Wednesday 23 November 2011

THE TERROR TRAIN TO PAKISTAN


".We walked night and day. There were men and women of all ages and all conditions. Many could not stand the strain. They-mostly women and children-were left on the road. I reached a place called Fazilka, in Indian territory, and discovered that another refugee column in which my father and other relatives had set out had fared much worse. They had been attacked by Muslim mobs on their way: Only 40 or 50 had survived out of 400 or 500 and even these were in hospitals. My aunt had been killed, more than a hundred girls were abducted, and my father rescued from a heap of the dead.



...While in Fazilka, we saw other refugee columns coming in; one of them he says was 'forty miles long', and in another marched " five hundred women who had been stripped naked.......I saw women with their breasts, noses, ears and cheeks cut........one of them told me how her child was roasted and she was asked to partake of the same.....another was ravished in the presence of her husband who was kept tied to a tree".
— Stated under oath by Madanlal Pahwa during the Mahatama Gandhi Murder Trial.(Wikipedia)

 If i had to rate the  most shameful event in the history of the world , i would rank partition of india on top. The year 1947 marked the end of the British Rule in the Subcontinent. The departure of the British from the subcontinent led to the creation of two independent states, Pakistan and India.Muslims moved to Pakistan ,and Sikhs and Hindus moved to India. Several books give an account of the tragedy of the partition  that plagued the subcontinent  The year 1947 records the gruesome human disaster in the wake of partition. The incredible suffering and bewilderment were witnessed by the people on either side of the subcontinent.It lead to the killing of innocent people on both sides..   Several  books and novels written give a vivid  account  of the communal violence that erupted in the subcontinent when the British announced its division into Pakistan and India. The most affected area was the Punjab province since it was one of the two provinces that were divided into two halves. This led to huge migration from one city to another to seek a peaceful land for their survival while giving rise to unprecedented violence and crime scenes.During the tragic history of partition, vicious acts were not confined only to the adults. Even children were also exposed to same violent and angry world.They too could not escape the harsh realities.But women became worst hit victim of this event.The partition narratives are testimony to the fact that the women of Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims were among ―the greatest victims of religious and cultural persecution. On both sides of the newly created border, women were kidnapped, abducted, raped and brutally kille . And the violence inflicted upon women was equivalent to a sacrilege against one‘s religion, country, and family. It  became the norm of the victors that they  celebrated their triumphs on the bodies of women while crossing all the limits of humanism.And most abhorring act was, scores of women were killed, mutilated , their breasts cut and sent across the border.
Train to Pakistan a novel by famous writer, Khushwant Singh says: ―The fact is both sides killed. Both shot and stabbed and speared and clubbed. Both tortured. Both raped. The peaceful and serene atmosphere of Mano Majra(a character in the novel) starts to crumble when a group of dacoits kill Ram Lal(a character in the novel) – the money lender. The situation is worsened when two ghost trains arrive from Pakistan, full of murdered Sikhs and Hindus. All of them have been gruesomely hacked to pieces. The severity of the situation can be judged from the fact that the fuel stock for pyre to burn Train to Pakistan mentions the mutilated breasts of the bodies arriving from the Pakistani side.

I have read that these breasts were sent across the border stuffed in gunny bags ,i dont hink there could have been worse example of inhumanism than what was seen in 1947. I also wonder was there a real need to divide our country , It would have saved millions of lives .  There would be no enemity between Hindus and Muslims ,which had been implanted by British rule , untill then they lived like a family.And i feel very proud to say we still live like one in this country, inspite of what all has happened in past ,Britishers divide and rule policy could not stain us for life.

         photograph courtesy jas fotography

2 comments:

  1. A very nicely written article, Alka! When I saw the title I assumed it would be a book-review with some extreme opinion. (No clue why I assumed that!) But, it turned out to be one of those well-worded articles.

    I specifically liked your neutral concern about the victims from both India and Pakistan. If British were bad, we were no better by what we (the citizens at both the sides) did to each other.

    I too like to wish if the two countries never had to be parted into two. Thinking about the lives lost before, during and after the partition, the resources spent on building the armies against each other, the partition is one of the key reasons we're still 'Developing Nations' (or what Americans like to call Less Developed Countries).

    On a lighter note, you could imagine the cricket team we could've had - with opening pair like Sachin Tendulkar and Saeed Anwar/Sehwag and striker bowlers like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Collectively we could've already won three ODI world cups and potential a lot more. :D

    Seriously, the cost we've given for being two and living separately is a lot higher than that we'd have paid with some disputes while living together.

    Once again, very nice article with a noble thought. Let's hope we can see the fall in bitterness and both the countries gaining more peace and progress in future.

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  2. hi rahul thank you so much for dropping by and taking out time to go thru this article..i myself often wonder what the status of both these countries wud have been if british had not invaded india..in fact the cricket thn piece you mentioned had come to my mind as well lol please go through the post we are one in my blog random its abt wt wud it be like if there was no partition i will leave a link for the post here..once again thank you so much

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