New Delhi, August 14: On the occasion of ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day,’ glimpses of the Partition Museum were showcased at Ambedkar University’s Kashmiri Gate campus in Delhi. This exhibition highlighted stories related to the partition of India, the pain of displacement, and the personal experiences of those who lived through the tragedy, either directly or through their family memories.
During the event, Lakshmi Puri, Kishwar Desai, and members of families affected by the partition shared their reflections on the memories of partition and the legacy passed down through generations. Affected family members emphasized that partition is not merely an event recorded in history books, but a profound experience tied to the lives, memories, and struggles of millions of families.
Colonel Anil Bhatia spoke about the role of his grandfather, Dr. Isha Das Bhatia, who was a surgeon in Amritsar. He recounted how his grandfather treated numerous injured individuals following the Jallianwala Bagh incident. Bhatia revealed that his grandfather performed surgeries by lantern light that night, extracting bullets from the wounded. The details regarding the bullets and the injured were documented as evidence.
He noted that his grandfather provided registers and lists of the injured to British officials as proof, but those documents were never returned. The extracted bullets were later handed over to the Congress Committee in Lahore. He added that despite a curfew in Punjab at the time, his grandfather managed to deliver the bullets to the relevant authorities, possibly with the involvement of Madan Mohan Malviya in the investigation.
Jagmohan Bhardwaj also shared his family’s story of displacement during the partition. He explained that his family was displaced from a small village called Kalsara in Sheikhpura district and migrated to India. Although he was very young at the time and does not remember much, he learned about his family’s struggles and the journey to India through stories from the elders.
He described how his family crossed the Ravi River to enter Indian territory, as their village was not far from the river. After arriving in India, the family sought to rebuild their lives, striving to move forward despite the pain of displacement. He expressed the importance of remembering the roles of those who endured the tragedy of partition. Today, he felt heartened to see refugees being recognized and remembered as freedom fighters.
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