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MERI KAHANI

I was born in July 1944 in a well-to-do zamindar and trading family


(land owning family) in a small village called Gojara, about 40 km
from Lyallpur (now known as Faisalabad) in Punjab in the
undivided India, but now forming part of Pakistan. The family
owned vast tracts of fertile agricultural lands which mainly
produced wheat, gram, corn and sugarcane. While retainers
worked on the lands, the family concentrated on marketing their
produce rather than selling through the middlemen. To this end
the family had set up two establishments, one in Gojara which to
this day is a big grain market in Pakistani Punjab and the other in
Lyallpur, now known as Faisalabad. The grain merchants in those
days were called commission agents or known as Aarathi in local
dialect. The shop in Faisalabads Daana Bazar still stands with
the names of my grandfather engraved in the stone gate.
According to my mother I had just started walking that the
country was partitioned in August 1947. Most Hindu families from
our village left for India in a hurry, our family could not decide
whether to remain or migrate to India. The atmosphere was full
of hate for the Hindus as most businesses were in the hands of
Hindus. The Muslims indulged in unchecked looting, senseless
violence and our family was not untouched from this violence.
Several members of our family fell prey to the senseless killings.
Some of our long-term loyal workers who had been with our
family for more than two generations helped us in every possible
way. They provided us shelter in a safe place. It is only when
some semblance of peace was restored and army took over
escorting migrants to India and Pakistan that the family decided
to migrate to India. Finally, in January 1948 the family godowns
(commodity storage) and business establishments, both in Gojara

and Faisalabad, were handed over to loyal workers and the family
was escorted to Amritsar in a convoy by the Indian army. The
family spent over a year and a half in the refugee camps at
Amritsar during which time my father completed his studies in
Ayurvedic medicine which was interrupted because of partition.
Finally the family was re-settled in a town called Bahadurgarh in
Rohtak District in the Indian Punjab. Later the state of Punjab was
bifurcated into Haryana and Punjab and Bahadurgarh became
part of Haryana state. Bahadurgarh is about 30 km from the
national capital, Delhi. In fact, the border between Bahadurgarh
and Delhi is just 2 kms. While the family was allotted small
residential houses in Bahadurgarh, agricultural lands were allotted
in two separate locations about 70 to 80 km apart which in itself
posed serious practical problems in managing these agricultural
lands which were supposedly allotted in exchange for the familys
holdings. This was the general pattern not limited to our family.
On achieving independence from the British the nation was in a
celebratory mood but the violence and carnage during the
transfer of power and during the migration process from both
parts of the country created the biggest tragedy for infant and
young children, born prior to independence or a few years earlier
or just after partition, who had to suffer the maximum. In other
words, all children lost their childhood and had to lead a life of
want and poverty. In most cases the children were expected to
help the families in earning a livelihood. I being very young was
spared any hard work. But I did have a very painful childhood. In
fact I never knew what childhood is as I have no fond memories of
my growing up years. It must be remembered that most of the
refugees, like my family, had to leave their homes and businesses
in Pakistan at short notice and were not allowed to carry any of
their belongings or valuables. They were more concerned in
saving their lives and those of the young ones. I later learnt that
thousands of men and women and children were separated from

their families and families could not find any trace of them in
spite of concerted efforts of the families and the authorities.
Some were believed to have been the victims of the hateful
violence. Others were separated during the migration process or
some family members being sent to different refugee camps. In
the case of children, it was believed that some of them were
stolen by those who had lost their own in the violence or
otherwise.
The biggest problem of the partition was that the authorities were
busy in solving the day-to-day survival problems of the millions of
refugees. They were slow in organizing schools for the refugee
children as parents were not in a position to pay for their
schooling and were dependent on the government.. The result
was that like majority of the children, I could be enrolled in a
school at the age of 7+. The period prior to school enrollment
was spent in assisting the family or loitering in the streets like
vagabonds. This period had a very bad influence on the psyche of
the children like me.
In the pre-partition India my family was in a very good economic
and social position. Being land owners the family had been given
the title of Malik. To this day all male members of the family
prefix the honorary title of Malik to their name e.g. my father was
always addressed as Malik Lal Chand Batra. So were his brothers
and my grandfather before them. Even I am known as Malik
Saheb or Malik Harkrishan Lal Batra among those who know the
family.
Here I would like to narrate an incident connected with my name.
My birth name is Krishan Lal Batra. When my father took me to
the primary school for admission, the headmaster told my father:
Malik Saheb, I already have 4 Krishan Lals in the 1 st grade. So if
you want your son to be admitted to school, you should think
about changing his name otherwise come next year. It is so
difficult to distinguish amongst these multiple Krishan Lal. After

