I was in the middle school in Chakwal – a town now in Potohar region of Punjab, Pakistan- when the movement for independence from Britain and partition of the Indian subcontinent was in full swing. The Indian National Congress, the Muslim League and the Unionist Parties would arrange big gatherings in a park and deliver speeches to woo would-be voters. I was young, but we friends would always go to such gatherings just for fun, regardless of which party was speaking.
I remember one pre-1947 speech delivered by Sir Feroze Khan Noon, a prominent member of the Muslim League . He said that the Hindus and Muslims could not live together. He narrated a fable that a Hindu and a Muslim were good friends and intended to buy a buffalo in partnership. The Hindu told his Muslim friend that: “Look, let us divide the buffalo in half. You take the front half as this is the clean part of the animal and I would take the back half which is always dirty as I would have to clean her stall regularly after she made a mess”. The Muslim friend pondered over it and thought it was an excellent idea that he won’t have to clean all that filth. So, they made their agreement and bought the buffalo. The result was that the poor Muslim ended up feeding the buffalo since he got the front half where the mouth was. The poor man had to get up early in the morning, go to the field to feed her and get fodder for the night. In the evening, his Hindu friend would appear with a big bucket n the evening, milk the buffalo and take all the milk. Readers may decide who got the better deal!
Finally, the subcontinent was divided based on a two Nations Theory, Hindus and Muslims, with majority population in each country along religious lines. The demarcation of borders for West and Pakistan was drawn by Sir Cyril Radcliff, a British Lawyer, by dividing the Province of Punjab into East Punjab into India, and West Punjab into Pakistan; and similarly, the Province of Bengal into India and East Pakistan. This resulted in dismemberment of families in both provinces, by some families’ members opted for India and the rest opted for Pakistan.
Because of this unnatural partition, there was a mass exodus of population from both sides of the Indian-Pakistani border. Unfortunately, because of the hatred generated by some politicians on both sides, there was rampage looting, rape, burning of properties and killing of innocent people, including women and children. This episode could easily be classified in present day terminology as ethnic cleansing and genocide.
In our area, there was hardly a village that was not burned and innocent peoples killed. I remember one instance where a village, located about three miles from our village, was looted and Hindus and Sikhs, old and young were running for their lives. This village is located across a wide seasonal stream close to my ancestral home. There was only one bus service from our village to Chakwal that would serve all the adjoining villages in a radius of about 7-8 miles.
As I stood on the balcony of our house, I saw an elderly Sikh running for his life, with his turban hanging around his neck, and being chased by a young man with a spear to strike him. I recognized the man; he happened to be my old classmate in the village school. So, I shouted at the top of my voice,” Nawaz, Nawaz, don’t hurt this man” and I ran down the stairs and restrained him. The Sikh thanked me and patted me on the shoulder, saying “Thank You, Son”. God knows if this gentleman ever made to India in one piece.
Later, it was announced in our village that a military convoy was coming down to evacuate all Hindus and Sikhs. We heard rumors that the night before their evacuation, their houses would be looted, burned and people killed. It was frightening news. It was a vicious circle with revenge killings, as Muslim were being slaughtered and looted in the same fashion on the other side of the border in India. Trains full of refugees were blocked and innocent people pulled out and slaughtered in cold blood.
However, Dad got the wind and went from house to house pleading with Muslims not to resort to violence as it was against our religion. Dad had immense respect from the villagers, and they assured him that they would abide by his wishes. But, to be on the safe side, he brought all the Hindu and Sikh women and small children to our house. We have a large courtyard to accommodate a large crowd, and this being a warm (August) moonlit night; we did not need any warm bedding, etc. My Mom and our domestic help cooked a big meal for them. Dad stood guard all night with a rifle on the rooftop, and I stood guard all night with a shotgun to safeguard our family compound, although I had never fired a shot by that time. I would get my marksmanship later in the military.
There was a combined Hindu/Sikh house across the street from our house, and I was sent there to bring home the lady who was the wife of my schoolteacher in the Khalsa School that I attended. I still remember; her name was Ram Kaur, a beautiful lady. I can still visualize her face with a sad look. She went into her room and brought out a bundle, full of 22K gold ladies ornaments. (At least several kilos) and asked me, “Son, give these ornaments to your mother as I am not sure if we would be able to carry them to India with us”. And I replied,” Auntie, you must take these with you to India as you might need to sell there to settle down”. So, I carried her bundle of gold ornaments and brought her to our house to spend the night.
In the morning, the army’s contingent arrived. Dad and I accompanied everybody to deliver our guests safely to the Army for their onward safe passage to India. It should be noted that, in our entire district, ours was the only village where everyone came out unharmed, and with their worthy belongings – thanks to my Dad. I fail to find suitable words to record the emotions and gratitude expressed by our departing friends.
