Coopers Refugee Camp, Kolkata

Coopers Refugee Camp, 200 kilometres north of Kolkata. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall

Kajal Roy, 80, fled from Dhaka in 1947 on a freighter ship packed with 3000 refugees, all in fear of their lives. He has lived in Coopers Refugee Camp for the past 58 years. His grandchildren and children still live in the camp. Born in India they have gained citizenship. Kajal remains stateless. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall

100-year-old Mera Das surrounded by her family. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall

Spinning cotton. The older camp dwellers still spin their own cotton and make their own clothes. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall

Rajesh Dhillon. Most of the camp dwellers are Hindus and have small shrines in the gardens of their homes. Typical of West Bengal the worship of the goddess Kali is common. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall

Vitas Chowdry, 5, and Rathin Chowdry, 71. Few of the 'original' residents of the camp have spoken publicly of the horrors of partition and how it tore their lives apart. Stories are still passed on from grandfather to grandson. Unlike his great-grandfather Vitas has Indian citizenship but still lives in the same camp Rathin fled to from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) almost sixty years ago. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall

The daily ritual of gathering water from the well still goes on. Barely one hundred yards outside the refugee camp an increasing number of local homes have running water. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall

Visaka Das, 82, and Bikash Das, 16. Four generations now live in the camp. The extended families live in baked mud huts that have been adapted over the years. Most now have gardens and outhouses. Trapped close to the border with Bangladesh in one of Bengal’s poorest areas there are few employment opportunities for young men like Bikash. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall

Children line up for morning assembly. The refugee camp has its own Primary School. Photograph: Dan McDougall/Dan McDougall