INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
million, is a very British one
visited colonial India before, was appointed in July 1947 to carve through the ancient land within weeks
The borders for two independent states were drawn on religious lines: Hindu-majority India, and Muslim-majority West Pakistan and East
Sikh communities, nightmarishly unravelled into panic, then terror, with millions rushing for the hastily established new borders as
violence erupted.Seventy-five years after partition, the generation who lived through it are dying out
In Britain today, almost half of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority (BAME) communities are from Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian backgrounds,
but few speak about the horrors they witnessed
Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianZareena ParveenZareena Parveen was born in 1935 into a Muslim family in the Indian city of
her grandfather was given by the Sikh maharajah, Bhupinder Singh
He worked as a guard for the prince, who once commissioned Cartier to craft one of the most expensive pieces of jewellery ever made: the
diamond Patiala necklace.Muslims made up about a third of the state before it was folded into India
Kalka, Nainital and Shimla, which were built at higher altitudes by the British Raj to escape the blistering Indian summer.By the 1940s,
anti-colonial revolts had swept across India and defiant calls for Indian independence had reached a deafening roar
About 40km east of Patiala, Parveen recalls travelling to the city of Ambala, a hotspot for independence rallies
There, she saw two titanic politicians speak: Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim League, who was pushing for a Muslim
independence and partition became a possibility, whispers that mobs may attack Muslim families in an undivided India crept into Patiala
Parveen and her family, along with about 200 relatives, fled to a large building inside the city, hoping they would find safety in
numbers.Then, one day in June 1947, the full horror of partition rained down on the 12-year-old Parveen
A mob of Hindu and Sikh men began targeting Muslim-owned properties in the city
They surrounded her mother, Sharifa, hit her on the head with swords and sticks, and killed her.Families fleeing in the wake of partition,
She lay trapped beneath her corpse, while her five older siblings, aunts and uncles, were murdered
With fire rippling up the walls, other relatives were stuck inside when the roof collapsed
killed in the state of Patiala
As reports of the massacre reached the Indian army, Gurkha soldiers arrived, sifting through the charred, mutilated bodies for survivors
under Indian military guard
Around a month later, they were transported to a second refugee camp in the state of Malerkotla, west of Patiala, where they spentthe next
As Parveen made her way to the now Pakistani city of Lahore inside an Indian military vehicle, she describes watching a line of refugees
stretching for miles, and women who were snatched and raped by Hindu and Sikh rioters, as well as uniformed Indian soldiers.Partition
mapParveen eventually settled in Lahore, and married a Pakistani journalist
Her mother-in-law, a headteacher, took Parveen under her wing, teaching her Urdu, basic Swahili and some European history
British-Pakistani children
she says firmly, blaming the British for pitting communities against each other
neighbouring city of Saharanpur when the massacre happened
It appears that Parveen, the youngest child in her family, is the sole survivor
She sits in her passageway surrounded by the green vines of a pothos, a resilient plant that can survive without direct sunlight.The
darkness of being trapped under rubble and the corpses of her family in 1947, haunts her still
Photograph: Alicia Canter/The GuardianNilima LambaWhen sectarian violence broke out in 1947, 18-year-old Nilima Lamba had just finished her
studies at Kinnaird college in Lahore, and was staying in nearby dorms
Now 93, Lamba, who was from an affluent Sikh family in Rawalpindi, a bustling town in the Punjab province of Pakistan, had heard about the
the horror of Thoha Khalsa months earlier
Sikh women had been forced to convert to Islam, but many chose to kill themselves instead, in a mass drowning in a well
When their bodies were found, they had risen to the surface; pale, ghost-like figures floating beneath the murky water.It is estimated that
between 75,000 and 100,000 women from both sides were abducted and raped during partition, resulting in premeditated suicide and so-called
honour killings by male family members
Terrified by the increasing violence and targeting of women, Lamba knew she had to get out
Photograph: Alicia Canter/The GuardianHer father was friends with a chief engineer at the railway station, whose son Jagjit Singh was also
studying in Lahore at the time
After speaking on the phone, the parents made discreet arrangements for Jagjit, his sisters and Lamba to escape Lahore on the next train to
Armed with a pistol, Jagjit had strict instructions to shoot his sisters and then himself if they were met with danger.When their train
reached Gujranwala, the violence from the streets had already spilled on to the railway
Photograph: APAfter a few days, the train reached India
Lamba knew she was lucky to have escaped and was grateful to Jagjit for helping her
The pair married, five years after partition, when their families had settled in the city of Ambala.Jagjit joined the Indian air force,
where he received an award for gallantry
After retiring, they moved to England, where they lived happily until 2020, when he passed away
that once occupied Rawalpindi remain, in the form of abandoned havelis (traditional mansions), temples and gurdwaras throughout the city
recalls Choudhury, a devout Muslim
Even today, the smell of oranges brings back sweet pre-partition memories
Choudhury was in his 20s and had been studying literature at Murari Chand college
A lover of words, Choudhury feels the trouble that followed came down to a barrier in communication
break-up of India and made Choudhury attend protests with him
Choudhury, the history of partition which mainly focuses on India and Pakistan, often overlooks their unique experiences
Afterpartition, the north-east of India was transformed into a geographical oddity
A Muslim and Bengali-majority district in Assam province, Sylhet held a referendum after Assam announced it would join India and it remained
part of Assam until it joined East Pakistan in 1947
was to translate the dream of a Muslim homeland in India into a geographical reality
By 1948, it was estimated that 800,000 people from India had migrated to East Bengal, while 1 million people from East Bengal had migrated
to India.Divided by thousands of miles of Indian territory, East and West Pakistan shared an Islamic identity, but in language, ethnicity
and culture, they were very different
Soon West Pakistan began imposing its language and political customs on the East
After a brutal crackdown on protesting Bengali students by the Pakistani army, guerrilla groups from the East began an open revolt against
West Pakistan, culminating in the creation of an independent Bangladesh in 1971.Choudhury moved to England with his wife in 1960, where they
settled in St Albans with their three children
But to move forward, we must do so with compassion
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This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
