Unique Partition museum to boost tourism in Amritsar, says Sidhu

CHANDIGARH: The Amarinder Singh government has welcomed the launch of a unique initiative to commemorate August 17 as Partition Remembrance Day in memory of those, especially from Punjab and Bengal, who lost everything to Partition but went on to build a new India with their indomitable spirit and resilience.

Navjot Singh Sidhu in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

The Amarinder Singh government has welcomed the launch of a unique initiative to commemorate August 17 as Partition Remembrance Day in memory of those, especially from Punjab and Bengal, who lost everything to Partition but went on to build a new India with their indomitable spirit and resilience.

The government will extend all support to the Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust, which is setting up the world’s Partition Museum at Town Hall in Amritsar to mark the event on August 17, Minister for Culture and Tourism Navjot Singh Sidhu told mediapersons here.

The museum will contribute significantly to further boosting tourism in Amritsar, he added.

The inauguration of the museum, which will be attended by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, will be preceded by a unique online campaign ‘Chalo Amritsar —17th August, 2017, for Partition Remembrance Day’. Several high-level national and international dignitaries, with a large number of NRIs from Partition-affected families, are expected to be present at the inauguration of the museum that will narrate the story of the triumph of the hope of the Partition survivors over despair, noted author and columnist, and the Chair of the Trust, Kishwar Desai, said.

The inaugural event will be followed by an evening of Sufi music, under the Aegis of the Arts and Literature Festival of Amritsar (ALFA), and a nostalgic recreation of the pre-1947 streets of Amritsar and Lahore, with street food and other memorabilia. The function will be open to the public.