For constructing the history of 'Partition' which among the following can be considered as archival sources?

(A) Memoirs
(B) Diaries
(C) Libraries
(D) Newspapers
(E) Government Reports

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

(A), (B), (D), (E) only

The correct answer is Option (3) → (A), (B), (D), (E) only

Oral narratives, memoirs, diaries, family histories, first-hand written accounts – all these help us understand the trials and tribulations of ordinary people during the partition of the country. Millions of people viewed Partition in terms of the suffering and the challenges of the times. For them, it was no mere constitutional division or just the party politics of the Muslim League, Congress and others. For them, it meant the unexpected alterations in life as it unfolded between 1946 and 1950 and beyond, requiring psychological, emotional and social adjustments. As with the Holocaust in Germany, we should understand Partition not simply as a political event, but also through the meanings attached to it by those who lived it. Memories and experiences shape the reality of an event.

One of the strengths of personal reminiscence one type of oral source – is that it helps us grasp experiences and memories in detail. It enables historians to write richly textured, vivid accounts of what happened to people during events such as Partition. It is impossible to extract this kind of information from government documents. The latter deal with policy and party matters and various state-sponsored schemes. In the case of Partition, government reports and files as well as the personal writings of its high-level functionaries throw ample light on negotiations between the British and the major political parties about the future of India or on the rehabilitation of refugees. They tell us little, however, about the day-to-day experiences of those affected by the government’s decision to divide the country.

For constructing the history of the Partition, the following options can be considered as archival sources:

(A) Memoirs
(B) Diaries
(D) Newspapers
(E) Government Reports

Libraries (option C) typically house archival materials but are not directly sources themselves; they house sources like memoirs, diaries, newspapers, and reports.