When The Tribune was among crores of Partition refugees

Aditi Tandon

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New Delhi, August 14

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi saluted people who bore the brunt of Partition on Vibhajan Vibhishika Smriti Diwas on Monday, The Tribune archives appeared in commemoration events across the Capital standing witness to how the newspaper continued publishing from Lahore despite grave odds, moving out of the city only when it became impossible for the staff to survive.

At the New Delhi railway station and the New Delhi Municipal Council Centre where the government marked the day, The Tribune articles acquainted people with the horrors of those dark days. Among the visitors was BJP chief JP Nadda who spent time reading The Tribune dispatches on the days leading to Partition. Among the Partition refugees was The Tribune. Born in Lahore and first published on February 2, 1881, The Tribune was to become a casualty of the tragedy.

In his seminal work, “The Tribune: A Witness to History”, VN Datta writes how despite frightening conditions in Lahore in August 1947, The Tribune trustees Sir Manohar Lal, Prof Ruchi Ram Sahni, Rai Bahadur Lala Kanwar Sen and Lala Jagan Nath Agarwal decided to continue publishing the paper. The setback came only on August 15, 1947, when two members of The Tribune staff, Jagan Nath and Vidya Sagar, were shot dead at the Lahore railway station.

“The killing was a crucial factor in compelling The Tribune to stop its publication from August 16 and forcing it to seek a new home in East Punjab,” Datta records.

Incidentally, a few days ago, The Tribune trustees had purchased a few cars and a truck. The entire newspaper staff was packed into these vehicles which managed to reach Amritsar safely.

PL Sahni, then General Manager of The Tribune, in a telegram to Union Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, an avid Tribune reader, wrote: “The Tribune has lost property, cash, machinery and newsprint worth Rs 25 lakh.”

The paper had stopped publishing for 40 days. After Partition, its first issue appeared from Simla on September 25, 1947. Datta writes that Sardar Patel instructed Union Minister for Rehabilitation KC Neogy to facilitate The Tribune to resume publication in Simla. The paper later shifted to Ambala. The Tribune was published from Ambala till 1969, when it moved to its present site in Chandigarh.

Date with history

Feb 2, 1881 First issue of The Tribune published from Lahore

August 16, 1947 Publication stops due to Partition violence

Sept 25 Publication resumes from Simla, later shifts to Ambala

1969 The newspaper comes to Chandigarh, its present site

PM salutes sacrifices

Prime Minister Narendra Modi salutes the sacrifices of people who bore the brunt of Partition, BJP chief JP Nadda describes Partition as a blot on Indian history