Many like Zakariya were forced to flee their homes, desperately clinging onto any valuables they could and escape towards an unknown future. There was chaos, a lack of control by the authorities, and general fear – a fear of an uncertain future, a fear that threatened the safety of their lives and their families and daughters. While the Boundary Commission had decided on the line that created India and Pakistan, the people on the ground were uncertain of the complete ramifications that the drawing of the line would have on their lives. The violence unleashed the mass forced migrations of millions, overnight turning them homeless and into state refugees. They had not chosen this path, the politicians had. Yet they were paying the price, with their lives shattered and livelihoods lost. The overriding narrative of partition is the accompanying violence; it is difficult to discuss this period without mentioning the senseless, and indeed, the intended violence that engulfed the region. It did not matter whether or not you were directly affected by the violence because most people will have experienced the repercussions of it, like Zakariya who fled before the violence claimed the lives of the people he grew up with. They witnessed the mass movement of people, which saw the demographic transformation of their neighbourhoods. They saw neighbours fleeing, either from the violence or from the ensuing violence that was spreading and engulfing everyone. It is difficult to fully understand how this region succumbed to the frenzy of violence in August 1947.