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Women constitute one half
of the population of the world, and
they play an important role in society.
It will, therefore, be very significant
to bring to focus the sufferings and
sacrifices of women during the trauma
of partition of Punjab in 1947.
The trouble for the non-Muslims in
general, and for the women in particular,
started in March, 1947. Whatever may
be the causes of the Rawalpindi and
Multan riots, it is admitted that these
were of terrific nature Lord Mountbatten,
the last Viceroy of India, aftcr visiting
district Rawalpindi reported to the
British Government in England, "The
whole of the Hindu-Sikh part is an absolute
wreck, as though it has been subjected
to an air raid."2 Several Hindu
and Sikh villages were wiped out. Justice
Teja Singh, a member of the Punjab Boundary
Commission, stated before the Commission
that during the Rawalpindi riots, "A
large number of people were forcibly
converted, children were kidnapped,
and young women abducted and openly
raped."3 Though a separate number
of female casualities is not available,
the official figure of deaths in the
district of Rawalpindi was 2,263 which
was considered far below the actual
numbcr.4 Thc womcn were subjected to
maximum humiliation and torture. Their
agony can be judged by the fact that
a number of women jumped into wells
to save their honour. It is as unbelievable
today as it was at that time. But fortunately
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited the
village on 14th March, 1947, and he
was told about thc incidents of ladies
jumping into wells. His staff photographer
took photographs of the bottom of the
well with the help of a flashlight.
These photographs showed the decomposed
limbs of the bodies. One copy of a photograph
was given to me by late Sant Gulab Singh
in whose land the well existed. He told
me that his wife was the first to jump
into the well. The photograph has been
published in my book Shahidian.
During the fateful months of August
and September, 1947, the communal riots
flared up on a very large scale in both
the Punjabs. It is estimated by somc
British writers that about two lakhs
werc killcd in the East and West Punjab.6
Thousands of women and children were
abducted. The Governments of India and
Pakistan who had recently taken over
from the British, had no comprehension
of the enormity of the situation. The
people in general were infected with
spirit of vendetta, and took revenge
by committing excesses on the womenfolk
of the opposite community. Though Military
Evacuee Organusation (M.E.O.) and Liaison
Agencies had been established in both
the Punjabs in September, 1947, nothing
was done at Government level to alleviate
the sufferings of the abducted women
until 6th December, 1947, when the following
agreement was made between Governments
of India and Pakistan regarding recovery
of abducted women: The following decisions
reached at the Conference between the
Governments of India and Pakistan held
on the 6th of December, 1947, are brought
to the notice of all concerned for early
compliance:
1. Every effort must be made to recover
and restore abducted women and children
within the shortest time possible.
2. Conversion by persons abducted after
1st March, 1947, will not be recognised,
and all such persons must be restored
to their respective Dominions. The wishes
of the persons concerned are irrelevant.
Consequently, no statements of such
persons should be recorded before magistrates.
3. The primary responsibility for recovery
of abducted persons will rest with the
local police who must put full efforts
in this matter. Good work done by Police
Officers in this respect will be rewarded
by promotion or grant of cash awards.
4. M.E.O.'s will render every assistance
by providing guards in the transit camps
and escort for the transport of recovered
persons from transit camps to their
respective Dominions.
5. Social workers will be associated
with the scheme. They will look after
camp arrangements and receive the abducted
persons in their own Dominions. They
will also collect full information regarding
abducted persons to be recovered, and
supply it to the Inspector General of
Police and the local Supdt. of Police.
6. The District Liaison Officers (D.L.O.s)
will set up Transit Camps in consultation
with the local Deputy Commissioners
and public workers, and supply information
regarding abducted persons to be recovered.
7. Co-ordmation between different agencies
working in the district will be secured
by a Weekly Conference bet veen the
Supdt. of Police, the local M.E.O. Of
finer, the D.L.O. and the Deputy Commissioner.
At this meeting, progress achieved will
be reviewe7d, and every effort will
be made to solve any difficulties experienced.
The Chief Liaison Officer (C.L.O.)
designated a D.L.O. in every district
as District Recovery Officer. In this
way, official machinery was established
for recovery of abducted women in both
the Punjabs. In the East Punjab, Miss
Mridula Sarabhai and Mrs. Bhag Mehta
organised women workers for recovery
work. Soon it was found that the local
police was not helpful. The public in
general was hostile to recovery work
in both the provinces. This made recovery
work difficult. At places, women workers
appointed by Sarabhai and Mrs. Bhag
Mehta did not see eye to eye with the
District Recovery Officers. All these
problems resulted in inordinate delay
in following quotes indicate the inherent
conflict between the East Punjab Liaison
Agency women workers led by Sarabhai:
"The Steering Committee requested
the C.L.O. to cancel his instructions
to the D.L.O.s that the women workers
are not to go out alone in the districts.