a brief discussion with my father, the principal suggested that


henceforth I would be known as Harkrishan Lal instead of Krishan
Lal and he enrolled me into the school with this new name. Till
date my family knows me as Krishan Lal while in all official
documents I am known as Harkrishan Lal as my school certificate
carries that name.
BACKGROUND OF BAHADURGARH
Bahadurgarh as it is now, is a flourishing large town and an
Industrial estate border the national capital Delhi. In the past the
border was around 3 km from the center of the town, but now
with the proliferation of the industries and the population, the
only thing separating Bahadurgarh from Delhi is the check-post
between the two states. It is well connected by rail and road. By
road it lies on the National Highway from Delhi to Bhiwani. By rail
it is on the Delhi/Ferozepur/Mumbai line.
The topography of Bgarh is such that in the north is the railway
station along with a goods yard which is extensively used by
various industries for bringing in and sending out their products.
The railway station is linked to the town which is approx. 3 kms
through a well-maintained metalled road. On the left side of the
railway station is a small residential area (called New Basti) which
is mainly populated by labour force and workers working in the
timber and stone market and the grain and commodity market.
As one proceeds towards south from the Railway road toward the
town, there is a Timber and Stone Market on the right and the
Grain & Commodity Market on the left. The Grain & Commodity
Market which is one of the largest such markets in Haryana, is
enclosed in a well constructed premises with two large high gates
(around 10 ft high) on both ends of the market which could be
closed at night. The market is spread into a large area. The
commodity storage areas are confined on the two sides while the
central area is kept free for easy parking and passage of vehicles
including tractor trolleys, trucks and even bullock-carts bringing in

various commodities. The market establishments are, to a large


extent, owned and operated by the business community
commonly known as baniyaas. These people come from mainly
Aggarwal, Jain & Gupta communities. Most of the owners and
operators live on the premises on the first floors of the various
establishments. Outside the market, there is a school for the girls
which is now a full-fledged Sr. Secondary School plus a Teachers
Training School. This school was started by the business
community for their girls being very conservative.
Both the Timber & Stone Market and the Grain Market stretch
almost one km from the railway station and end at the storm
water drain just touching the High School playground. This drain
plays a vital role in containing the floods due to heavy rains
during the monsoon (rainy season) which is spread over a period
of 3 months. From this drain the road proceeds towards the town.
The area on both sides of the road from the drain onward is
vacant and some areas are barren and waste land. A small
distance from the drain, there is a cremation ground which is
enclosed by high walls all around. Next on the left side stands the
Government Sr. Secondary School and College with various sport
fields. The right side area which was empty was later developed
into a residential colony by a local developer. This colony is know
by the name of the developer Sant Colony. Opposite the Sant
Colony is Guptajis Dharamshala which serves as a community
centre. It is mainly used for housing the wedding parties coming
from out of town. Travelers also use the premises for overnight
halts as it is situated just opposite the main inter-state and local
bus depot.
Here the Railway Road intersects the National Highway between
Delhi and Bhiwani. The intersection used to act as the Bus Depot.
But with the expansion of the town and proliferation of population
and increased traffic, the Bus Depot was shifted to a permanently
constructed Bus terminal & Depot. For a long time this

intersection has served as a commercial hub for Bahadurgarh as


well as travelers refreshment stop. Most travelers stop here for a
break, for refreshments and food etc. and shopping for some
essential items.
Bahadurgarh is connected by road to almost 65-70 villages within
10 km radius through various transport services buses, minibusses, trucks, tempos, auto-rikshaws etc. All these villages
depend on Bahadurgarh for sale of their agricultural produce and
vegetables etc. as well as for all their shopping and household
needs. While some villages and small towns have their own
schools, but for college education they all depend on Bahadurgarh
Govt. College.
From the Railway Road & National Highway intersection, the left
road goes to Delhi, the right towards Bhiwani and the Railway
Road winds down towards the centre of the town. From here the
road is known as the Main Road.
The road from this intersection is lined with numerous shops
catering to everything a household needs. With time, small
markets have come up on the periphery of the main road which
stretches for almost 2 km until the southern edge of the town. In
the center is the Municipal Committee complex.
DESCRIPTION OF HOUSE ALLOTTED
After independence and partition of India, we migrated to India in
Nov/Dec 1947. After a short stay in Amrtisar Refugee camps, we
came to Bahadurgarh here the family had been allotted three
house. As my two elder uncles had a large family (one had 4
children and the other had 3), they occupied two of the larger
houses while the smallest was given to us. The house was very
small, just one room and a covered verandah and some open
space with a small mud boundary wall. The inside of the room
was full of camel and horse dung. Apparently this particular
house was being use for horses and camels. It took lot of labor

and efforts to clean the house. The house did not have enough
space for all 4 of us (my parents, my sister and me). While the
parents used the bedroom, my sister and I used to sleep in the
verandah. While during summer it was bearable, in winter
months it became very difficult due to cold and bitter cold winds.
The house became too small after the addition of 2 siblings during
the course of next 4 years. So another room was built within the
space available. The house had no electricity and no water
supply. We had to depend on kerosene lamps/candles and water
had to be fetched from the well which was quite a distance from
the house. We also constructed a small toilet and bathroom but
due to lack of enough water, it was very difficult to keep the toilet
clean. However, we managed as best as we could until a handpump was installed at the corner of our street which provided
enough water for the household. But drinking water had still to
be brought from the well.
The house being so small we did not have any space for study or
home work. We had to use to sit on a charpoy in the street and
do our home work. Alternatively, I used to stay at school to finish
my home work before returning home. During middle school years
I used to study under a street lamp to prepare for my mid-term
and final exams until we had enough money to get an electric
connection. Over time we also got water supply pipes. But water
supply was erratic, sometimes just one hour a day and other
times 1 hour morning and evening. There was no space for
playing or money for any extra-curricular activities or games.

GENERAL LIFE IMMEDIATELY AFTER PARTITION

EARLY SCHOOLING

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