0:00:02 > 0:00:05This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08This is the north Indian city of Amritsar
0:00:08 > 0:00:11and just a few miles in that direction is the Pakistani border.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15But just 70 years ago, that border didn't even exist.
0:00:15 > 0:00:22In 1947, 200 years of British rule here came to an abrupt end
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and this vast subcontinent was divided.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27It was called partition
0:00:27 > 0:00:30and it split the states of Punjab and Bengal
0:00:30 > 0:00:34to create two new Muslim homelands in the east and west.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Millions of Hindus and Sikhs fled to an independent India
0:00:38 > 0:00:42and millions of Muslims to east and west Pakistan.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49In all, 15 million people were uprooted
0:00:49 > 0:00:53in the largest forced migration ever recorded.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57And over a million people died in the chaos and violence of partition,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00as families, like my own, were torn apart.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Many partition survivors decided to rebuild their lives in Britain.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11And now, 70 years on,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14their children and their grandchildren are going back
0:01:14 > 0:01:17to discover how partition dramatically changed
0:01:17 > 0:01:19their family stories for ever.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22And this time, I'll be joining them,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26as me and my mum become the first members of our family to go back
0:01:26 > 0:01:30to my grandfather's village in what is now Pakistan.
0:01:37 > 0:01:39In this series, I and three other Britons
0:01:39 > 0:01:45from different religious backgrounds are retracing our partition stories.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48We come from all sides caught up in the violence.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and British colonial.
0:01:53 > 0:01:5770 years on, this is our last chance to learn the truth
0:01:57 > 0:02:00about partition from the people who lived through it.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05I thought it was like doomsday, a very difficult time.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13My partition journey started two years ago
0:02:13 > 0:02:17when I explored my Sikh family history on Who Do You Think You Are?
0:02:17 > 0:02:20- This is from my grandfather. - This is from your grandad. Yes.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22- This is Sant Singh's.- Wow!
0:02:22 > 0:02:26The story I uncovered about my maternal grandfather, Sant Singh,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28had a huge impact on me.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30In 1947, before he married my nan
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and went on to have my mum and all her siblings,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36my grandfather was married and, at the time of partition,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40he was away with the army, and his wife, children and father died
0:02:40 > 0:02:44in the horror of what took place.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48Hello, Mamma.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51- Hi, Anita.- How are you doing?
0:02:51 > 0:02:54My mum was very close to her dad, but he never talked to her
0:02:54 > 0:02:58about what happened to his first family during partition.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I have known my father as a very loving, caring,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05very lovely father
0:03:05 > 0:03:10but I did not know he was hiding so much inside him.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14Mum and I have decided to finish the journey into my grandfather's past
0:03:14 > 0:03:16that I started two years ago.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Beautiful picture. Maybe 17, 18, or maybe younger than that.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Yeah. Yeah. And then, here we go, his first wife.
0:03:23 > 0:03:29- Wow!- Pritam Kaur.- Beautiful. - A handsome couple.- That's right.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33The family story is that during an attack on their village
0:03:33 > 0:03:37by local Muslims, my grandfather's first wife, Pritam Kaur,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40took her own life by jumping into the village well.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45My great-grandfather, Dheru, and Sant's two young children,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Mahindra and Rajbal, were also killed.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52- So, this is the little picture of Raj, their son.- Yeah.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57After partition, my grandfather's home village became part of Pakistan
0:03:57 > 0:04:01and he was never able to return there to honour the family he lost.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04No-one in my family has ever been to Pakistan
0:04:04 > 0:04:07to see where my grandfather lived.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11It's really important that I go with my mum and pay respects.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14So, there's India...
0:04:14 > 0:04:17- Mm-hm.- Pakistan...- Yeah.- Punjab.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22- That's it.- And we are going to here - Sahiwal.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23Are you excited?
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Excited and...
0:04:25 > 0:04:27- Nervous?- A little bit.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Pakistan, here we come.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38In the last episode, young British Muslim Sameer
0:04:38 > 0:04:41set off from Manchester with his grandfather Asad
0:04:41 > 0:04:44to retrace their family's partition story.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49These are the only photographs I have left from India, you know?
