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Updated At: May 23, 2022 06:26 AM (IST)
Picture for representational purpose only.
It was in October 1988 that I went to Shillong from Aizawl for a meeting at North-Eastern Hill University. I went to Laitumkhrah in Shillong to get some papers Xeroxed for the meeting. I saw an elderly shopkeeper with wrinkles on his face and asked him, ‘Why are you working at this age when you should be taking rest? Don’t you have grandchildren to perform this task?’
He responded angrily, ‘Have you undergone the trauma and miseries of the Partition?’ He went on to narrate the story of leaving behind their hard-earned movable and immovable property and somehow escaping from East Bengal (now Bangladesh) to Meghalaya to save their lives. He told me how all his family members, and thousands others like them, were struggling to lead a decent life.
I noticed the anguish on his face and could not muster courage to continue the conversation. Growing up in a tiny village in Central India (in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh) and unaware of the sufferings of these fellow citizens, I was taken aback by this narrative and felt guilty of raising the issue.
The incident remained in my subconscious mind till I came to Punjab in 2020. I interacted with several families who had returned from undivided India after the Partition and was surprised to learn that they had migrated from Pakistan. They came from undivided India, and hence cannot be, and should not be, termed as refugees. My curiosity was further amplified when I read an article by Brig HS Sandhu (retd) in the Sunday Tribune recently — truth from an eyewitness. But his generosity cannot underscore the plight, suffering, hardships and agony that our fellow citizens had to undergo due to the Partition, both in the eastern as well as western territories of undivided India.
In spite of this, their determination to struggle, re-establish and come out with flying colours to contribute in every domain is remarkable and inspirational. Take the case of those who left East Punjab (now Pakistan) in the aftermath of the Partition. They dominate every sphere of life. Similar is the case with those who came from erstwhile East Bengal. They were able to capitalise on the challenges that migration posed and convert them into opportunities to embrace success.
The intention of writing this piece is not to reopen their wounds and refresh bad memories, but to learn a lesson from history to make us wise to not repeat similar mistakes. Success stories of such groups of people should be understood through detailed case studies and taught in schools to inspire young minds to negotiate difficult phases in life, and not only to acquire traits of survival against all odds, but also to shine in every walk of social life.
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The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling English daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).
Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia
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