Welcome to my blog!

In this blog, I will be sharing my thoughts on counter-memory discourses and anti-memorials as a form of visual art practice.

I write about the traumatic geopolitical events that I memorialize in my art projects, and what about these events stirred me to make anti-memorials to them.

I also hope to post passages from books that I am currently reading from James E Young, Michele Foucault, Judith Butler, Andreas Huyssen, and other authors whose writings inform my art practice.

Women warriors of the 1857 revolt in India

Pritika Chowdhry

Mar 8, 20234 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Women warriors of the 1857 revolt in India

Remembering women warriors of the 1857 Revolt or Rebellion, the first war of independence of India this International Women's History Month.

Partition of India, 1947: An Overview and FAQ

Pritika Chowdhry

Aug 15, 20225 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Partition of India, 1947: An Overview and FAQ

A short overview and FAQ for the Partition of India in 1947, to remember and understand it on the 75th Anniversary of the Partition.

75th Anniversary of Partition: A Timeline of Post-Partition Events

Pritika Chowdhry

Aug 10, 20226 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

75th Anniversary of Partition: A Timeline of Post-Partition Events

This post creates a timeline of events from after the Partition in 1947 till 2022, as we approach the 75th anniversary of the Partition.

Partition of India and the dark history of the Radcliffe Line

Pritika Chowdhry

Jul 6, 20224 min read

Cracking India

Partition of India and the dark history of the Radcliffe Line

The Radcliffe Line, which divides India and Pakistan, came into being on Aug 17, 1947, was created by Sir Cyril Radcliffe, a British lawyer.

1947 Partition of India - A Timeline of Pre-Partition Events

Pritika Chowdhry

Jun 27, 20229 min read

Partition of India

1947 Partition of India - A Timeline of Pre-Partition Events

The timeline of historical events leading up to the Partition of India, along religious lines on August 15, 1947. #75thAnniversary

The Partition of India, the First War of Independence, and the Birth of Pakistan

Pritika Chowdhry

Jun 14, 20222 min read

Partition of India

The Partition of India, the First War of Independence, and the Birth of Pakistan

Partition of India took place on 15 August 1947. Known as the First War of Independence in the South Asian subcontinent it created Pakistan.

Remembering Survivors on the Anniversary of the Third Anglo-Afghan War

Pritika Chowdhry

May 4, 20223 min read

Remembering Survivors on the Anniversary of the Third Anglo-Afghan War

Anti-memorial to the Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919, by artist Pritika Chowdhry commemorates the women who were raped by the British soldier

Connecting Revolutions on the Anniversaries of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and Ireland’s Partition

Pritika Chowdhry

Apr 13, 20224 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Connecting Revolutions on the Anniversaries of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and Ireland’s Partition

Ireland and India were both British colonies, and became allies in their quest for freedom, and were partitioned when the British left.

Broken Column: Online Solo Exhibition at Art Show International gallery

Pritika Chowdhry

Mar 23, 20223 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Broken Column: Online Solo Exhibition at Art Show International gallery

"Broken Column: The Monuments of Forgetting" by artist Pritika Chowdhry in an online solo exhibition at Art Show International gallery.

Independence Day of Bangladesh and the Art of Memory

Pritika Chowdhry

Mar 23, 20224 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Independence Day of Bangladesh and the Art of Memory

Bangladesh declared its independence from Pakistan on March 26th, 1971. Known as Bangladesh Independence Day, it started the Liberation War.

20 years after Godhra Train Burning, the Gujarat Pogrom, and Specters of the Partition

Pritika Chowdhry

Feb 24, 20227 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

20 years after Godhra Train Burning, the Gujarat Pogrom, and Specters of the Partition

February 27, 2022 is the 20th anniversary of the Godhra train burning case and the communal riots that came to be called the Gujarat Pogrom.

2020 Delhi Riots, Citizenship Amendment Act Protesters, and Echoes of the Partition Violence

Pritika Chowdhry

Feb 23, 20226 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

2020 Delhi Riots, Citizenship Amendment Act Protesters, and Echoes of the Partition Violence

The 2020 Delhi riots protesting the Anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act echo the violent communal riots of the Partition of India in 1947.

Mahatma Gandhi's assassination and the RSS connection

Pritika Chowdhry

Jan 30, 20225 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Mahatma Gandhi's assassination and the RSS connection

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on January 30, 1948 by Nathuram Godse of RSS. Today is the 74th anniversary of Gandhi's assassination.

The Pakistan Declaration: January 28 and the Pakistan National Movement

Pritika Chowdhry

Jan 28, 20225 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

The Pakistan Declaration: January 28 and the Pakistan National Movement

On January 28th, 1933, Choudhry Rahmat Ali published The Pakistan Declaration, that sparked off the Pakistan National Movement.

Purna Swaraj: January 26, India's Republic Day, and the Declaration of the Independence of India

Pritika Chowdhry

Jan 25, 20225 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Purna Swaraj: January 26, India's Republic Day, and the Declaration of the Independence of India

January 26, called Republic Day in India, honors the call for Purna Swaraj in 1930 and adoption of the Constitution of free India in 1950.

“Subaltern” Remembrances Mapping Affective Approaches to Partition Memory

Pritika Chowdhry

Jan 15, 202238 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

“Subaltern” Remembrances Mapping Affective Approaches to Partition Memory

Scholarly published review by Dr. Jacque Micieli Voutsinas, of "Remembering the Crooked Line," an anti-memorial by artist, Pritika Chowdhry.

Irish Declaration of Independence: January 21, 1919

Pritika Chowdhry

Jan 10, 20224 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Irish Declaration of Independence: January 21, 1919

Anti-memorial to the Irish Declaration of Independence on January 21, 1919, connects it to Jallianwala Bagh massacre and global 1919 events.

Remembering Nirbhaya, and a tribute to her mother, Asha Devi

Pritika Chowdhry

Dec 16, 20210 min read

Nirbhaya Project

Remembering Nirbhaya, and a tribute to her mother, Asha Devi

Nirbhaya was the name given to the victim of a brutal gang-rape on December 16, 2012 in Delhi. Her mother, Asha Devi fought and won justice.

Remembering the "Birangona": the Spectral Wound of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971

Pritika Chowdhry

Dec 16, 20213 min read

Partition Anti-Memorial Project

Remembering the "Birangona": the Spectral Wound of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971

Anti-memorials for Birangona, brave woman in Bengali, an euphemism for 400000 women raped by Pakistan army in 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War

What are "Sites of Memory" or "lieux de mémoires"?

Pritika Chowdhry

Dec 16, 20211 min read

Broken Column

What are "Sites of Memory" or "lieux de mémoires"?

A lieux de mémoire, or site of memory, is an important concept in the field of Memory Studies and was coined by the French historian,...