0:04:49 > 0:04:51He's my father.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54They managed to find Asad's childhood home
0:04:54 > 0:04:56in the Indian city of Ambala.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I can't help crying.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I don't belong here.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Asad was only seven when violence broke out here.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06And he and his Muslim family were forced to flee
0:05:06 > 0:05:08in fear of their lives.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10They wanted to kill my father.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14I want my grandson, Sameer,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18to know the real story about my life before partition.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23This time, Sameer is following the dangerous train journey
0:05:23 > 0:05:27that Asad and his family took as refugees in 1947,
0:05:27 > 0:05:30which started here, at Ambala station.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37A lovely train.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Sameer will take the same route
0:05:43 > 0:05:45across the Indian state of Punjab to Pakistan
0:05:45 > 0:05:48that Asad took 70 years ago.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Due to ill-health, his grandfather has decided
0:05:51 > 0:05:53not to accompany him on the journey.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02I'm not well to travel and I'm glad that he's going on his own.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I won't be a burden on him. You know what I mean.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09It's important someone from the family follows the path he took
0:06:09 > 0:06:12when he left Ambala, during the partition,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16because he went through hardship, he went through danger,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20he went through mental, physical, emotional stress.
0:06:20 > 0:06:21For me, going on this trip,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24this is the closest I can get to experiencing what he experienced.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31We had quite a few relatives who were going to Pakistan with us
0:06:31 > 0:06:33and we took a special train.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39But that train stopped and the railway authorities said,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41"You'll have to get off here,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44"your train will come tomorrow to take you to Pakistan.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46"This train is not going to Pakistan."
0:06:48 > 0:06:51We were there without food, without water, without anything.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56After seven days, the train arrived.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58I thought that it's like doomsday.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Everybody was running towards the train like mad.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05You know? Carrying their luggage, carrying their children,
0:07:05 > 0:07:06carrying their wives.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09People were going crazy.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16One of my uncles pushed me into the compartment, through the windows.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21Asad and his family were among almost 4 million Muslim,
0:07:21 > 0:07:26Sikh and Hindu refugees who, after the line of partition was announced
0:07:26 > 0:07:30in August 1947, crammed onto India's vast rail network
0:07:30 > 0:07:33to try to escape the growing violence
0:07:33 > 0:07:36erupting across India and Pakistan.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I'm sat on a train now and I'm thinking,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44trying to imagine this whole train absolutely full
0:07:44 > 0:07:49with boxes, with luggage, bags and people.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54I can just imagine a scared little kid in the corner
0:07:54 > 0:07:55really cramped up tight.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59It must have been so horrible for a kid to go through that.
0:08:00 > 0:08:02There was no room at all.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05So, for hours and hours, I was just sitting in that position.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09I couldn't move my legs. I was just crouching, you know?
0:08:11 > 0:08:14I couldn't complain. We were just children.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17We stayed quietly and didn't make a noise.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25While Sameer follows Asad and his Muslim family's journey west
0:08:25 > 0:08:29across Punjab to Pakistan, Binita Kane is exploring
0:08:29 > 0:08:33her Hindu family's partition story in Bangladesh.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Last time, Binita agreed to return to her father,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Bim Bhowmick's, childhood home,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44the first person in her family to do so since partition.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I'll be fine. I'll do a good job for you.
0:08:47 > 0:08:52Now an eminent doctor, Professor Bim Bhowmick was only a child
0:08:52 > 0:08:56when his family fled their village in the remote region of Noakhali,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59after one of the first outbreaks of partition violence.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04Mum came to our room and said "Ssh, just run!"
0:09:04 > 0:09:08They escaped at night, hidden on a local riverboat.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13The minute they got onto this boat, they became refugees.
0:09:15 > 0:09:21Now Binita is retracing her father's perilous journey across Bengal.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23She's come to Chowmuhani station
0:09:23 > 0:09:26where six-year-old Bim and his family arrived as refugees
0:09:26 > 0:09:3070 years ago, hoping to get a train to safety.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34When he entered the station,
0:09:34 > 0:09:39my brother-in-law made us sit in one corner and then said,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41"Keep your head down."
0:09:41 > 0:09:45He said he wants to go to see the station master.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51The station master advised that we don't take the passenger train...
