Sukho Khalsa School
Bhishma Sahni in his immortal creation ‘Tamas’ narrated the heart-wrenching story of hatred that spread after the partition of the country. Its base was the town ‘Sukho’ in which there was fierce slaughter then. Sukho is a small town near Rawalpindi. When a large number of refugees came to Delhi from Sukho, he opened ‘Sukho Khalsa Higher Secondary School’ in Janakpuri, West Delhi. Although people of all religions lived in Sukho before partition, but the number of Sikhs was more. He was prosperous and used to do business. But due to partition, they came on the streets. Still, they were not ready to forget their pleasures after coming to the foreign city of Delhi. Happiness resided in their hearts. After some establishment, the Sukho people got a school built in Janakpuri in 1954. Sukho’s name was also added to this. Dr. Harmeet Singh, a strong poet of Punjabi and former principal of Khalsa College, says that Sukho people had established ‘Sukho Khalsa School’ by staying hungry.
Quetta DAV School
Quetta is the capital of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Whereas, ‘Quetta DAV School’ will be found in East Nizamuddin of South Delhi. In the East and West Nizamuddin, Bhogal, Jangpura etc., in the 1950s, scores of families migrated from Quetta and other cities of Balochistan. Most were Arya Samajists. When he started settling in the new city, in 1956 he established his school here. Named Quetta DAV School. A school with the same name was already running in Quetta. Along with Quetta, children of families from some other cities of Balochistan like Gwadar, Chaman, Qila Abdullah also studied in this school. There has been a qualitative improvement in the financial condition of the families settled here from Balochistan. Nizamuddin’s social worker Sheikh Jilani also studied in this school. He says that here no child is ever discriminated on the basis of religion or caste.
Gurdwara Refugee Singh Sabha
There is Gurdwara Refugee Singh Sabha on Deshbandhu Gupta Road adjacent to Karol Bagh. As it is clear from its name that it was also built by the refugees. Banker Kulbir Singh takes us inside the Gurdwara Refugee Singh Sabha. There he spent his entire childhood and youth. He lived in a house built behind it. He tells that Sikhs and Hindus of Gujranwala, Lahore, Mianwali etc. had built it. All of them lived in Karol Bagh, Ajmal Khan Road, Anand Parvat etc. When the question of naming this Gurdwara came up, its founders like Hazur Singh, Harnam Singh Chawla, Giani Asa Singh etc. were of the opinion that the word Refugee should come in its name. So that the coming generations get information about its background. Hundreds of Gurudwaras will be found in Delhi, but at the level of name, this Gurudwara of Deshbandhu Road is special. Deshbandhu Road was called the original road when it was built in the year 1950.
Rawalpindi and Mianwali too
It is surprising to see the board outside a school on Malkaganj Main Road. The name of the school is Rawalpindi Sanatan Dharma School. Rawalpindi is a city in Pakistan, about 800 km from Delhi. It was established in 1956 by refugees from there. It means that those who were in tatters were opening schools and colleges here. They understood that there is nothing more important in life than education. The relation between Rawalpindi and Delhi University’s Atmaram Sanatan Dharma College (ARSD) is really intimate or emotional. The soil of Rawalpindi was mixed in the foundation of ARSD College. These things date back to the early 1960s. It was built here by people associated with the Sanatan Dharma Sabha of Rawalpindi. The Sanatan Dharma Sabha was established in Rawalpindi in 1882, running a degree college, a high school, two middle schools and four primary schools. After partition, Sanatan Dharma Sabha was registered in Delhi in 1952. Obviously, when the country was divided, the Sanatan Dharma Sabha of Rawalpindi came to an end. Most of the people associated with him came to Delhi. Their homes, colleges and everything remained in the city they had been associated with for hundreds of years. When he came to Delhi and regained his composure, he started the Sanatan Dharma College again. It first ran from a rented building in Anand Parvat. Then in 1963-64 it was shifted to Dhaula Kuan. Then Dhaula Kuan was almost a jungle. There then, there was a round square of big size, in which one could go and sit on the grass in the middle. Dr. Ravindra Kumar, who was a top officer of the Railway Board and an alumnus of ARSD College, says that the people of Rawalpindi still have influence in the management of his college. Apart from this, there are colonies and showrooms in Delhi named after Mianwali, Behda, Multan Nagar, Lahore, etc., from Pakistan’s part of Punjab. Recently, former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, who was sent to jail on corruption charges, used to contest elections from Mianwali only.
Buddhist refugees also settled here
It is generally believed that only Punjabi refugees came here after partition to rebuild their lives. This information is not correct. Then or a few years later, hundreds of Buddhist refugees from Chittagong in East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) came to Delhi. He writes his surname as Baruah. Some surnames are also Talukdar and Chaudhary. They are also in Noida. Most came to Delhi only after 1947. Those who were here earlier used to work in government departments. Almost all of them are followers of Buddhism. When the people who came from Chittagong started the construction of Buddha Vihar in Sant Nagar, this whole area was uninhabited. Lajpat Nagar and Kalkaji had just begun to settle.
