to Twitter, Keshap said, “Today, I did something extremely meaningful and important for my family, something 75 years in the making, a respectful gesture of love, remembrance, and hope. I went to the Mughal-era Dara Shikoh Library, located on the grounds of Ambedkar University, Kashmeri Gate, Delhi. I went there to meet Ms Mallika Ahluwalia, CEO of the Partition Museum in Amritsar.”

The US ambassador went on to praise Ahluwalia and her team for honouring the memory of the partition. “She and her dedicated team have done a wonderful and much-needed job of honouring the memory of the tens of millions displaced or killed during Partition, which includes my Indian family,” the envoy said. Keshap went on to add that Ahluwalia is now in plans to establish a Partition Museum in Delhi. They are now working with local authorities to refurbish the Dara Shikoh library. According to Keshap, the library could become “another shrine and memorial to the horrors of Partition.”

US ambassador donates artefact to Partition Museum

Atul Keshap was recently interviewed by Mallika Ahluwalia for the partition museum’s audio-archive collection. During the interview, Keshap recounted his family’s traumatic experiences of the Partition and said that the family holds “immense debt to India.” The US ambassador informed that he is now donating an artefact from his grandparents to the museum.

“When I visited family in Panipat, I sought permission to donate an artefact from our grandparents, something they brought to the safety of India when they fled for their lives from their ancestral lands. Something humble, old, personal.” Keshap revealed that he was donating an old lock and key that his grandparents brought with them to India during the partition.

“We know this humble lock and key came with my respected grandparents when they fled their ancestral lands. It secured a trunk that carried what meagre possessions they could carry. Amidst murder, riots, and unimaginable suffering, this lock went with them to safety in India,” Keshap said. He further added that the lock stayed in his grandmother’s almirah since 1955 and had become a symbolic part of his family’s struggles.

“Today, 75 years after it came to Delhi, it was an immense honour, on behalf of my entire family, and in reverent memory of our respected grandparents, to convey their lock to the Partition Museum so future generations may see it, and reflect on the horrors of partition,” he said. The US diplomat went on to respect his grandparents. “I bow to my grandfather, Chaudhry Bhawani Das Arora, B.A., and my grandmother, Srimati Chhinko Bai Sachdeva. May their lock and key remind us to unbind ourselves from the shackles of ignorance, violence, and hatred. May we unlock our hearts to have love for all humanity,” he added.

IMAGE: TWITTER