0:09:52 > 0:09:56..because there had been atrocities in the compartments.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Binita's come to meet one of the current station managers,
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Mr Jaman, whose father worked here during the partition period.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07So nice to meet you.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08- How are you?- I am OK.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13My family fled from this station, I think in October 1946.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Mr Jaman has a contemporary account
0:10:23 > 0:10:25of the attack on Chowmuhani station.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30Oh, wow! So, it's October 21st, 1946.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34The headline is refugees attacked at Chowmuhani, some killed.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37"According to reports received here,
0:10:37 > 0:10:41"mobs attacked refugees at Chowmuhani on Friday,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44"killing and stabbing some persons, with the result
0:10:44 > 0:10:47"that the railway staff in the area were forced to flee.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50"Railway tracks are lined with hundreds of refugees,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52"fleeing from disturbed sections."
0:10:53 > 0:10:54Oh. Wow!
0:10:54 > 0:10:56It's really shocking.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58I think the date on here's really significant.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02The massacre at this station happened
0:11:02 > 0:11:05just a few days after my dad passed through.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09And, actually, if they'd been at this station three days later,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11they would have been killed.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15And that's a very sobering thought.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22By the end of October 1946,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26up to 5,000 Hindus had been murdered in this area
0:11:26 > 0:11:30and a further 200,000 forced out of their ancestral homes.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35The station master advised that we go in goods train.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39And, fortunately, there will be a goods train
0:11:39 > 0:11:41in about 45 minutes' time.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58My father and my eldest brother-in-law lifted us
0:11:58 > 0:12:00into the goods train.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07Inside, it's absolutely dirty and smelly.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13And when the door was shut, it was deep darkness.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17You could hardly see each other, but we huddled together again,
0:12:17 > 0:12:19holding each other's hands.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Try and imagine how they must have been feeling at this point
0:12:27 > 0:12:29because they could have been stopped at any time.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32If they'd been discovered, they'd have been killed.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34They were leaving behind everything they knew and loved
0:12:34 > 0:12:37and they were leaving behind their ancestral home,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39so there must have been so much uncertainty
0:12:39 > 0:12:42at what was going to happen. It must have been so hard.
0:12:46 > 0:12:52After about eight or ten hours of train journey, the door opened wide
0:12:52 > 0:12:59and my elder brother-in-law said, "Here we are now, safe, sound
0:12:59 > 0:13:01"and you'll all be OK."
0:13:01 > 0:13:07We thought we escaped from terror.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13In the winter of 1946, Bim and his family arrived safely
0:13:13 > 0:13:16in predominantly Hindu West Bengal.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Ten months after they fled, the line of partition divided the state
0:13:21 > 0:13:25and their village, Mandari, became part of the new Muslim homeland
0:13:25 > 0:13:27of East Pakistan.
0:13:28 > 0:13:311,500 miles to the west, partition also split
0:13:31 > 0:13:36my Sikh family's home state of Punjab down the middle.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Me and Mum have become the first members of our family to set foot
0:13:43 > 0:13:46on the Pakistani side of the border in 70 years.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48It feels like we've stepped back in time.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50I wonder if Nanaji walked down this street.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53We're on the trail of my Sikh grandfather, Sant Singh,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56and we've started our journey in Lahore,
0:13:56 > 0:13:57the former capital of Punjab,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00a city he and his family often travelled through.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03I can't believe that we're finally in Lahore.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06I've wanted to come here for... I don't even know how long.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11My grandfather, he was here, my father was here,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I am walking where they walked, in the streets they walked.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18It's overwhelming for me. It's amazing.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The Lahore that my family often came through
0:14:21 > 0:14:24was then known as the Paris of the East,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27a sophisticated and cosmopolitan city, in which Muslims,
0:14:27 > 0:14:32Sikhs and Hindus had lived side-by-side for generations.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Don't you think, Mum, it really feels like the capital of Punjab,
0:14:35 > 0:14:40- doesn't it?- Yeah, I feel like this is it, this is real Punjab
0:14:40 > 0:14:43but which is in the part of Pakistan now.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45The culture is same, food is same,
0:14:45 > 0:14:47people are speaking same language.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Only the thing is we don't see a lot of Sikhs here.
