Personal accounts of partition

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010 Captain S.N.Sharma's Story D.O.B: October, 1936 Place of Birth: Sahiwal, now in Pakistan  I am Group Captain S.N.Sharma, retired from Indian Air Force. I am a graduate of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. In the year 1947, we were in a town called Pindi Bhatian, in district Gujranwala. My father was the headmaster of Govt High School there and I was a student in 5th class. Sometime in June/July 1947 (I do not remember exactly), we left our house to spend summer vacation in our maternal grand-parents place, which is now Pak-occupied Kashmir.  But trouble was already brewing in places and we decided to stop at Gurdaspur, at a friend’s place. We were just in our holiday kit. We never went back to our house in Pindi Bhatian and lost our entire belongings. While at Gurdaspur, we young boys would see long caravans of people crossing the borders with whatever they could carry. This would go on for days, non-stop, 24 hours a day. We also heard f...

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2010 Mrs.A Kochhar D.O.B: 29th December, 1930 Place of Birth: Rawalpindi, now Pakistan Education: Metric from Camelpur                  F.A from Ambala Family Life and Early Years. My father was an advocate. I had 5 brothers and 3 sisters. Our life was simple, very disciplined. No answering back to our parents. I do not remember my father ever raising his hand against us. Half an hour in the corner was enough as a punishment. We played Gulli-Danda (an Indian game played with sticks & pike) and kite flying was a favourite. We had healthy eating habits. Partition: In August 1947 we went to Solan, Himachal Pradesh, where my brother was posted. We thought we would return home in 10 days. It never happened. We had only one suitcase. Many of our relatives who did not leave in time were killed. Some escaped to camps in Amritsar. Horror stories came back to us about young girls who jumped into wells to escape bei...

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2010 Mr.K.M.S.Khan from Azamgarh D.O.B: 18th June, 1937 Place of Birth: Village Mohammedpur. District Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh                                   Family Life & Early Years: My father was a zamindar and a legal practitioner who were called "Muqhtars". He married again after he lost his first wife. My mother was his second wife but my two older brothers (her stepsons) always regarded her as their real mother. I  also had 5 sisters. I studied in Shibli National Inter College and later at the Shibli National Degree College. I lost one of my brothers when he was only 22 to tuberculosis as only one type of TB medicine had been invented which was not easily available at that time and  was also very very expensive. Also as Zamindari was abolished in 1952, we had a difficult time trying to meet the costs of my brother's treatment. We can trace back the...

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2010 Dr. A.K.Bandyopadhyah Phd from Bengal D.O.B: 29th July, 1925 Place of Birth: Janai, Hooghly District, West Bengal Father: P.Bannerjee Mother : Shanti Devi Siblings: 3 brothers, 2 sisiters Family Life My father was an orphan. He was brought up by his maternal grandparents. He was a very good student and later worked for the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. The tradition of Government service was in our family. My maternal grandfather was a Deputy Magistrate. He built a house in Chinsura in Hooghly District in the 1930's. Education: My school “Metropolitan Institution” was started by Ishwar Chandra Vidyagsagar. My college was Fort William College later known as Government Sanskrit College. My teachers were excellent and many taught in the University at the Post graduate level. I studied Sanskrit but did not want to become a Pandit so I changed to the Christian Missionary College. It had good facilities. I had also read an advertisement in the newsp...

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2010 The Story of Veena Sahgal Name: Veena Sahgal DOB: 26 June 1940 Place of Birth: Amritsar Ancestral Village: Amritsar, 41.8 kms from Lahore, 28 kms from the Indo-Pak border Education: 1944-46 Sir Gangaram High School, Lahore 1946-1952 St. Andrews Girls High School, Mumbai 1952-56 St. Annes High School, Mumbai 1956-60 St Xaviers College, Mumbai BA (Hons) Psychology 1960-61 University College, London M A Psychology Parents: Father : Amirchand Sahgal (1913-1994) – his father- Ramchand Sahgal his mother- Phulwati Sahgal and before marriage her name was Subhadra Kurich. Ramchand Sahgal was a wealthy cotton trader. His business collapsed when Indians stopped buying the British finished cotton. The family was reduced to almost penury. However being principled, Ramchand Sahgal sold all of the family’s gold to pay off the loans. As a result, his sons had to look for any job they could find- they gave tuitions to those who wanted to learn English....

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 Mr. S.Tandan from Karachi D.O.B:  7th November, 1929 Place of Birth: Jullander, Punjab Education : Karachi Grammer School,  1945 Government College, Lahore, May 1947 M.A., St. Stephen’s, Delhi University Parents: Father: In business. Was also member of a Municipal Committee Mother: Member of Municipal School Board Siblings: 1 sister, 2 older brothers Family Life and Early Years: We had a patriotic environment at home. My Nani (maternal grandmother) wore Khadi. Though as a family we were not involved in the political movement. In 1942 we went to Dalhousie. We had family friends there. A decision was taken to talk only in Hindustani among among friends  and family. My cousin however would speak to our dog Hector in English. When reprimanded, she said “Kutte ke sath kutte ki jaban main bolna chayiye” ( One should speak to dogs in their own language!) I remember in school we were not supposed to eat rotis (Indian flat bread) ...

Ms.S. Mehrotra Tandon from Karachi D.O.B: 13th April, 1930 Education: Hardevi School, Karachi, now Pakistan Banaras Hindu University, entered 1946 Parents: Father : Lalji Mehrotra Mother :  Saroj ? Siblings: One older brother and one younger sister Family Life and Early Years: My father was a Congress man and freedom fighter. My mother a housewife but one who helped my father in his cause. Maulana Azad, Sardar Patel, Vijaylakshmi Pandit and Pandit Nehru would come and stay with us in Karachi. They would be closeted in the drawing room discussing. People would come to visit them as they were trying to make a Congress Ministry. Sardar Patel was a very sober and serious person. He used to ignore us children. His daughter Mani Ben would however pat our cheeks. He would ask my mother "Is your shop never closed?" as food and tea were always being served, even up to 10pm. My younger sister, Asha, 4 years at that time, was a favourite of Maulana Azad. She would sit ...