Evacuee Property and the State: Legal Battles and Bureaucratic Challenges in Post-Partition India

Abstract

The Partition of India in 1947 triggered an unprecedented displacement of millions, resulting in a vast number of properties being left behind by those forced to migrate across the newly created borders. In response, the Indian state introduced the "evacuee property" regime to manage and redistribute these abandoned assets. This paper critically examines the legal and bureaucratic challenges that emerged in the aftermath of Partition, focusing on how the state attempted to regulate ownership, ensure refugee rehabilitation, and maintain administrative control through legislation such as the Evacuee Property Act. Despite these efforts, the implementation was marked by procedural ambiguities, political manipulation, and institutional delays, often intensifying the suffering of displaced communities. Drawing on legal documents, court rulings, and oral histories, the study explores how the evacuee property framework shaped questions of citizenship, justice, and belonging in postcolonial India. It reveals how the state’s attempts to balance legal order and humanitarian response often faltered, leaving a legacy that continues to influence property rights and communal dynamics in the subcontinent.