0:14:50 > 0:14:55I thought we'd feel more alien. It feels weirdly like home.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00We've come to a suburb of Lahore to meet 90-year-old Muslim
0:15:00 > 0:15:04Abdul Raif Malik, who lived here throughout partition.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06- How are you?- Salam alaikum.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08- Lovely to see you.- And how are you?
0:15:08 > 0:15:09Wonderful. Thank you so much.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13It is very pleasant to see you here in Pakistan, in Lahore.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17In early 1947, Mr Malik was a 20-year-old student
0:15:17 > 0:15:20with many Sikh and Hindu friends.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22The decision to partition Punjab
0:15:22 > 0:15:25sparked ferocious religious violence in Lahore
0:15:25 > 0:15:30and he watched as whole districts of the city went up in flames.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Before partition, what was happening?
0:15:32 > 0:15:33What was the sense in Lahore?
0:15:42 > 0:15:47I'm just trying to understand how that then becomes a city
0:15:47 > 0:15:51of just Muslims. What did you see happen? How did that happen?
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Somebody stabbed a Sikh? And you saw that?
0:16:19 > 0:16:23This is from June 23rd, 1947.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28"Lahore a blazing inferno, life completely paralysed.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31"Hundreds of houses and shops destroyed in big fires.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36"The biggest conflagration being inside Shahalmi Gate."
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- Shahalmi Gate. - That's the Hindu area?- Hindu area.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43"Huge tongues of red fires which have lit up the whole city
0:16:43 > 0:16:48"and the suburbs can be seen from several miles away."
0:16:48 > 0:16:50It's giving me goose pimples and shivers...
0:16:50 > 0:16:53- It's horrific, isn't it? - ..just to imagine
0:16:53 > 0:16:56how horrific a situation that was.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00The violence in Lahore was amongst the worst seen anywhere
0:17:00 > 0:17:04during partition, with both sides committing atrocities.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07By the end of 1947,
0:17:07 > 0:17:12the entire Sikh and Hindu population of the city had been forced out.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45To meet a 90-year-old man who experienced the horror and violence
0:17:45 > 0:17:48of partition is utterly incredible.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51I'm not surprised he can't talk about it
0:17:51 > 0:17:53without bursting into tears.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56These are wounds that will never heal.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Across the border in Indian Punjab,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Sameer is following the train journey to Pakistan
0:18:05 > 0:18:10that his Muslim grandfather, Asad, made as a child during partition.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16For me, it's really important to trace that journey
0:18:16 > 0:18:18because this is the history of my family
0:18:18 > 0:18:20and of many, many other families.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Because they all made that journey
0:18:22 > 0:18:24whether they started on the Pakistan side or the India side.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28The lucky ones managed it, made it.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Many of them lost their lives.
0:18:31 > 0:18:37As millions of refugees crammed onto India's railways to escape violence
0:18:37 > 0:18:39in their home towns and villages,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42they were often heading into even greater danger.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45On both sides of the new border,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48these slow-moving trains were regularly ambushed
0:18:48 > 0:18:50and many arrived at their destinations
0:18:50 > 0:18:54with every passenger on board slaughtered.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Asad and his family's train journey across the Indian Punjab
0:18:59 > 0:19:02took them through several Sikh areas,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05one of the most dangerous routes for Muslim refugees.
0:19:05 > 0:19:10The first station where the train stopped, that was Amritsar,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13which is a Sikh city.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19Although the windows were closed, we could see through the little holes.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24The Sikhs were walking up and down the platform with their open daggers
0:19:24 > 0:19:26to kill Muslims.
0:19:26 > 0:19:30We were so scared that they would jump into the train
0:19:30 > 0:19:32and kill all of us.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39The children were really scared about what is going to happen
0:19:39 > 0:19:41and the men were reading the holy Quran.
