75 years later, Partition horrors still fresh in mind

Parveen Arora

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Karnal, August 8

Seventy-five years after the Partition of India and Pakistan, which triggered one of the bloodiest mayhems in history, horrific memories are still fresh in the mind of 85-year-old survivor Jaswant Singh Kalra, who is now a renowned home furnishing businessman of the city.

His family was forced to leave their home and land in various villages of Muzaffargarh district, he recalls. “I was around 10 years old and a student of Class III, when the massacres began. My father, Baku Ram, was the sarpanch of Durata village in Muzaffargarh. Our family had a good reputation and had around 250 acres of agricultural land in different parts of the district, but we were forced to leave the village empty-handed. Those who were our neighbours and friends suddenly become our enemies,” says Kalra, while getting emotional.

While recalling the nightmare which they had faced while leaving their village, he says they were six siblings – four brothers and two sisters. “One panchayat member who belonged to the Muslim community, in a gesture of respect, informed my father about an attack being planned on our family, following which we left the village. My parents took us to Muzaffargarh by hiding in bags tied on sides of camels,” says Kalra.

They were attacked twice in the middle but had a narrow escape. Somehow, they reached Muzaffargarh where military personnel were deployed and a curfew was imposed. “We were told not to go out. Anyone who went outside was found murdered the next day. After spending two days there, we boarded an overcrowded train. A large number of people were sitting on the roof of the train. We saw horrible scenes of bodies lying on the railway tracks and a bogie parked near Multan,” he says.

When they reached Attari, they heaved a sigh of relief and later they were shifted to a camp in Jalandhar. Thereafter, they were shifted to Karnal, from where the family began a new life.

“I and a brother of mine started work as porters at a bus stand. My other brothers got jobs at a rehabilitation centre and in the Railways. We continued our studies. I did Inter-mediate in faculty of science from Dyal Singh College and got married in 1962 and we had two sons and one daughter. Meanwhile, I set up a business,” says Kalra, who is also a social activist.

A nightmare journey

After spending two days there (in Muzaffargarh), we boarded an overcrowded train. A large number of people were sitting on the roof of the train. We saw horrible scenes of bodies lying on the railway tracks… — Jaswant Singh Kalra, resident of Karnal