History of Post Partitioned India as viewed from the eyes of an uprooted punjabi hindu – Early 1948
We all are aware that partition of India took place on religious lines due political ambitions of a very few leaders and There was massive violence against punjabi hindus, consequent to partition based religion especially in the regions, which were controlled by Pakistan.. During 1947, Government of India had given Pakistan an installment of Rs. 200 million as per partition agreement to give Pakistan Rs. 750 million. Consequent to hindu genocide in pakistan dominated area and attack by pakistan forces in kashmir region, India had decided to not to give this cash balance of Rs. 550 million to Pakistan. Indian government decided to withhold the second installment after self-styled liberators from Pakistan invaded Kashmir & were directly involved in cold blooded massacres of hindus.
Mahatma Gandhi went on fast & forced India to pay balance amount to Pakistan. Later on this money was utilized by Pakistan to back its offensive against india in kashmir.It was widely felt by uprooted hindus of this region that the sad situation and suffering caused during and due to the partition could have been avoided if the Indian government had lodged strong protests against the treatment meted out to the Minorities (Hindus and Sikhs) in Pakistan. However, being “under the thumb of Gandhi” they resorted to more feeble ways. They felt that Gandhi had not protested against these atrocities being suffered in Pakistan and instead resorted to fasts to help Pakistan in its notorious designs of eliminating hindu population. They felt that Gandhi jee showed or evinced a bias for Muslims, prejudicial and detrimental to the Hindu Community and its interests. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was assassinated on 30 January 1948, shot at close range by Nathuram Godse. Gandhi was outside on the steps of a building where a prayer meeting, was going to take place. He was surrounded by a part of his family and some followers when three gunshots killed him Nathuram Vinayak Godse was a hindu nationalist. He resented this Gandhi’s accommodating attitude towards muslims. Godse was founder of famous marathi news paper called Agrani, which some years later was renamed Hindu Rashtra. Godse had always rejected Gandhi’s philosophy, believing Gandhi repeatedly sabotaged the interests of Hindus by using the “fasting unto death” tactic on many issues. In Godse’s view, Gandhi was giving in to Muslim interests in ways that seemed unfair and anti-national. Most of the uprooted punjabi and sindhi hindus have great respect for Godse & consider him a patriot & strongly feel that this great soul, which was sensitive and could not tolerate the sufferings of hindu migrants from muslim dominated areas, should get right place in the pages of the history of post partitioned India.
Nathuram godse was put on trial at Shimla which housed the Punjab High Court. Savarkar was acquitted and set free due to lack of evidence. The trial ran for eight months in closed rooms with suspicious secrecy & final order was passed on 10 February 1949. Eight men were convicted for the murder conspiracy, and others convicted for violation of the Explosive Substances Act. Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte were sentenced to death by hanging and the remaining six (including Godse’s brother Gopal was sentenced to life imprisonment Dattatraya Parchure, who had been found guilty in the original trial was later acquitted on appeal.
I feel time has come when Government of India should honor all these great sons of soil as these sons of soil were worried about the welfare of their community, at the time of the bloody partition 1947. ..
Finally a biggest question which always haunt an average punjabi hindu is that:-
why should such leaders be recognized as fathers of their respective nations, ie the leaders, whose decision had subjected them to extreme miseries and whose actions, had indirectly led to massive violence & attrocities against their people including children & women.