0:19:46 > 0:19:51We were lucky to have a Muslim army regiment with us on that train
0:19:51 > 0:19:54because they wanted to move from India to Pakistan.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59That's how God saved us, otherwise, you know,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01we would have been killed by the Sikhs
0:20:01 > 0:20:05because they would have killed everybody on that train.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10Sameer has arrived in Amritsar where, 70 years ago,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14his grandfather's refugee train narrowly escaped an attack.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17It is a really weird experience
0:20:17 > 0:20:19because obviously there's Sikh everywhere as well.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22This is Amritsar. I'm seeing people with turbans everywhere.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25I feel fine seeing them, but back then,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28just seeing the turban would have put so much terror into him.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Over the course of partition,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35nearly 2 million Muslims took the perilous journey
0:20:35 > 0:20:36by train into Pakistan.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40An equal number of Hindus and Sikhs came the other way,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42heading for India.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Hundreds of thousands on both sides never made it.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Sameer has come to meet an 82-year-old Hindu
0:20:49 > 0:20:51who was travelling in the opposite direction
0:20:51 > 0:20:53to his Muslim grandfather, Asad.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58Ghand Chand Nagpaul was on a train with several thousand refugees
0:20:58 > 0:21:00making their way out of Pakistan
0:21:00 > 0:21:03when they were stopped near the town of Pakpattan.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27They basically just cleaned out the back three carriages.
0:21:27 > 0:21:28They killed everybody?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- Last three. - The last three compartments.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47- Were there any other injuries to your family?- No.- No, OK.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49And you managed to escape.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51And then... So what happened next?
0:22:17 > 0:22:19People were dying just from being trampled?
0:22:46 > 0:22:49How do you...? Looking back and thinking about it now,
0:22:49 > 0:22:51how does all of that make you feel?
0:23:29 > 0:23:34That entire generation, they went through so much.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38You know, listening to all the horrible things
0:23:38 > 0:23:40that people went through,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44I feel so sorry for them because they're still living through it.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51I think it's so important that they tell their stories
0:23:51 > 0:23:55because if anything like this happens again...
0:23:55 > 0:23:57We can't let it happen again.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01It was the end of the world for so many people.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04It was the end of the world.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06We can't let it happen again.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15Over the border in Pakistan,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Mum and I are heading out of Lahore to the villages of Punjab.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Before partition, this was Indian's richest
0:24:27 > 0:24:29and most agriculturally fertile state.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34We're trying to find out what happened to my Sikh grandfather
0:24:34 > 0:24:39Sant Singh's first family during the summer of 1947.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42By that time, the riots in Lahore had spread to this area,
0:24:42 > 0:24:47then known as Montgomery District and now called Sahiwal.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51No-one from our family has returned here since partition.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Are you feeling anxious, or...?
0:24:54 > 0:24:57I am, little butterflies in my stomach and...
0:24:57 > 0:25:00you know, what I'm going to see.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04I'm excited as well to see where my dad used to live.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12In 1947, my grandfather, Sant, who I call Nanaji,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15was stationed in south India with the British Army
0:25:15 > 0:25:18away from his family. His father, Dheru Ram,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21and his two small children, Rajbal and Mahindra,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24didn't make it out of this area alive.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27And the family story is that Sant's first wife, Pritam,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31took her own life by jumping down a well to escape attackers.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36For me, it's so important that we are here
0:25:36 > 0:25:41to try and find out the truth as far as we can know it.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44I want to know if there are people there
0:25:44 > 0:25:46who might know something about Nanaji.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50I want to know if anybody knows anything about Pritam Kaur.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54She's my... You know, she's the vision in the forefront of my mind.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01I think we're here.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04- Good Lord.- Yes.- My God!
0:26:07 > 0:26:1170 years ago, this was a predominantly Sikh village.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13These days, it's entirely Muslim,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17and visitors like me and Mum are a rare sight.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35This village was one of thousands built by the British
0:26:35 > 0:26:38in the 19th century to serve a huge canal system
0:26:38 > 0:26:41which still irrigates this area.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Each village, or chak, was given a number
0:26:44 > 0:26:47and this one is still known as Chak 44.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54There are still people here who remember partition
0:26:54 > 0:26:57and one of them is 90-year-old Haji Peer Hakim Ali.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Thank you. Thank you, ji.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11So did you know my grandfather?
0:27:17 > 0:27:18Wow!
