A Pakistani woman separated from her family during the 1947 Partition met her Indian brothers for the first time last month after 75 years.
Mumtaz Bibi, who was separated from her Sikh family during the turmoil, met her brothers Gurmukh Singh and Baldev Singh for the first time at the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan in April.
“We are so happy that we’ve been able to meet our sister in our lifetime,” Gurmukh Singh said. In 1947, the Partition led to the creation of two inde-pendent nations – India and Pakistan. It was the biggest movement of people in history, outside war and famine. Nearly 12 million people became refu-gees and between half a million and a million people were killed in religious violence.
Their father Pala Singh had moved from Pakistan to the Patiala district of Punjab state in India after his wife was killed in Pakistan during the violence.
“When he came to know about his wife’s death, he assumed his daughter was also murdered, follow-ing which he married his sister-in-law (as was the tradition during those days),” said Baldev Singh, the younger of the two brothers.
But in Pakistan, Mumtaz Bibi had been found by a Muslim couple who adopted and raised her. “About two years ago, our sons found out about our half-sister with the help of social media,” Baldev Singh said.
Ms Mumtaz, who was searching for family, had spoken to Pakistani YouTuber Nasir Dhillon, whose channel Punjab Lehar helped several families sepa-rated during the Partition find each other.
Wanting to confirm their connection, Gurmukh Singh contacted a shopkeeper at their ancestral village in Pakistan’s Sheikhupura district.
“He connected us with Mumtaz,” he said He admitted that the family was initially sceptical about her identity.
“Could she be someone else? But we gradually connected the dots, got proof and it was established that she is very much our sister,” he said. “Our hap-piness knew no bounds.” “After that, we just wanted to meet her at any cost. —Agencies
