Humanity Amidst Insanity: Stories of compassion and hope during

By Tridivesh Singh Maini

A novel approach by an Indian and two Pakistanis to bring the humane and positive episodes of the Indo-Pak partition to light. A series of interviews of the survivors of Indo-Pak partition who owe their survival to the other community. Tales of hope and faith in the crisis of humanity, when people were killing each other in the name of religion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Rose Publishers
• Release date: Oct 28, 2022

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© Tridivesh Singh Maini 2022

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All rights reserved by author. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.

Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within.

First Published in 2008

Second Edition in 2022

ISBN: 978-93-5704-314-4

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Dedicated to the victims of the South Asian holocaust of 1947 and to the soldiers of humanity who have risked their lives to save the lives of fellow human beings time and time again.

Acknowledgements

While many people helped us with this project, a special word of thanks for the following individuals who guided us from time to time and provided us important information and leads—Mr. Ahmad Salim, Professor Ashish Nandy, Professor Akbar S. Ahmed, Mr Awais Sheikh, Mrs Indira Kathpalia, Mr. Malwinderjit Singh Waraich, Mr. Nadeem Mirza, Prof. Tahir Kamran, Dr. Gurpreet Kaur Maini and Mr. Gurpreetesh Singh Maini.

Foreword

This is a very important book for the world to read; for South Asians it is essential reading if they are to come to terms with their history. The editors, Tridivesh Singh, an Indian, and Tahir Malik and Ali Farooq Malik, both Pakistani journalists, have focused on a historic event in 1947 that tore a continent in two. The partition of India showed us some of the worst sides of humanity but even in those dark days, the human spirit of compassion remained resilient. Individuals reached out across cultural and religious boundaries to help those in need. In the stories collected in this book we see humanity's triumph over our angry and violent inner nature. This is proof that even in our most desperate, violent moments humans still need guidance, love and compassion. It is a valuable lesson.

Equally important for writing of the book is the idea behind it, of bringing the great faiths of South Asia together in stories of compassion and goodwill. It is important to keep in mind that South Asia is home to all the world's great faiths—and that some of the great faiths like Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism were actually born in the land. This in fact helps us recognize the global importance of South Asia as a center of culture and religion.

South Asia has a population of 1.4 billion. It spans Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The history of this area has included the great empires of the Mauryas and the Mughals; it can boast of great architectural achievements like the Taj Mahal. Rulers like Asoka and Akbar as well as leaders like M.A. Jinnah, M. K. Gandhi and Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru were born here. Scholars and poets like Allama Iqbal and Maulana Azad inspired generations with their ideas. Nobel Prize winners like Rabindranath Tagore gained a reputation for South Asia on the world stage.

Yet in 1947 the partition of India into two states, India and Pakistan, created untold misery and chaos. Almost 2 million people were slaughtered and some 15 million were uprooted and migrated to a new land. The founding fathers of South Asia -- Gandhi, Nehru, and Jinnah -- were shocked and horrified at what happened. Although, they all appealed for calm and sanity their pleas went unanswered. None of them would have wanted the history of India and Pakistan to become what it eventually became; three wars, senseless confrontation, billions of dollars spent on the military and millions of people living in poverty.

South Asia, which could provide world leadership in the understanding of different faiths and bringing harmony between them because of its history, has still not fully recovered from the trauma of 1947. The first step is to confront the human stories of that summer and then to attempt to heal the wounds. The future of the planet depends on dialogue and understanding, and I am delighted that Tridivesh Singh took the initiative in compiling this book.

For me personally, as someone who fled India in 1947 as a refugee and narrowly escaped the violence, I have seen first hand how destructive hate and anger can be. This is why such efforts like this book, which attempt to outline and celebrate that which unites us, are so relevant.

It was in this spirit that I myself wrote a play called The Trial of Dara Shikoh which was staged at American University. The play is set in South Asia during the 17th century. It is the story of the conflict between Dara Shikoh, a mystic, and his conservative brother Aurangzeb for the throne and future rule of the Mughal Empire. The play itself is a plea for dialogue in South Asia and elsewhere. Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs were passionately involved in the play and their enthusiasm touched the audience.

We should be making more of these gestures if we are to help bridge the growing gaps between cultures and religions in the world today. As such, this book is an invaluable resource promoting dialogue and generating long overdue analysis of a crucial part of history and I commend Tridivesh and his fellow editors, Tahir Malik, and Ali Farooq Malik, for taking this initiative.

