The Modi government did not dedicate a special day on the horrors of partition. Gradually people were forgetting them, it may be necessary to forget the pain, but it is important to tell the stories of those who sacrificed their lives and brought lakhs of people safely from Pakistan to India, it is important to tell it to every generation. Although there were thousands whose names were not recorded in any book or history, but the names of many martyrs and the stories of their courageous sacrifice have been included in some books like Manik Chandra Bajpayee and Shridhar Paradkar in their book ‘Jyoti Jala Nij Pran Ki’ (Suruchi Prakashan).
Actor Pran’s house was also burnt in Lahore
As soon as the plan for partition of India and the new country named Pakistan was announced, uneasiness spread among the Hindus living in those cities of Punjab. Their neighbors had their eyes on their property, and the goons had their eyes on their girls and women. In such an environment, Pran, the then superstar of Punjabi films in Lahore before independence and later the villain of Hindi films, left his wife and children at his wife’s sister’s place in Indore. When he went back, he found that his house had been looted and set on fire, everything was destroyed. Pran vowed not to return to Pakistan for the rest of his life. Life came back but the common Hindu did not have that much money and it was not easy to leave his house. Muslim leaders were also assuring that nothing would happen, stay here.
However, the Sangh branches were in a very strong position in all these areas. Sangh volunteers were instructed to protect the life and property of people till the last breath. Shahalami Darwaza of Lahore was such an area which was the safest way for Hindus to go to the old city. Many Sangh workers lived here in the surrounding areas, the narrow streets and iron gates had given this area the appearance of a fort. But Muslim League people kept a constant watch on Hindu localities under police protection. After the massacre in Lahore’s Sareen locality, Hindus no longer had faith in the police nor in the local Muslim leaders.
Garh Ala Pan Singh Gela
It was the month of March in 1947, one day in the afternoon a crowd of thousands of Muslims started gathering outside Shahalami Darwaza. He also had no fear of the police because the notorious magistrate Cheema had openly come out against Hindus at that time. The people of the gunpowder store were very notorious at that time, their people also started gathering, then people informed the volunteers of the Sangh. Everyone felt that this locality could be attacked at any time. Because of what had happened in Sareen locality, he was further in fear. In such a situation, Mahendra, a senior volunteer of the Sangh, took charge and clashed with the crowd of youth from Pari Mohalla. The entire crowd that had come to attack, not prepared for a counter attack, ran away. But when Cheema heard this news, he reached there with police contingents to help them. A 24-hour curfew was announced in the area.
During the same curfew, many shops in that Hindu dominated area were set on fire, the police kept watching. The police cut off electricity in that area, disconnected phones and most importantly, the water connection was also cut off. Imagine there is a fire and there is no water. The fire that broke out in ghee, oil and ration shops took a fierce form. Many volunteers like Mahendra took charge and started extinguishing the fire by pumping water from the well. Then someone reminded that there is an engine to draw water from the well near Gandhi Square. Amidst police bullets and during curfew, Mahendra took some volunteers and somehow managed to pull the engine. The speed of water increased but it was not felt that the fire would be extinguished, so it was decided to demolish the shops. The same thing was done, the shops were destroyed but the entire locality was saved from burning. Then people took care of Mahendra, who himself got burnt while trying to save people from burning. He was immediately taken to the hospital, three days later this promising young man died.
This volunteer could not even see his wife’s face
The Sangh had formed an organization named Punjab Relief Committee long before independence to help the families facing distress due to partition in Western Punjab. A big task of this committee was to transport those people who wanted to come to the railway station from there to go to Amritsar, Delhi or any other city safely from their home to the station. It may be surprising today, but in those days this work was also full of dangers, many good people were among Hindus and Muslims, but it is also true that many people had also become communal. At the same time, criminal elements were also quite dominant. It was common to loot the property of someone who was leaving and to abduct girls. There were no taxis like today, for the middle class or poor people, tangas and bullock carts were the only option, tangas were widely used in cities. One of them, a volunteer named Dr. Vedprakash, was engaged in this mission for the Relief Committee.
Every story of this special series related to hundred years of RSS
Usually the simple process was to find a Hindu horseman and send one or two volunteers with him. There was a competition among the volunteers as to who would go with the horse carriage. Many times a slip had to be given that her name had come out and she would go. Same thing happened that day. A family had to leave the station in a safe train and 8-10 volunteers started insisting that I should go. Then the slip was taken out and the name of the volunteer who had returned after getting married on the same day was revealed. He happily went to the station with the family, but a bomb exploded on the way and the volunteer left this world without even seeing his wife’s face. Who knows how many such sacrifices were there, whose names have been forgotten even today?