If a woman worker desired to go out
alone, there should be no restriction
on her movement. If, however, she wants
the D.L.O. to accompany her, then it
is a matter of mutual adjustment."
(Item No. 4) "It was decided that
all reports received by the C.L.O. from
the D.L.O. regarding the progress of
work of rccovcry of abductcd women will
be put up to thc Steering Committee.
Similarly, all reports received by the
provincial women workers from district
women workers will also bc put up to
the Steering Committee." (Item
No. 5 "Miss Sarabhai stated that
her Regional Workers did not want thc
collaboration of the Regional Workers
appointed by the C.L.O." (Item
No. 6) "It was decided that all
reports to be submitted by any member
of this committee to thc Govt. of India
(Ministry of R&R and Mrs. Rameshwari
Nehru) relating to the work of recovery
of abducted women in the West Punjab
and NWFP, should be put up first to
the Steering Committee which will consider
them and forward them to the (Sovt.
of India with ite oven recommendations."8
(Item No. 8)
As indicated above, Mrs. Sarabhai did
not co-operate with District Recovery
of finer.. Similarly, the C.L.O. considered
women workt job as useless. In his communication
to the Chief Secretary, East Pun Government,
he wrote on 24th April, 1948: "Two
women workers each are posted at Sheikhupura,
Sargodha, Mian wali, Jhang, Lyallpur
and (:>sujranwala. A third woman
worker was taker by Mrs. Bhag Mehta
when we went to Mianwali. She is for
recovery wori in Bhakkar Tehsil. As
will be observed from what has been
stated above very little work is being
done in connection with the recovery
of abducted women and girls throughout
the West Punjab. These women worker
alongwith their transport are, therefore,
being practically wasted. "The
matter was discussed today in a meeting
of thc Stccring Committee in which Mrs.
Punjabi, Mrs. Bhag Mehta and D. Surendra
Nath, D.S.P East Punjab were present.
It was admitted that the women workers
were at present unable to do any useful
work, but it was decided to let then
continue as it was hoped that things
will improve with the additional Eas
Punjab Police starting their activities
in the districts." But the task
was enormous, and their time limit was
short. Both began to quarrel and drift
responsibility on the other organization.
UllimatelyX the entire responsibility
was given to the East Punjab Liaison
Agency which worked uptil November,
1948. After that thc work was transferred
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The decision to alleviate the sufferings
of womenfolk, who had suffered the most
during the partition of the Punjab was,
however, indifferently actcd upon. A
very large volume of the correspondence
between the high of finials of the East
Punjab and West Punjab indicates that
thc police of firers in both the Punjabs
acted partially in favour of their own
community while recovering the abducted
women. The Deputy High Commissioner
for Pakistan wrote. to the Chief Secretary,
East Funjab "One .. has been to
say that his daughter... aged 13 years
has been kept by one... son of ... Jat
of village Bhoma, District Amritsar.
In reply to his request for the recovery
of the girl, hc was informed by the
Indian Military authorities (copy attached)
that his daughter did not wish to leave
her husband.''l° The D.L.O, Campbellpur,
reported that the Deputy Commissioners
of Campbellpur and the Rawalpindi districts
were not handing over the recovered
abducted women and Xirls, because they
had been handed over to the Azad Kashmir
Government. l in some cases, the police
officers in various districts had openly
declared that it was their duty to sce
that proper regard was paid to public
opinion. When recovered, the statements
of the recovered womcn and girls were
recorded and they were returned to their
abductors by the District Authorities,l2
as it was said that they did not wish
to leave their abductors.
On account of the fear of disturbance,
the local authorities purposely avoided
taking any action against the Pathans
who had abducted the girls. Five non-Muslim
girls were recovered by the Sub Inspector
of Phularwan, District Shahpur. The
girls were brought from Phularwan to
Sargodha and handed over to the D.L.O.
During the night, a large number of
Pathans surrounded the house of the
Inspcctor and on the following day they
surrounded the offices of the Supdt.
of Police and created a lot of commotion
in the city. The Deputy Commissioner
and Supdt. of Police prevailed upon
the D.L.O. to hand over the girls to
the Deputy Supdt. of Police. The Commissioner,
Rawalpindi Division and Dcputy Inspector
General of Police reached Sargodha and
with great difficulties the five girls
were brought to India at dead of night.
