°®Âþµº

If the past is , do you need a visa? And whose to say that place remains?

Advances in virtual reality have helped realise half this hypothetical; harnessing technical sightlines to simulate geographies and stimulate memory.Ìý

The other half is left to decide whose story to tell. Enter and its VR docu-drama,Ìý.Ìý

"Like the traditionally undivided Indian family which separates when brothers and cousins quarrel and build walls along the family courtyard, Indians and Pakistanis make awkward, complementary enemies"

Supported by Pakistan's Nobel Peace Laureate and VICE Media co-founder Suroosh Alvi, Project DastaanÌýis a motherboard for the modern subcontinent: part repository, part creative studio, part social mission. Its aim: to reconnect those displaced during the with their ancestral villages through virtual reality (VR).Ìý

Premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Project Dastaan'sÌýflagship VR ventureÌýChild of EmpireÌýcould not be more timely. This week, as and solemnly celebrate their 75th anniversaries, time is running out to consecrate the generation who participated in the largest forced migration in history.Ìý

Today, like the Indian Subcontinent itself, sentiments remain divided. But as the inimitable Eqbal Ahmed 25 years ago, "Like the traditionally undivided Indian family which separates when brothers and cousins quarrel and build walls along the family courtyard, Indians and Pakistanis make awkward, complementary enemies."

The animation snuggly fits into this dialectic, proof that we feel and act in contrary ways when harbouring mixed emotions and divided feelings.Ìý

Child of EmpireÌýis vicariously narrated by two childhood friends; a Hindu who migrated from Pakistan to India, and a Muslim who migrated. Through cups of chai – one sweet, one not, both familiar –Ìýwe learn of their perverse journey toward both statehood and refugee-ship.Ìý

Speaking toÌý°®ÂþµºÌýat the British Film Institute (BFI), Project Dastaan (meaning story)Ìýco-founder Sparsh Ahuja spoke of how the initiative quickly evolved beyond reconnecting two of their founder's families with their ancestral homes.

"We wanted the piece to have a broader social impact.ÌýChild of EmpireÌýwas inspired of my grandfathers during Partition, but their stories are two of a billion. We wanted the film to highlight that it is ordinary people who suffer the most when ."

And yet, paradoxically, it wasÌý³Ù³ó¾±²õÌýgeneration's transnational event, , that stitched Project Dastaan's shawl to thread together the networks needed to makeÌýChild of EmpireÌýa success.

"Although COVID made travel impossible, it allowed us to explore new ways to bring the project into being," Sam Dalrymple, Project Dastaan's co-founder and operations lead toldÌý°®Âþµº.Ìý"Virtual reality became an achievable way to ensure these stories of trauma and longing are not lost."

For those of us interested in cybernetics, this shouldn't be a surprise. WhileÌýthe pandemic highlighted the worrying extent of the global digital divide, it also produced a wealth of cross-border creativity. Servers, social media accounts and video-sharing platforms. Project Dastaan took full advantage of this migratory pattern.Ìý

"None of us had any background in virtual reality," Sam quipped. "We just posted an advert on theÌý¹ó²¹³¦±ð²ú´Ç´Ç°ìÌýgroup 'VR Professionals UK' and met Erfan Saadati," who becameÌýChild of Empire'sÌýdirector.

Thankfully for Project Dastaan, this partnership would be fruitful. The director's imprint is visible throughoutÌýChild of Empire, seamlessly simulating themes of loss, tumult and psychosis directly into the viewer's headset. For the first time, thanks to Erfan, we're privy to our "" in 3-D, with 360-degree hindsight.Ìý

Teaser: Child of Empire by Project Dastaan

It is this hindsight we must return to as we remember. One of the more pressing themes that emerged inÌý°®Âþµº's conversation was the increasing scarcity of testimonies. The average life expectancy in India and Pakistan stands at 68 years; this is the last major anniversary we have to learn, first-hand, of the story that determined the region's present fate.Ìý

As Mohsin Hamid, author ofÌýThe Reluctant Fundamentalist, said when speaking of Project Dastaan's significance: "I once asked my grandfather what the most important event of his lifetime had been. He didn't say World War Two or or the development of the atomic bomb. He said 'Partition'. When I asked why he replied, 'Because two-thirds of my neighbours left and I never saw them again.'"

