Even 75 Years After Partition, Pak Punjabi Family Longs to be With Their Elder

Chandigarh: The members of families separated by India's bloody Partition seven-and-a-half decades ago are still longing to be with one another.

One such story is that of Preetam Khan, who currently resides in Powat village in the Ludhiana district of Punjab's Samrala tehsil.

A nine-year-old child then, Khan was left alone in the village at the time of Partition, in 1947. While his mother was killed, his father and three older brothers migrated to Pakistan. He grew up and lived his life on this side of the border, doing odd jobs. Now, he is in the last leg of his life, turning 84 this year.

Recently, Khan got a pleasant surprise when his nephew from Pakistan reached out to him. He's now helping Khan get a visa so he can spend the remainder of his life with them.

Khan's father, Popu Khan, who settled in Pakistan's Faisalabad after Partition, passed away a long time back. His brothers, too, are no more.

Khan's nephew, Shahbaz, the son of his late elder brother Mohammad Sharif, recently tracked Khan down with the help of Pakistani Youtuber Nasir Dhillon. Dhillon runs Punjabi Lehar, an NGO working to reunite families separated by Partition.

Dhillon was recently in the news when in January of this year, he helped reunite two brothers – Sika Khan from Punjab and Mohammad Mudammed Siddique from Pakistan – who, too, were sequestered by Partition.

Also read: Visa in Hand, Brothers Reunited After Partition Can Now Spend More Time Together

Now, Dhillon is trying to unite Preetam Khan with his family in Pakistan.

Dhillion told The Wire that Shahbaz had some idea of Khan's whereabouts in Indian Punjab since they both had met in 2005, when the latter had visited Pakistan along with a Sikh ‘jatha’ (pilgrimage).

Upon his return to India, however, they both lost touch. Shahbaz’s family tried to locate Khan, but he was untraceable.

“Shahbaz recently approached me to locate his uncle in India. I made a short video and uploaded it on social media. After this, we got to know his whereabouts,” Dhillon.

In a short documentary Dhillon uploaded to YouTube on May 26, Shahbaz requested the Pakistan High Commission in India to grant his uncle a visa so that he can spend his last days with his family. At time of reporting, the video already has 33,ooo views.

Shahbaz, who lives in Faisalabad’s Chak-47 area, says in the video that his uncle is the only one from the older generation left in his family.

Preetam Khan (left) on video call with his nephew, Shahbaz (right). Photo: Special arrangement.

“My grandfather, father and my uncles died longing for him. I request the authorities to grant him a visa so he can spend his last days with us,” he says in the video.

“There is all the more reason for him to live with us since there is no one to look after him in India," Shahbaz added, saying, "He lives alone and has a hard life. I humbly request authorities to help reunite us.”

Khan, too, is eager to visit Pakistan. Talking to The Wire, he said, “I want to go to my relatives, stay with them and, if possible, breathe my last breath there."

Requesting authorities to give him a long-term visa, he said that although the people in his village are helpful, it would be better if he got the chance to spend the last days of his life in the company of his family members.

“While my father and brothers are no more, I relive their memories while staying with my extended family,” Khan added.

Preetam Khan living in his village. Photo: Special arrangement.

Khan has lived alone throughout his life. When asked about his own family, he said he was unable to get married.

“Perhaps it was not my fate,” he said with a wry smile.

Also read: India and Pakistan Must Let Their People Meet – Before it's Too Late

A life full of hardships 

Khan has had a difficult life. Soon after violence broke out in his village at the time of Partition, Khan's mother, Rehmat Bibi rushed to the fields where Khan and his father worked.

When she reached the field, however, no one was there besides Khan. The mother and son were being chased by a group of people. In order to escape them. Rehmat Bibi directed Khan to hide in the fields while she jumped into a well.

However, she couldn't manage to get out of the well and eventually perished inside.

When asked how he was brought up, Khan told The Wire that he survived by doing odd jobs in fields and houses.

“I washed utensils and grazed cattle in my younger years. Later, I worked for over 28 years as field labour in the village. This is how my life was spent,” he said.

However, he said that despite several problems, he was happy with whatever he did in his life.

Sukhdeep Kaur Nagra, a resident of Powat village, told The Wire that living alone is difficult for Khan, at his age. Moreover, he is currently living hand-to-mouth. If he can stay with his family in Pakistan, he will have a comfortable life.

"On behalf of the whole village, I request the Punjab government as well as the visa authorities to take up his matter on priority so that the last days of his life are peaceful," Nagra added.