Partition: ‘We have buried the past & moved on’

We have never looked back

We arrived in Ludhiana empty-handed like the rest of the refugees. But we never looked back. My father, who belonged to Kamalia village in Lyallpur, built a house in 1947, convinced that Partition would never happen. I was then seven years old. Most of the family’s savings were spent on the new house. I had just joined Khalsa School in Faisalabad when communal tension started to build up. One night we suddenly boarded a train and arrived in Ludhiana. Starting from a scratch, we became one of the leading bicycle makers in the country.

Yogesh Munjal, Hero Group, Ludhiana

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At peace, memories have faded

I was with my friends when we were attacked by rioters. I fled for my life. I was reunited with my family at a camp in Jalandhar three months later. From there, we moved to Karnal. First, we began a business in locks and later in garments.

We never gave up. Burying the memories of Partition, we re-established ourselves. Today, I am a happy man. I have taught my four sons never to look back and to meet challenges head on.

Satpal Nagpal, Karnal

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No point, wounds have healed

It has been 75 years. The wounds have healed. We don’t want to remember those dark days in our lives. No government has ever announced any relief for the migrants, and now that we are on our feet due to sheer hard work, the government has announced August 14 as Remembrance Day. This is vote politics. We won’t fall for such symbolism. Also, there is no bitterness. Our Muslim neighbours gave us shelter and saved us. The Muslims too suffered during Partition. I blame politicians as well as anti-social elements for the riots.

Harmohinder Singh Mokha, Bathinda