"WhileÌýthe Indian Subcontinent still feels the pain of Partition, Britain and its institutions have forgotten. Britain is a post-colonial nation. It is, and was, as much a part of the Raj as India and Pakistan, we mustn't forget that"

Given current geopolitical realities between the two nation-states, it's easy to forget that nationalism is anathema to the Indian Subcontinent. Our history and our nature contradict this relatively new ideology.Ìý

Initiatives like help enshrine this seismic moment for posterity, ensuring that instances of conviviality between our people are fostered and that the forces of colonialism, the growth of the modern state structure, and the false promise of representative government are held to account.Ìý

The proof is in the pudding. All of the interviews by Project Dastaan were, necessarily, conducted with individuals agedÌýbetween sevenÌýand 18. "The age range of participants revealed how a lot of the larger politics were absent from memory," Sam explained toÌý°®Âþµº. "They didn't know what to do when they had to migrate. All they remember was their parents saying one day, ''."

"One of the more important aspects we wanted to convey inÌýChild of EmpireÌýwas that most interviewees couldn't justify any of the events. They weren't listening to the radio when Jinnah and Gandhi were speaking, they weren't party to the situation deteriorate." This has profound connotations.Ìý

Only after reuniting families with their ancestral homes do we learn how the mental cues obtained by Project Dastaan reveal an innocence . "Due to their age, part of the challenge of reuniting families with their homes, particularly if they were from villages without major landmarks, was that all they remembered was sitting under 'the big tree', smelling the scent of the jasmine flowers, or playing in the field,"ÌýSaadia Gardezi, co-founder and Pakistan-lead of Project DastaanÌýrevealed toÌý°®Âþµº.Ìý

And so since religious affiliation played little to no role in their quest, it leads us to challenge a factor yet to be mentioned:

In that regard, it's somewhat ironic that the interview betweenÌý°®ÂþµºÌýand Project Dastaan was conducted at the British Film Institute.Ìý

As recalled by Sam, – tasked with drawing the line that split a continent inÌýtwo – followed that 'job' with the restructuring of the BFI.Ìý

"What this shows is whileÌýthe Indian Subcontinent still feels the pain of Partition, Britain and its institutions have forgotten. Britain is a . It is, and was, as much a part of the Raj as India and Pakistan, we mustn't forget that."

Yet it's also a point of post-colonial pride that Project Dastaan is inherently a 'Brit-ish' initiative. The venture proves, by and large, that the British-Asian '' have resisted the artificial instincts that divided the Subcontinent into hostile enemies.Ìý

"We're at a point beyond representation. We create for ourselves now. It's no longer about assimilation, but our own legacy"

Only in a place like Britain can Indians, Pakistanis and Bengalis;ÌýHindus, Muslims and Sikhs meet as the old friends we used to be, and only in these constructed, constructive states can we extend a branch of this olive tree to 'other' places afflicted by colonialism.

Project Dastaan and peace-building initiatives like it prove that artists are repositories no less than creators of collective memory and emotion.

And asÌýSparsh toldÌý°®ÂþµºÌýwhen asked to comment on the resurgence of British-Asian creativity: "We're at a point beyond representation. We create for ourselves now. It's no longer about assimilation, but our own legacy."

The scope for, and ambition of Project Dastaan remainÌývast. There are plans to extend the initiative , and Project Dastaan will be travelling to India and Pakistan withÌýChild of EmpireÌýin November of this year.Ìý

There's no getting around that the environment thereÌýwill be tenser, but it's something that needs to be done.Ìý

As Saadia concluded: "There's something to say about cross-national activism, about creating art which forges common ground and common memories.

"AtÌý°®Âþµº,Ìýyour focus is the Middle East and North Africa, you have been affected in ways that speak to us, and vice versa. Together we can find stories . The idea of losing one's home speaks across empires. What we want to doÌýatÌýProject DastaanÌýis feel this emotion to foster empathy."

Benjamin Ashraf is °®Âþµº's Deputy Features Editor. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Jordan's Center for Strategic Studies.

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