Sindh-Punjab in Lucknow too
Alambagh of the city of Nafasat, Lucknow. In the always buzzing Alambagh, you can see the board of ‘Sindh Sari House’ and understand that it will be related to Sindh province. The word Sindh will be read outside many shops in Lucknow. Means Sindh is alive in the breath of those people who came from there. Uprooted from their homes due to partition, Lucknow adopted them with respect. Every reader and writer associated with Lucknow has a sense of respect for Ram Advani of Hazratganj’s Ram Advani Book Shop. He was undoubtedly the most famous Sindhi of Lucknow. He ran his book shop in Lucknow for almost 7 decades. After his death in 2017 at the age of 95, the shutters of the shop also fell, but Lucknow holds a deep sense of gratitude towards Ram Advani.
50 percent of the showrooms in the markets of Lucknow are owned by Punjabis and Sindhis.
Senior poet Sushil Shukla says that lakhs of refugees came to Lucknow and Kanpur after 1947. Soon they became part of the mainstream of both the cities. The government developed colonies for them in Chandan Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Alambagh and Lajpat Nagar. He made Alambagh a mini Punjab. At one time, Alambagh was also known as Lahore of Lucknow. The refugees had many new experiences in Lucknow. For example, women who came from Punjab and Sindh did not wear purdah. But the women of Lucknow used to cover their head with burqa or pallu of saree. However, as time passed, both gave and took something from each other. In Lucknow too, refugees preferred business over jobs. It is said that today 50 percent of the showrooms in the markets of Lucknow belong to Punjabis and Sindhis. Punjabis have significant presence in Mohan Market Aminabad, Sadar Bazar, Guru Nanak Market, Charbagh and Alambagh. Film buffs in Lucknow cannot forget the Mayfair Picture Hall in Hazratganj. It was started by the Sindhi Thadani family. Usually English films were released here. The people of Lucknow had also seen ‘Pakija’ here. Unlike Delhi, generally Punjabi and Sindhi families here have now adopted English. The family of Ashok Bambi, who played for years in UP’s Ranji Trophy team, had settled in Lucknow from Sialkot. They say that now our young generation only speaks English. Anyway, the language is of the earth and not of caste or religion. Refugees came to Lucknow and contributed a lot in the construction of many temples and gurudwaras. The Hari Om temple of Sindhis is in Lal Bagh.
Signs of Peshawar in Mumbai
Gurudwara Dhanpothwar in Santa Cruz area of Mumbai. Sangat comes here morning and evening to listen to the kirtan. Of course, this is the big symbol of the Partition of India in Mumbai. In fact, the Sikh refugees settled in Mayanagari from across the border named this gurudwara after their city. Dhan Pothwar is a town close to Rawalpindi. When the country was divided, many Hindu-Sikhs from Peshawar came to Mumbai after catching the frontier mail. They didn’t have anything. Just think that from the cold climate of Peshawar they came to sultry Mumbai with a hope. Mumbai gave him many opportunities to move forward. They were initially settled at Sion-Koliwada near the present Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar. They started living in small slum houses. Prior to the arrival of the refugees, Koliwada was known as a fishermen settlement. In the initial days, refugees started working in trains from selling household goods to taxi drivers etc.
Mumbai and Karachi have a deep connection
If it is about the refugees of Mumbai then how can Sindhis be ignored. Sindhis in Mumbai did not come immediately after partition. The reason was that Sindh had remained calm till December 1947. But after the massacre in Karachi on January 6, 1947, Hindus from Sindh started coming to Mumbai. Writer Saj Agarwal, who comes from a Sindhi family, says that about one million Sindhis settled in Mumbai from Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana etc. The two cities had a deep connection. People of Karachi and Mumbai had to go to each other’s cities in connection with business. After partition, the Hindus of Karachi had a better option of coming to Mumbai by sea route. The sea route between the two cities is only 589 nautical miles. In Mumbai, he made great achievements in the fields of real estate, films and education. Hiranandani became one of the biggest builders in Mumbai. G.P. Sippy and his son Ramesh Sippy raised flags in Bollywood. G.P. Sippy had produced the film ‘Sholay’ and his son Ramesh was its director. G.P. Sippy had reached Mumbai from Karachi with his family. Famous K at Churchgate. C. College was also opened by a Sindhi family. Its full name is Kishanchand Chellaram College. It is considered among the best colleges in Mumbai. In fact, 31 colonies for refugees were developed across Maharashtra including Mumbai. If we talk about Mumbai, thousands of refugee families still live in Sion Koliwada, Kurla, Chembur, Thakkar Bapa Colony and Mulund Colony. Bollywood was greatly enriched by Punjabi refugees. BR Chopra, Pran, Anand Bakshi, Ramanand Sagar, Gulzar etc. were all refugees. His relation was from Punjab. He reached Mumbai and did a great job writing his text.