paper, monotypes
2023
Presented at Proposals for a Memorial to Partition curated by Murtaza Vali
12 Gates, Philadelphia
This exchange of letters between Dr. Ambedkar and Nehru in December 1947 highlights the suffering of the untouchable communities during partition. Many untouchable people were restricted from crossing the border because of their caste-based sanitation jobs deemed 'Essential Services'. Those who were able to leave suffered immensely at refugee camps, facing caste-discrimination wherever they went.
A close up image of Dr.Ambedkar reading from sheets of paper accompanies the texts. This marks the moment when he was officially sworn in as the first law minister of Independent India by Nehru, a few months after the exchange of these letters.