Faith in humanity, against all odds

Sanjeev Gandhi

THE storm of the Partition blew away millions of people like fallen leaves. Their lives were shattered. They found it very difficult to resettle in an alien land. Our family was among the numerous unfortunate ones which were uprooted from Sargodha and relocated to a village in Ambala district. I remember that my grandmother often used to sing while churning milk or winnowing grains: ‘Pet kat ke paya makaan, oh vi le gaya Pakistan’ (I got a house after making sacrifices, but it was taken away by Pakistan). These lines demonstrated the frustration, helplessness and agony of an uprooted individual.

In my childhood, I heard many stories from my grandmother. Throughout her life, she kept remembering her neighbours and the harmonious relations she had with them. The remembrance of those days often made her smile. She narrated how our family was helped by the so-called ‘others’ during those distressful and harrowing times. Ours was the only Hindu family in that village. One night, when our village was attacked, its residents stood up in unison and saved us from a rampaging mob. The next morning, at the behest of our family, we were shifted to a camp so that we could reside at a safe place. Before leaving our home, my grandfather started distributing the stored grains among the villagers. He was stopped by the headman. The latter said he would sell the grains to get money as it was needed by us while staying in a camp. It never occurred to my grandparents that they were leaving their village forever. That honest person kept his word and handed over every penny to my grandfather after a few days. As long as our family stayed in the camp, the supply of ghee and tobacco remained uninterrupted. When the madness persisted and the violence continued unabated, my family had no option but to move to the eastern part of Punjab. My grandparents witnessed many horrifying incidents on the way. But despite all the horrors, their hearts did not have hatred or ill-will for members of other communities or religions. The tough times did not shatter their faith in humanity and goodness.

Today, we witness a flood of messages brimming over with hatred being shared on social media; people do not realise the consequences of such actions. A section of the young generation is busy spewing venom. Society needs persons who can teach youngsters how to guard themselves against the perils of hatred and violence. These two evils eventually lead to a fatal erosion of human values. Amid the dominance of the forces of fundamentalism, hatred and obscurantism, the sane voices of people who believe that all is not lost must not be drowned out by the incessant din.

#Ambala