70 years later, survivors recall thehorrors of India-Pakistan partition

Hindu refugee widows from Pakistan, who receive a monthly pension of a little over three dollars, pose for a photograph inSurej Chak, on the outskirts of Jammu, March 2, 2015. Photo by: Tayseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the partition of India. The event triggered one ofbloodiest events in human history.

Starting in the 1700s, about 300 years ago, Great Britain expanded its empire to South Asia.In 1858, Britain officially took over India and ruled it as a British colony called the British Raj.At that time, that territory included both India and Pakistan.

By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 09.12.17 Word Count 1,386 Level 950L

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In the summer and fall of 1947, the British announced that India would be split into twoindependent states, India and Pakistan. These two new countries would govern themselves, inan event that was called the partition. India would be a land for people who followed the Hinduand Sikh religions, while Pakistan would be for Muslims, people who followed Islam. However,the separation wasn't so simple.

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"When they partitioned, there were probably no two countries on earth as alike as India andPakistan," said Nisid Hajari, author of "Midnight's Furies: The Deadly Legacy of India'sPartition." "Leaders on both sides wanted the countries to be allies, like the U.S. and Canadaare. Their economies were deeply intertwined, their cultures were very similar."

But soon after the British announced partition, it caused a violent rivalry between thecountries. Neighbors slaughtered neighbors and childhood friends became swornenemies. Around 14 million people are thought to have abandoned their homes in the summerand fall of 1947. Estimates for the number of people killed in those months range between200,000 and 2 million.

Hindus and Sikhs fled Pakistan, and Muslims in modern-day India fled in the oppositedirection. Many who lived through those times describe madness taking hold. "Some peoplesay they had temporarily gone crazy," Hajari said.

Outside of southern Asia, the bloodshed of partition was not widely talked about. Partly, Hajarisays, that may be because of how the events were talked about in Britain. At the time, thepowerful in Britain tried to portray the partition "as a triumph — that after 200 years of colonialrule, the British could part as friends. If you emphasize the death and violence, that tarnishesthe achievement," he said.

Another reason, he said, is that Indians and Pakistanis themselves still find it hard to talkabout those horrors openly and honestly. These are the stories of some of those who survived.

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Sudershana Kumari

Even as an 8-year-old girl, Sudershana Kumari knew that, if she wanted to survive, it wasimportant to stay quiet. Crying out would have given away her hiding place — a rooftop in hernative town of Sheikhupura, where Kumari, her mother and dozens of others lay, watching thebloodshed on the streets below. "We couldn't show our heads," she said. "You show your headand you're dead."

Kumari's family is Hindu, and they were living in an area that would soon become Muslim-dominated Pakistan. So Kumari, now 78 years old, did not make a sound. Not when she feltpangs in her stomach after three days without food. Not even when she heard her dog Tombarking for her in the streets below.

From the holes in the roof, Kumari saw her uncle and his family being killed by men withspears in the street below. For days, Kumari and her mother hid from rioters who were lookingfor Hindus to kill and rob.

When armed men eventually found them, they were hiding in an attic packed with around 300others from the town. The townspeople were ushered out to a children's playground, wherethe previous day's captives had been doused with oil and burned alive.

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Minutes before they were going to be killed, a ceasefire was announced. Trucks rolled into thevillage from the cities, with Tara Singh, a famous political and religious leader, shouting atrioters through a speakerphone. Not another drop of blood should be spilled, he was saying.They listened because they respected him.

On the other side, in India, they became refugees — penniless, homeless strangers in astrange land. Years later, Kumari fills notebooks with poems about those years. One of themreads:

Mind, don't dwell on things of the past What do you get from it?Your eyes will have to cry.Your eyes will have to stay awake all night.Your eyes will have to cry.

Hashim Zaidi

If Hashim Zaidi and his family hadn't left his native town of Allahabad in India, the peoplerioting would never have spared them. His uncle, a Muslim policeman, had killed a Hindurioter who was trying to enter his house, he said. Violent acts of revenge had become commonin 1947. Zaidi's family was taking no chances. "We had no choice but to leave India forPakistan" because of constant attacks by rioters, he said.

