Thane: They have seen the journey of free India, encompassing its lows and highs over the years. However, they cherish every bit of it, including the most valuable -its freedom. On India’s 75th Independence Day, two octogenarians, a man and a woman, who hails from Sindh, now in Pakistan, revisit the partition story.
They were merely seven to eight years old, when India was divided and tell us how they lost their childhood, the trauma they face from the event, and gradually being accepted as Indians.
The two, residents of Ulhasnagar had no clothes to wear or food on their table. Still, through their hard work and determination, they created a market for several of their products in Ulhasnagar, while being accepted as residents of the country. The couple spoke at an event on Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, organised by the district collector office of Thane on Sunday.
“Why do we gift a sewing machine to every girl in our family during her marriage, does anyone know? Do you think this is our ritual?” asked the audience member 82-years-old Meena Rupchandani, since she shifted here from Karachi at the age of 7.
Rupchandani herself answered, “This is not our ritual, but this is the only option we have since our childhood to survive, to get food, and live life with basic amenities. Upon reaching India, we didn’t have anything but the art of embroidery, and stitching clothes, through which we women started doing our business and surviving with our families and having one-time food. Indians didn’t accept us, but through our art skills and hard work, we created our own identity in the hearts of people.”
“Partition is one of the biggest and deepest wounds in our life. We lost every penny, our culture, our status, and our loved ones who were slaughtered in front of us and entered India just with our brains. Our doors and staircases were burnt, my relatives were killed, and we were scared that maybe this is our last day of life but god had another test for us. After facing all this pain, we got a ship ticket to move to India. The ship was lost in the sea and for three days we hadn’t eaten anything. On the fourth day after reaching Bori Bunder, military people provided us Poori Bhaji, that taste I still remember and every time I eat poori bhaji,” Rupchandani narrated with teary eyes.
“After coming to India, we were shifted to Harsauli (Rajasthan) where we all had the same types of plain clothes and basic food. At night we could not sleep on an empty stomach and in the morning we had scary thoughts of attack. One day we got a letter from our relatives to come to Kalyan Camp (Ulhasnagar). Here we six members got a single room without a kitchen, and toilet and had to share the main hall with 12 other families. My parents started searching for a job day and night. My father got a job in a government office but without any salary instead, we would get rations and free stay,” said Rupchandani.
Survival was worst for refugees but Rupchandani explained how they created their value in the market where they were not even considered Indian, “My mother and some women thought about what should be done because everywhere in India women didn’t have the privilege to go out and earn. We didn’t have enough money to start any business at that time. The art of making different embroideries, stitching clothes, and cooking fast food helped us a lot. Thankfully our culture was in our memories which helped us to revive it again and earn something from the same. While doing this work we would go house to house, shops, and different offices in Mumbai. So many times, the door was banged on our faces or we were not given a seat on the local train as we were not Indian. We were the supreme sufferer of the Partition.”
While appreciating the concept of remembering Partition day, Devidas Jaiswani, 82, remembered the horrifying day of his life and said, “ After so many years I am remembering the day which still makes me cry and shiver. I am glad at least after all these years people are seating in front of us to listen to or deal with the day because nowadays people only have time to plan their picnic on the 14th to enjoy the Independence day holiday. No one would understand the pain to see our family members chopped in front of us, my relatives were burnt alive on the day of the partition, and we could not do anything. After facing all these when the rest of the family reached India, we always get hatred from people from time to time nothing else. We did daily wage work and sold fruits, and vegetables since our childhood to help our family. Of the 36 camps which were opened by the government for us in India after the partition, none of them have water or sanitary facility. We had given uncooked food most of the time, sometimes we used to collect grains that were thrown in the garbage, or from grain godowns where we used to work as a labourer, would wash them, and use them for one time meal. But we Sindhi worked really hard and make such huge market that our every small thing is selling in every part of India and internationally too. Our papad, Pickel, jeans, Clothes, and embroidery work, have been selling everywhere but the government never helped us with the basics to keep our identity alive. We didn’t get our own land as Punjabi, Bengali and other communities got. This pain always makes us cry but I am really thankful that we got this opportunity to share our ordeal and request the government at least do some justice to our community who came empty hands and created job opportunities for all other people too by increasing our business. Still, so many people stand in queue for citizenship cards as if we are begging. Isn’t it a basic thing? ”
The District Collector officials and Ulhasnagar Tahshil officials who arranged this event called the families of a few Shahids who were felicitated with the Indian Flag. Thane District Collector Rajesh Narvekar, said, “ This day now drives us to the period which we have seen only in movies or read in educational books. Independence day is incomplete or I will say added more value to our lives after listening to these real experiences of people. Earlier people would stand in a queue to get citizenship cards for long hours but now we keep a day program where I hand over their card personally as it’s their right to get it. We will definitely try to solve the issues of the community at our level best.”