Manto told the truth of Lahore through ‘Juta’
Writer Manto had a short story ‘Juta’ about the city once named after Shri Ram’s son Luv, whose modern form was also given by Sir Gangaram. It reads, “The crowd changed course and attacked the statue of Sir Gangaram. They were baton-hit, bricks and stones were thrown. One rubbed tar on his face. Another collected many old shoes and made a necklace out of them and proceeded to put them around the neck of the statue. But the police arrived and bullets started firing. The person wearing the necklace got injured. He was taken to Sir Gangaram Hospital for treatment. “Sent.”
Manto has written the story of the statue, but more than what was happening to the statue, was happening to the living humans there. In such a situation, at many places, Sangh volunteers used to go to provide security in Hindu streets surrounded by Muslim dominated areas. So many times, when the situation became worse, they risked their lives to bring them safely from there to the camps. In such a situation, many volunteers also started carrying weapons. One of them was Dr. Harvansh Lal. He had a commander jeep, two more jeeps, a big truck, some motorcycles, many guns and revolvers.
All four of them were sacrificed while hungry.
It was the day of 14th August, Pakistan was born, it was as if the fanatics of the Muslim League had gone mad with joy that day. They were openly threatening the Hindus that this is just tonight. In such a situation, fear started spreading among the Hindus. Instructions came to Dr. Harvansh Lal to immediately vacate Fort Gujarsingh and bring the people to the camp. The operation was started in the morning and by 11 o’clock they brought as many people as they could to the camp.
The whole group was preparing for lunch when suddenly the phone started ringing again. Although all this was common there but what was said from the other side was serious. It was said that some people are trapped on Ravi Road and if they are not rescued immediately, their lives may be in danger. Here some workers were sitting in line on the ground waiting for food, they had been working continuously since morning, their hunger was strong. But Dr. Harvansh Lal came and said, “Come immediately, people’s lives are in danger there and you need food.” How could anyone eat food in such a situation? All the volunteers stood up and boarded the truck.
One of those volunteers was Sardar Pradyuman Singh, 24 year old, in charge of the Sardar Ravi Road branch. He always kept his sword hanging near his side, he was such an excellent swordsman that he had faced goons many times who had fought with him. Sangh volunteers named Tilakraj and Mahendra were also traveling in the same truck. These two workers had saved the lives of many families. All three were very courageous. The truck was also being driven by another courageous volunteer Tara Singh. That a truck of Biloch (Baloch) Army was found on the way. He stopped them. Even though today these people are fighting for Balochistan, in those days a radical section of them used to fight Hindus only for Islam. Everyone was called and inquired as to where they were going and during the conversation, they were attacked with bayonets and started firing on all the volunteers who had come down from the truck.
The volunteers had no idea that they would start firing under the pretext of talking; one by one everyone fell. Although in those days, due to the immediate treatment of a female doctor associated with the Sangh, the lives of many people were saved, but Pradyuman Singh, Tara Singh, Tilak Raj and Mahendra could not be saved. Volunteers like Lalit Sood, who were injured along with them, kept remembering this painful sacrifice of these brave men for decades and also kept saying that the poor people were hungry and could not even eat food. Even those who survived would not have been able to survive if the Gorkha Army truck had not arrived at that time. Seeing the Gorkha Army, they ran away and got all the injured admitted to the hospital.
The parents of all these martyrs were in the camp in those days, when they got the news that their sons were no more, they were heartbroken. But later I felt proud to know that he had given his life for a good cause. These families were sent to India the very next day.
The one who saved everyone could not save himself
There was a Hindu majority in the Sareen locality of Lahore and there were also branches of the Sangh. Many times this locality had come under the target of Muslim League people and City Magistrate Cheema, but due to the bravery and wisdom of a Sangh volunteer named Virendra, people had become a little worry-free. Virendra was a full-time volunteer of the Sangh. But City Magistrate Cheema had now made it his aim to demolish it. In the hot month of May, Baloch Army suddenly attacked there, till now Muslim League goons used to come, whom Virendra easily drove away with the help of local youth, but it was not easy to overcome these new enemies who came with modern weapons. Despite this, Virendra took the lead for hours. But Virendra had been hit by many bullets. There was a lot of blood loss and he was brought to Sir Gangaram Hospital in Lahore by ambulance.
Virendra’s operation was successful and all the bullets were removed from his body. There was hope that now Virendra would be saved. But God had something else in mind. After half an hour suddenly Virendra’s health started deteriorating further. He repeatedly asked the same question, “Is the locality safe?” He was told that yes, the locality is safe, help has come from the office and everyone is safe. Hearing this, a smile appeared on his face. After some time, with the satisfaction that his sacrifice was useful, he quietly left this world. These are only the stories of some sacrifices from that part of Punjab, which has now gone to Pakistan. Thousands sacrificed their lives during partition in Bengal, Punjab and the rest of the country.
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