Only 10 or 11 years old at the time, Zaidi was taken to Pakistan on a train. The carriages weremarked to show which passengers were carrying money or other objects of value — andwhich ones weren't. "They started it, and they murdered people to get their hands on money,"he said. "People who have made it to Pakistan have given money in exchange for their lives."

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Sarjit Singh Chowdhary

Sarjit Singh Chowdhary, a Sikh soldier who helped Muslim refugees reach safety in Pakistan,heard the news on the radio. At the time, he was 2,000 miles away, serving as part of theBritish army in Iraq. News that partition was happening and that his family may be in dangerfilled him with worry. He applied to be moved home and was back on Indian soil by September1947. "When I had left, India was a peaceful country," he said. "When I came back, it wasbloodshed."

Killings had begun in March in his hometown of Kahuta, in modern-day Pakistan. Later, hewould discover that his mother had been attacked. "My mother was a brave woman and knewhow to fire a gun, so she was able to defend herself. She managed to escape and bring mysiblings over to India," he said.

As a 24-year-old soldier, Chowdhary was appointed to serve for the Punjab police and put incharge of law and order amid the constant violence in the region. "I saw the body of a deadman being thrown off a train," he recalled. "Once, on my way from Delhi to Jalandhar, westopped at Doraha Canal and saw that the water had become red with blood."

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Twice, he accompanied Muslim refugees across the border. "There were around 40 carts, afew hundred people," he said. "They wanted to get to Pakistan. They must have been sad toleave, but tell me, if your life, your family's life is in constant danger, wouldn't you want to getout?"

Mohammad Naeem

Mohammad Naeem was a young Muslim boy who traveled to Pakistan on the notoriouslydangerous "blood" trains. He arrived in Lahore, Pakistan, on a train from Agra, India, the cityof the Taj Mahal, where he was born.

When the riots started, his Muslim family no longer felt safe in Hindu-majority India. Thejourney by train was a dangerous one. Many who traveled along the same route had beenkilled, and their bodies littered the tracks.

Naeem's father, who was separated from the family in riots had to take a ship fromMumbai. He bought a ticket, even though others at the time were riding free. When hedisembarked in Karachi, people asked him why he had bothered wasting the fare money. "Hesaid, 'I'm a cowardly man. I bought the ticket so they don't throw me overboard.' "

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Quiz

1 Read the following selection from the introduction [paragraphs 1-8].

"When they partitioned, there were probably no two countries on Earthas alike as India and Pakistan," said Nisid Hajari, author of "Midnight'sFuries: The Deadly Legacy of India's Partition." "Leaders on both sideswanted the countries to be allies, like the U.S. and Canada are. Theireconomies were deeply intertwined, their cultures were very similar."

WHY did the author include this selection?

(A) to show why leaders were surprised by the violence that happened

(B) to show why India and Pakistan were able to become allies

(C) to show why leaders expected the partition to be peaceful

(D) to show why India and Pakistan are still very similar

2 Which answer choice accurately characterizes Britain's reaction to the partition of India?

(A) Britain wanted India and Pakistan to get along, so they offered to help leadersset up one government that could represent both countries.

(B) Britain was upset that India no longer wanted to be a colony, so theyintentionally split the country to cause a conflict.

(C) Britain wanted people to think the partition was a success, so they tried todownplay the conflict and violence that resulted from it.

(D) Britain was horrified that the partition caused so much conflict and stepped in tohelp India and Pakistan negotiate a peace treaty.

3 What is the author's MAIN purpose in including information about Chowdhary's service in theBritish army in Iraq?

(A) to show how his experience as a soldier led to him helping refugees

(B) to show how many Indians chose to fight with the British army in the 1940s

(C) to show how the British army had been stationed in Iraq

(D) to show how many Sikhs enlisted in the British army

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4 The author wrote this article MOSTLY to inform the reader about the partition of India.

What did the author do to illustrate what happened during partition?

(A) The author compared the time before partition in India with what happenedafter, and showed who was responsible for the violence.

(B) The author explained the colonial role of the British government, and explainedhow partition affected people from all over India.

(C) The author provided historical background, and the perspective of survivorswho come from different religious backgrounds.

(D) The author described why Britain created two independent nations, andshowed how people from different religions responded.

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