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Siblings Reunited 75 Years After India Partition
BBC ^ | 5/27 | Arvind Chhabra

Posted on 05/28/2022 11:59:34 AM PDT by nickcarraway

A Pakistani woman separated from her family during the 1947 Partition met her Indian brothers for the first time last month after 75 years.

Mumtaz Bibi, who was separated from her Sikh family during the turmoil, met her brothers Gurmukh Singh and Baldev Singh for the first time at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan in April.

"We are so happy that we've been able to meet our sister in our lifetime," Gurmukh Singh said.

In 1947, the Partition led to the creation of two independent nations - India and Pakistan. It was the biggest movement of people in history, outside war and famine. Nearly 12 million people became refugees and between half a million and a million people were killed in religious violence.

Partition 70 years on: The turmoil, trauma - and legacy Partition of India: 'They would have slaughtered us' "The violence ruined us too," said Gurmukh Singh, who is now in his mid-70s.

Their father Pala Singh had moved from Pakistan to the Patiala district of Punjab state in India after his wife was killed in Pakistan during the violence.

"When he came to know about his wife's death, he assumed his daughter was also murdered, following which he married his sister-in-law (as was the tradition during those days)," said Baldev Singh, the younger of the two brothers.

But in Pakistan, Mumtaz Bibi had been found by a Muslim couple who adopted and raised her.

"About two years ago, our sons found out about our half-sister with the help of social media," Baldev Singh said.

Ms Mumtaz, who was searching for family, had spoken to Pakistani YouTuber Nasir Dhillon, whose channel Punjab Lehar helped several families separated during the Partition find each other.

Wanting to confirm their connection, Gurmukh Singh contacted a shopkeeper at their ancestral village

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: independence; india; muslim; pakistan; partition; punjab; sikh

1 posted on 05/28/2022 11:59:35 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Blame the Brits. They couldn’t be bothered to count all the tribes there.

Andrew Young once claimed the Brits invented racism. The Kenyan said the cops acted stupidly. Is it now Russia’s turn? Chicoms? What would they have done to Japan if we didn’t stay?


2 posted on 05/28/2022 12:10:14 PM PDT by DIRTYSECRET
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To: DIRTYSECRET
It's widely believed that Churchill (who also was responsible for the location of the borders of modern Iraq) deliberately had the India-Pakistan border drawn slicing through Kashmir because he hoped that would cause instability that would make it difficult for the Russians to set up a trade route through that region to the Middle Eastern oil fields.


"...Andrew Young once claimed the Brits invented racism...."

The English have had their own caste system for all of modern history. They discriminated for any reason they could find; race, religion, parentage, financial status, education. As an example, the guinea (currency) originally was created so the wealthy wouldn't be so dependent on the the value of the (silver-based) pound sterling. In time the distribution of guineas became limited to the upper classes and they purveyors of certain good and services -- the trappings of wealth -- would only deal in guineas. Which prevented the nouveau riche from being able to dress and live like a proper English gentleman.

That is how determined they were to maintain an artificially stratified society. It was more like "anythingism" than "racism." It only looks like racism if you expect to see racism every you look.

And BTW, Trotsky was the one who coined the term "racism."

3 posted on 05/28/2022 5:25:34 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
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