Professor Akbar Ahmed

Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies

American University

Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction

2 Experiences from India

3 Experiences from Pakistan

4 Some reflections

References:

Bibliography

1

Introduction

The vivisection of the subcontinent into two countries – India and Pakistan – resulted in the partition of the provinces of the Punjab and Bengal as well as the migration of an estimated 17 million people. While Hindus and Sikhs migrated from present day Pakistan to India, Muslims from India migrated to Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). If one were to take Punjab alone, the figure of migration varies between 10 million and 13 million. This migration took place in a span of two months. There are no precise figures for the number of deaths¹. In addition, many disappearances and abductions of women took place during this period, which in fact have still not been accounted for. In many cases, families were separated from each other². While one is tempted to think that the partition of 1947 was akin to the holocaust of the Jews, there is one major distinguishing factor: this partition was a collective holocaust, where no community could be held totally guilty, nor could any community be deemed wholly innocent.

More than the large scale migration, the murder of innocents, rape and the abduction of women, what stands out till today as the most significant feature the partition is that it is an event which will remain etched in our minds forever and symbolize different things for different individuals: for Pakistanis a new homeland albeit at the cost of displacement and leaving their homeland; for the vast majority of North Indians of the Punjab region, a displacement from their homeland. Finally, for the current generation of Indians and Pakistanis, the partition of the sub-continent is an important event in history—amongst the most important if not the most significant epochs of the sub-continent³. Some can relate more to it, as they have been brought up on stories of the pre-partition sub-continent since their grandparents migrated from present-day India to Pakistan and vice-versa. For others, it is nothing more than an event which is written about frequently in newspapers, magazines, books and novels or depicted in dramas, movies and documentaries.

The division of the sub-continent can be used for both purposes – either to foment hatred or to draw lessons from the gory violence and insanity of that time.

Since the independence of India and Pakistan and the partition of the sub-continent, exhaustive research has been done on the loss of lives, rape and incendiary during this gruesome period and the role faith and nationalism have played in perpetuating these barbaric inhuman acts. While this cannot be overlooked, it is important not to obliterate some of the ‘positive acts’ during partition. When we say 'positive acts' we refer to instances where religion and nationalism were overshadowed by humanity. Positive acts include instances where members of one community gave individuals of another community refuge, warned them to leave whenever they anticipated danger. For those on duty it meant controlling mobs, which were creating trouble and amongst the many other means of rescuing, two more significant acts were protecting the honour of women and helping in the recovery of abducted women.

There were also examples like that of Malerkotla, a Muslim princely state in East Punjab (Indian side of Punjab). While other princely states, in East Punjab, could not escape the communal frenzy, of the time, Malerkotla remained peaceful and many Muslims from other parts of Punjab sought refuge here. For understanding this aspect, it is important to go back to an important event. The Nawab (ruler) of Malerkotla, Sher Muhammad Khan, had in 1705 opposed the death penalty handed out to nine-year-old Baba Zorawar Singh and seven-year-old Baba Fateh Singh — the sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru of the Sikhs. Sher Mohammed Khan said that punishing young children was against the tenets of the Islam. Even though Baba Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh were bricked alive, in 1705, Guru Gobind Singh thanked Sher Mohammed Khan and is also supposed to have blessed the Nawab and the state of Malerkotla⁴.

Ashish Nandy, a prominent scholar, during his interviews with survivors of partition in the course of a project on partition, is of the view that approximately 25% of Muslims saved non-Muslims and vice-versa. These episodes included cases where individuals put their own lives in danger to save the so called 'enemy' in various ways—giving shelter, disguising them or giving the right advice to escape⁵.

This is not a small figure but for some reason this dimension of partition has not been given adequate attention⁶. Nandy correctly points out that⁷:

Many survivors remember how, even in those bitter days, when inter-community relations were at their nadir, individuals and communities resisted the violence. Many neighbours did succumb to 'greed and the temptation to loot, but others risked their lives—and that of their families—to protect friends and even strangers from the other community. A few even died to protect their wards.

Yasmin Khan echoing Nandy aptly states:

"Against this bleak backdrop, many people carried unusually brave, heroic and humanitarian acts. Some individuals saved lives of neighbours, friends and strangers of different communities, even by risking the lives. Others gave word of impending attack to their neighbours, sheltered large numbers of people, smuggled food to the stranded and helped secretly move them