Archive · 10 Aug 2025
Sealdah Station's Role: A Home for Refugees Post-Partition
After India was split into India and Pakistan, many people had to leave their homes.
Thousands of people from East Pakistan came to Calcutta, India.
The Sealdah train station became their first place to live, as they didn't have anywhere else to go.
The station was very crowded and dirty, and people faced many difficulties.
They had no bathrooms and not enough food or clean water.
Many people got sick or died.
Even though it was very hard, some people were able to make a new life for themselves in India, while others kept struggling.
Sealdah Station in Calcutta became the first home to many refugees from East Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947.
Refugees, arriving by train, often stayed on platforms for weeks or months due to lack of shelter.
Conditions were extremely difficult, with overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and scarcity of resources.
Many refugees faced disease, death, and the loss of loved ones, with the Calcutta Municipal Corporation removing bodies weekly.
Despite hardship, some refugees eventually rebuilt their lives, while others struggled to overcome the challenges.
- Who
- Refugees from East Pakistan who were displaced due to the Partition.
- What
- Sealdah Station in Calcutta became a temporary home for refugees from East Pakistan following the Partition of India.
- When
- The influx of refugees occurred primarily in the late 1940s and 1950s, following the 1947 partition.
- Where
- Sealdah Station in Calcutta, India.
- Why
- People were displaced due to religious and political conflicts following the partition of India and Pakistan.
Refugees' Experience
Legacy of Partition
Life Outcomes
Refugees' Experience
Many found difficulty due to extreme poverty, displacement, and trauma.
Legacy of Partition
Some persevered and rebuilt their lives successfully.
- Year of Partition
- 1947
- Location of Sealdah Station
- Calcutta, India
- Origin of Refugees
- East Pakistan
- Primary mode of transport
- Train
- Initial aid provided
- Relief and rehabilitation department provided shelter in relief camps.
