As was told by my parents. 1948 Hindu Genocide at Badomalli. The unethical partition based on religion, led to biggest tragedy, ever known to human kind. Jinnah’s illogical ideology, followed by 1946 direct action call, caused unexplainable sufferings to hindu natives of Bengal & Pakistan. Many innocent hindu men women and children, were butchered. Many families were split/broken up and many small children, were left stranded & orphaned in refugee camps. Close to two millions hindus were murdered by Jinnahites while many more millions of Hindus were dragged out from their homes in three cloths. How is it that there was no outcry for the total extermination of Hindus in Pakistan during 1947, & why state sponsored hindu genocide in my small ancestral village at Shekhupura, had gone unnoticed by the then human rights organisations? These are the some questions, for which no one could give suitable reply. The year 1947 was significant for both hindus and Sikhs, as partition based on religion, had directed widespread violence against them. The partition of Bharat, had resulted in the creation of India & Pakistan, as two separate sovereign countries. This was the duty of government of Pakistan, to protect lives of it’s non-muslim citizens. But Pakistan government failed humanity. On the contrary, instead of providing security to the innocent & unarmed people, it deputed it’s armed forces, to kill infidels & this operation was called “combing operation.” The process continued for two years since mid 1947. 1947 violence had caused massive forced migrations, with millions of people moving between the two countries, resulting in tragic loss of innocent lives and property. The event remains a saddest chapter in the history of the Indian subcontinent. The Hindu mild response, against each & every act of such heinous riots, is the result of oppression and barbarities lasting centuries, when the muslims had the sword in one hand and the severed heads of the hindus in the other. (Please read the account of all the invaders starting with arabia, from where Mohammed Bin Qasim arrived in India, uninvited, in 712 A.D.) Hindu response is no act of savagery but was always natural response to aggression that went on earlier, also. Why there is no negative reaction against the Jews or Parsis in India, who have always lived in peace with hindus. They never ever destroyed hindu temples, abducted no hindu girls. They are also not involved in conversion of Hindu girls & consequently murdering them like muslims. Consequent to violence in Lahore on 5 March 1947, when some hindu students were protesting against the partition peacefully, the Muslim mob had got provoked. Armed with lathis, daggers, and spears, thet attacked, innocent Hindus in almost every city of west Pakistan. The trouble consequently spread, like fire. Islamic mobs were running from street to street murdering Hindus and Sikhs. They didn’t even spare women, children, and the old. No one was spared. Everyone was butchered. The cries of women, children, and the old, who were struggling with their desperate state of health had been deafening. So loud and full of pain that any humanbeing would find it unbearable. They continued with their dance of death and had set fire many hindu houses. My father, Dr M V D Mohan, was born on 28 Sep 1917 in Village Jafarwal District Shekhupura. & grew up in a middle-class hindu family. His father Mehta Gokul Chand Mohan, was a Senior officer and had served some kingdoms of British India. However, consequent to his retirement, he settled in Badomalli, district Shekhpura. He had four brothers and one sister. My grand father, Mehta Gokul Chand Mohan was also a farmer & therefore had vast agriculture lands & had also invested in mining business at Badomalli. When Partition was announced in 1947, my father was a professor at Government College Ludhiana. He advised my grand parents to move to a safer place & come to Ludhiana. But my grand parents wouldn’t agree, leaving their ancestral home & business. My grand parents were farmers and owned few hundred acres of ancestral agrarian lands in Badomalli village, Shekhupura. They were also running a small mining business & four houses, in different places of Shekhupura. Some how my grand parents agreed to send younger children to Ludhiana, immediately after partition as they understood the turbulences in Shekhupura and people had started fleeing their homes, running for their lives. Looting and communal rioting has become order of the day. During March 1947, itself three younger brothers of my father reached Ludhiana. However my grand parents stayed back My grandfather was of the opinion that “Siyastan badldian ne lekin praja nhi badldi” He was not aware of the cruel destiny waiting for him. As his ancestral village, was once known for harmony between different communities, he had no idea that fire shall also reach his village & his village shall also not spared by the muslim rioters. He never knew that the peaceful and quiet village would get transformed into a funeral pyre/burial ground of hindus. Sone hindu residents of his village had reached hindu part of partitioned India, safey following the communal riots. but many among them, chose lahore rout to escape & catch train for Amritsar. Thry were all killed & looted by the rioters. Three Trains of dead bodies of hindus were dispatched to Amritsar, by lahore civic authorities, as they were finding it difficult to handle the dead. Consequent to arrival of these trains, there was minor backlash at Amritsar & few other cities of Punjab, which was controlled by the law enforcement agencies. Understand that the rioters had chopped off heads of the hindu staff of Lahore Railway Station, including Station Master, Lahore, also. Large numbers of people lost their lives. During end 1947, the farm workers informed my grand parents that some heavily armed muslim tribes had entered the village along with soldiers of Pakistan army. And they had started killing hindus of Badomalli village. As violence had started worsening, they must move to a safer place. Consequent to this development, my grandparents Mehta Gokul Chand Mohan & Smt Durgawati, moved to a kachha house owned by them at a remote place. They had now decided to shift to hindu part of Partitioned India. Consequently January 1948, they decided to hire a boat & cross Ravi river & escape to other side (bank) of Ravi river, which was a part of Hindu India. However their voyage was not smooth. The entire rout was stinking with dead bodies of Hindu men women & children. People were running to save their lives and carts were going over the dead bodies of hindus. Partitioned violence had left many old men & women severely injured and helpless. They halted at the Ravi River for two days because the river was flooded and boats men refused to carry them to other bank of the river. Many hindu families were waiting on the jetty to escape to safer bank. This is important to narrate one important incident. During end 1947, once during late evening hours, my father, while locking main gate of his house found one muslim old man with his young daughter, hiding in one corner of the house. They were shivering with fear. As there was wide spread voilence in Ludhiana against muslims, they had also started fleeing, towards Pakistan. Many muslims were also killed in during backlash in Ludhiana. My father assured this family that they shall not be harmed. He brought them inside house & gave them food & shelter. They stayed with him for two days till peace was restored in the city. Thereafter were moved to a rescue camp in Ludhiana & deported to Pakistan, safely. My father was incharge of a safety camp, at Ludhiana being a government servant. Those were the days cholera had spread in Ludhiana and the youngest sibling of my father (Kashyap Mohan) once complained of stomach pain. He was taken to doctor but his condition worsened & died. All efforts to save him had proved futile. My grand parents waited for two days at boat jetty on Ravi river bank. Understand some of the fishermen, informed their whereabouts to Pashtun tribes & Pakistan Army. The armed tribes & army men gheraoed them & asked all the hindus to raise hands. Then they gave an option to the hindu crowd that those who want to convert may stand on one side. Some hindu families left the que & shifted other side. They gave this option to my grand parents also specifically since they were very old. My grandfather & grand mother refused to convert saying that it is difficult for them to change their belief at this stage of life. There were many hindu families like them who refused conversion. They all were shot dead. Understand that these tribes & army troops were on the way to Kashmir region for further combining operations & ethnic cleansing of hindus from Kashmir. They were deployed by Pakistan government to change demography of East Punjab & Kashmir. Though I’m not sure but It is understood that they had either thrown the dead bodies of hindus in Ravi river or buried them in the ground adjoining Ravi river.
