‘Partition took more from us than centuries of foreign rule'

Time of India

2 days ago

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Lucknow: Partition in 1947 tore apart communities, uprooted millions and forced countless families to rebuild their lives from scratch. For some, the journey was made in fear, for others in hope — but for all, it left scars that never healed.
On the eve of Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, city residents whose families endured that upheaval and went on to rebuild their lives recalled not only history but also those who lived it, such as former mayor Sanyukta Bhatia's mother, late Anusuiya Girotra, whose 99-year life spanned from undivided India to independence.
Bhatia recalled her family's perilous escape from present-day Pakistan. Born 10 months before Independence in Arifwala, she was an infant when communal harmony collapsed and armed mobs targeted Hindu families.
As her mother often told her, she was hidden beneath quilts on a bullock cart to save her from looting and killing mobs.
Anusuiya fled with relatives, leaving behind home, land and wealth and travelled for days through fields and forests, surviving on little food and eventually spending two years in refugee camps. Meanwhile, Bhatia's father, fleeing from another city, searched tirelessly across camps and morgues before finally finding them.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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"Meeting my father at two-and-a-half years of age was like meeting him for the first time," Bhatia said.
She added that her mother, who passed away recently, often said, "Sacrifices and assaults during Partition took more from us than centuries of foreign rule." Her family rebuilt their lives with dignity and strong values — a legacy Bhatia calls her greatest inheritance. Anusuiya lived to see three generations grow under her care, remembering names and families until her final days.
Born into a Sindhi family in Sakkhar, Sindh, K L Gurnanee is now 100 years old. He arrived in Lucknow at the age of 21, leaving behind a life that was profoundly altered by Partition. Before 1947, Sindh was a prosperous region with a strong sense of community. Gurnanee recalls every house stored surplus grains and essentials and the community's bond was deep.
The atmosphere, however, had begun to change years before Independence.
Gurnanee noted that in certain areas, there would be night raids on Hindus to loot and harm them. He also mentioned that the city's Muslim residents would sometimes guard them. When Partition was announced, Gurnanee and his family had no idea it would be permanent and thought they would return once riots ended.
He remembers a neighbor asking his mother for a swing that he and his brother used to play on. His mother, angry, replied they would be back and told her not to set sight on their belongings.
But their hopes of returning were shattered as the Pakistani army looted them, forcing to give up all valuables to save their lives and protect their women. Gurnanee reached Lucknow penniless, having lost both homeland and possessions.
He started as a clerk, working for 11 months before pursuing higher education.
KGMU VC Prof Sonia Nityanand shared memories of her father, Prof Nityanand, who was 22 and pursuing PhD in Mumbai when riots engulfed his hometown, Lyallpur. With help from an Air India employee friend, he chartered a plane to bring his parents safely to India. She recalled his stories of their cow in Pakistan that produced 18 litres milk a day.
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