Octogenarian Giani Sahib Singh recalls tales of violence during Partition

Nitish Sharma

Kurukshetra, August 12

The Partition wounds are still fresh for 82-year-old Giani Sahib Singh, a renowned ‘kathavachak’, who is on a mission to explain the Gurbani in the easiest possible manner.

Recalling the horror, Sahib Singh says he was just six years of age when his family (including his parents, elder brother, and three sisters) had to move from Sheikhupura in Pakistan to India.

Tracing his journey

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Giani Sahib Singh (82) escaped from Sheikhupura in Pakistan and got settled in Shahabad Markanda in Kurukshetra. Recalling the horror, Sahib Singh says he was just six years of age when his family (including his parents, elder brother, and three sisters) had to move from Sheikhupura in Pakistan to India

He learnt Gurbani at the age of 11 and joined as a head granthi at a gurdwara at Shahabad. In 1965, he built a Gurdwara with the support of the residents of Shahabad

“My father was a school teacher and he also used to perform sewa as a granthi at a Gurdwara at Sheikhupura. I studied till Class I. After the massacre began, we also abandoned our home along with several others. There was total chaos. Trains were not stopping at the stations. I remember indiscriminate firing taking place in a train which halted at the station. I have seen people dying there. It was painful to watch people being killed. It was a tough time. People didn’t even have water to drink and women had to hide their young children,” he said.

“The family initially stayed in camps at various locations including, Choorkana in Pakistan and then in Ambala, before making Ambala their home and then finally settling in Shahabad Markanda of Kurukshetra,” he added.

“We, along with three other families, managed to find a house in Ambala City and started living there. I started attending school but due to financial constraints, I had to sell bread and rusks early in the morning before attending the school. I used to earn Rs 1 a day by selling bread. On the insistence of Saint Teja Singh, my father sent me to learn Gurbani at the age of 11. After three years, I joined as head granthi at a gurdwara at Shahabad. In 1965, we built a Gurdwara with the support of the residents of Shahabad and also started teaching children here”, the survivor said.

Renowned as Giani Sahib Singh Shahabad Markanda Wale, he said “I have been to nine countries for the katha, and even to Pakistan once but I never tried or even thought about looking for my native village or the house where I was born. Every person I knew had left Pakistan with us,” he said.

“A large number of people had settled in Shahabad during Partition and they were allotted land in Kurukshetra. Each one of us worked hard to start afresh after leaving Pakistan. So many many years on, I still feel the pangs and vivdly remember the hardships faced by people during the Partition,” he added.