At places the police officers, who
werc appointed to protect the women,
themselves committed the worst crime.
Two Assistant Sub Inspectors of Police
went to recover a non-Muslim woman from
a village in the Wcst Punjab and the
unfortunate woman was raped and ravished
by those very police officers during
the nights on the way.l4 in the meeting
of the officers inspector ot Police
at Kamoke (I)istrict Gujranwala) had
collccted all the non-Muslim girls at
the time of the Kamoke train attack
and distributed them to his accomplices.
So far, there had been no special legislation
for the recovery of abducted women.
An ordinance called Abducted Persons
Recovery and Restoration Ordinance was
promulgated on January 31, 1949, and
was subsequently replaced by the Abducted
Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Act
1949. One of the principal features
of this Act was that it adopted a more
comprehensive definition of the term
"Abducted" than the one already
provided in the Indian Penal Code.16
Another important aspect of this legislation
was the provision for setting up of
an Indo-Pak Tribunal to decide the disputed
cases of abducted women. Camps for the
stay of the recovered persons were to
be established. This Act applied only
to the 'affected areas', viz., U.P.,
East Punjab, Delhi, Patiala and East
Punjah States Union, and the United
States of Rajasthan. A special provision
was made to enable the recovery of abducted
women from thc other states in India.
The Coordinative officers and staff
were appointed to assist the police
in the recovery of the abducted persons.
Social workers were also associated
with this work.l7 There was, however,
no corresponding legislation regarding
the abducted persons in Pakistan.
The Abducted Persons (Recovery and
Restoration) Act 1949 continued to be
renewed every year upto 30th November
1957. By than, the abducted women began
to show increasing reluctance to go
to the other country after leaving their
children. By the Indo-Pakistan Govt.
decision of 1954, they could not be
forced to go to the other country against
their wishes. Secondly, the most serious
consideration which prevented the Government
of India from renewing the Abducted
Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Act
of 1949 was the problem of the post-abduction
children. During the period from January
1, 1954 to September 30, lY57 no fewer
than 860 children were left behind by
the Muslim women restored to Pakistan,
whereas 410 children only went with
them. These children created problems
for the State which had to take care
of them.
The statements exchanged between the
two Governments indicated that 25,856
and 9,366 person had been recovered
in India and Pakistan, respectively.l9
It is a significant fact that in both
the countries a large majority of persons
recovered were not those included in
the lists of missing persons furnished
by thc respective Governments. No less
than 4,415 abducted persons out of 30,335
were declared as "the non-abduction
cases" by the Pakistan Government.
The information regarding the abducted
women supplied by the Indian Government
could not be wrong as it was based on
the data collected from the individuals
concerned. About 4,1912l abducted per
reported by Pakistan Government to have
died in Pakistan. This figure, too,
does not appear to be correct as the
corresponding number of the abducted
women who died in India was surprisingly
low, viz., 3.3%
The most peculiar phenomenon with regard
to the recovery work of non-Muslim women
was that the non-Muslim abducted girls
very often refused to be evacuated.
They were too afraid of the rigidity
of the castc system and were conscious
of having lost their chastity. These
very notions prevented them from facing
their relatives. Though they were completely
helpless under the circumstances, some
of them really believed that their husbands
and other relatives had failed to protect
them, and hence they had lost all rights
over them. Delay was yet another major
factor impeding their recoveries, because
it gave their abductors the time and
opportunity to din into their ears so
many false and baseless rumours like
"there is no food in the East Punjab",
"near and dear ones had all been
murdered", etc. In certain cases,
the arguments of the abducted girls
were very correct and genuine. One of
them said to the D.L.O., Gujranwala,
"How can I believe that your military
strength of two sepoys could safely
take me across to India when a hundred
sepoys had failed to protect us and
our people who were massacred."
Another said, " I havc lost my
husband and have now gone in for another.
You want me to go to India where I have
got nobody and of course, you do not
expect me to change husband everyday."
A third said, "But why are you
particular to take me to India? What
is left in me now of religion or chastity?"
