By Herlyn Kaur | ABC News | Australia |
As the tidal wave of global mourning following the Queen’s death subsides, those from former colonies are reminded of the dark and bloody history that unfolded under British rule.
India was Britain’s largest colony for nearly 200 years, which ended with the partition of the subcontinent, dividing Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan in 1947, leading to a mass exodus of people from both sides.
About 15 million people were displaced in the fallout, leaving some families separated to this day.
Seventy-five years on, the harrowing stories of the violence which broke out still haunt many.
NEIGHBOURS BECAME ‘ENEMIES’
Jatinderpal Singh was born in Punjab — India’s northernmost state bordering Pakistan, which was at the forefront of the upheaval.
“Overnight, [Sikhs on the Pakistani side of the border] had to leave everything in Pakistan and just leave with whatever we had on our backs,” Mr Singh said.
“My father-in-law’s sister, I saw her a couple of years after marriage, she never smiled, she was like a zombie walking around.
“She had lost her family, including her husband and her children during the partition. They were killed and nobody ever found them again.
“I think most people didn’t believe that this would happen to them, until the last few days when it really became bad. It was a massacre.”
His wife, Jagkeerat Kaur, said looking back at photos sparked many painful memories.
“[My parents] used to be very sad about it because they saw so much bloodshed and people who were actually friends, they turned foes … so suddenly everybody around you was not a friend anymore,” she said.
“For centuries these people were neighbours, they lived together and suddenly they became enemies,” Mr Singh said.
Read the full story here.
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