The troubles and tribulations of the
Hindu and Sikh abducted women of occupied
Kashmir, especially of district Muzaffargarh,
had an altogether different tale of
woe. Their recovery got complicated
owing to the armed hostilities between
India and Pakistan over the Kashmir
issue. When the tribals attacked Kashmir,
the Muzaffargarh area was the first
to bc occupied by them. The Hindus and
Sikhs of the area were killed and a
large number of women abducted. About
1,600 women and children were lodged
in Amor Camp.24 on account of hostilities
with India, the Pakistan Government
had banned the entry of Indian of finials
not only in Kashmir but also in the
adjoining districts of West Punjab.25
Consequently, all abductions of the
West Punjab migrated to those districts
to avoid detection. The non-Muslim women
and children of Amor Camp could not
be brought to India for four long years.
It was reserved for Akali Chakkar Kaur
Singh to recover them and bring them
to India.
Akali Chakkar Kaur Singh (1892-1954
A.D.) belonged to Averha Chakkar, Tehsil
Uri, District Muzaffarabad, Kashmir.
He did not marry and devoted himself
to missionary work of Sikh religion.
During the tribal invasion of Kashmir,
he lost a11 relatives including his
aged mother. This stirred him into action.
He went to Delhi and became guide of
the first Indian army which landed at
Srinagar to stem the tide of tribal
invasion and remained there til cease-fire
was declared. Later on, he devoted himself
to the recovery of abducted women. In
1951, he met one Goodwill Mission from
Pakistan convinced them about the miserable
conditions of women and children a Amor
Camp and was also able to secure a promise
of help.
Soon after Chakkar Kaur Singh reached
Lahore, the Indian Government also encouraged
him and introduced him to Pakistan officials
as a grea orator having knowledge of
Islam and other religions. Two police
inspector! and eighteen police constables
alongwith conveyance were given to him
hs the West Punjab Police Deptt. Wherever
he went, hostile crowd gatherer around
him which was dispersed by his police
escort.
Chakkar Kaur Singh had undertaken three
recovery tours in Pakis tan. Indian
recovery of fixers in Lahore gave him
very difficult cases like that of Amar
Kaur. He pursued them with diligence
and recovered the girls, detail of which
he has given in his diary.28 But his
most remarkable achievement wa the recovery
of 1,200 women and children from Amor
Camp.
Sahar Hussain, the Commander of Amor
Camp, had a persona grievance. His daughter
Kulzam Akhtar had been left in Srinagar
(Kashmir in India. He had been trying
his best to bring her to Pakistan, but
no succeeded. Because of the Indo-Pakistan
conflict in Kashmir, no Kashmir Muslim
could go to Pakistan or come to India.
When Chakkar Kaur Singh contacted Sabar
Hussain, he told him frankly that first
his daughter should return before he
could agree to the return of the Hindu
and Sikh women and children in his camp.29
This was a very difficult problem. But
Chakkar Kaur Singh took it as a challenge.
After coming to India, he worked for
six month: in Srinagar meeting political
leaders like Sheikh Abdullah and Bakshi
Ghulam Mohammed to request them to allow
Kulzam Akhtar to go to Pakistan so that
the Hindu and Sikh women of Amor Camp
could be recovered. Ultimately, he was
successful. He personally brought the
Muslin girl from Srinagar to Jammu then
to Jalandhar to secure her entry in
Pakistan through Deputy High Commissioner,
Pakistan.30 In this way, 1,200 women
and children were brought to India.
Where the Government of India failed,
a Sikh missionary succeeded in recovering
abducted women.
Amid the recovery of abducted women
and children, there were some very rare
heartening episodes of noble deeds.
Fateh Mohammed, a Muslim constable took
a Sikh girl, 16 years old whose parents
had beer murdered in the communal riots,
to his house. While holding a copy of
the holy Quran, he swore before his
young daughters, wife and aged mother
that he would treat the girl as his
own daughter. He kept his vow and served
the girl for a number of months. He
made an earnest effort to locate her
relations in East Punjab. Ultimately,
he was able to find her brother who
came to Lahore to take her, to East
Punjab, she gave detailed statement
as to how she was looked after by Fateh
Mohammed. He statement is preserved
in East Punjab Liaison Agency Records
No. LV-26ES.
Similarly, S. Narain Singh of Bathinda
area gave shelter to a Muslin girl of
tender age whose parents had been murdered
during the communal riots. He got her
admitted in the school along with his
granddaughters. When she came of age,
he was able to locate one distant relative
of hers through the Pakistan High Commissioner's
Office. He also prepared dowry articles
for her marriage. These, he gave her
at the time of farewell on the Indo-Pak
border. The episode was published in
the New York Times, U.S.A. vith the
title Sweetest Revenge.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Dr. Kirpal Singh "Partition
and Women" Abstracts of Sikh Studies
- June 1999
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