0:27:49 > 0:27:51He had a shop.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01Mr Ali has offered to show us Dheru and Sant's old house.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05I cannot believe somebody went to school with my dad.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08Oh, I'm holding hand of my dad, I feel that.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13During partition, Sant's wife, Pritam, and his two children
0:28:13 > 0:28:17were living here with Dheru while he was away serving in the army.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21Today, the house belongs to a Muslim family
0:28:21 > 0:28:24who've kindly agreed to let us look inside.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Salam alaikum.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41- Wow!- Oh, my God.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43- It's really basic. - Yeah, it is.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48- And this is where they lived.- Yeah. Where my dad spent his childhood.
0:28:48 > 0:28:49Amazing.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52My happiness is that it is not empty.
0:28:53 > 0:28:58Somebody is living here and making good use of this land, this place.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00It's not ruins.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02There is a life here.
0:29:02 > 0:29:03Bless this house.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Bless this land.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11Mr Ali was here when partition violence broke out in this area
0:29:11 > 0:29:14and I want to know if he remembers what happened
0:29:14 > 0:29:16to my great grandfather Dheru Ram
0:29:16 > 0:29:18and my grandfather's wife and children.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23I'm going to show you a photograph.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29- Sant Singh.- Sant Singh. - Your friend.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34This is Sant Singh's wife, Pritam Kaur.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Do you know her?
0:29:42 > 0:29:45He's obviously finding it very difficult to talk about it.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48We should know what happened.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51In 1947, my grandfather wasn't here.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56I need to know what happened at that time.
0:30:14 > 0:30:16So, when the violence started, he left.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20He went to Chak 47.
0:30:25 > 0:30:26And...what happened then?
0:31:02 > 0:31:05Bapaji, I'm trying to understand as well.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11How did this happen?
0:31:11 > 0:31:12I'm trying to understand.
0:31:21 > 0:31:22Well...
0:31:23 > 0:31:24Thank you.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Thank you...
0:31:30 > 0:31:31I'm so grateful for your honesty.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37I always though my great-grandfather died somewhere in this village.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40He didn't. He died in a neighbouring village...
0:31:40 > 0:31:44where he went for refuge with all the other Hindu and Sikh families.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48I'm really grateful that he talked to me about it, he didn't have to.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50He could have just done what people have done
0:31:50 > 0:31:52for the last 70 years and said nothing.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01CALL TO PRAYER
0:32:08 > 0:32:10I have to go to Chak 47,
0:32:10 > 0:32:12I have to go to the place where all the Hindus and Sikhs
0:32:12 > 0:32:14of this area were slaughtered.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18And I still need to find out what happened to Pritam Kaur.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25As Punjabi villages, like my grandfather's,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28descended into horrific religious violence,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31over 1,000 miles to the east, partition had split
0:32:31 > 0:32:35the state of Bengal to create the new Muslim homeland
0:32:35 > 0:32:36of East Pakistan.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Hundreds of thousands of Hindu refugees began
0:32:40 > 0:32:44to pour across the new border, desperate for food and shelter.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Binita has come to the Indian town of Chandannagar, near Calcutta,
0:32:50 > 0:32:55where her father, Bim, and his family, arrived in early 1947.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00I'd heard the story of how the family had had to escape
0:33:00 > 0:33:03but I don't think I really understood
0:33:03 > 0:33:06that they arrived here as refugees.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10I'd like to understand more about that time
0:33:10 > 0:33:12and what that was like for them.
0:33:13 > 0:33:18My father did manage to bring about 8,000 rupees,
0:33:18 > 0:33:20in those days, I think, plenty of money,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23but he put the money in the local bank.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28And then they ran away with the money.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31The bank is failed and closed.
0:33:31 > 0:33:36I looked at my father, a darkness descended on him.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38He went pale.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41He'd just lost everything.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45With five, six mouths to feed.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50He was absolutely devastated.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53And we started to starve.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00The huge influx of refugees into West Bengal
0:34:00 > 0:34:02overwhelmed the authorities,
0:34:02 > 0:34:05who struggled to provide food, shelter and clothing,
0:34:05 > 0:34:10as over 12,000 people a day continued to flood into the region.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17Binita has arranged to meet her father's older brother.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21It's the first time she's seen him in 15 years.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26I've come to see my Uncle Shamal, he's the only surviving member
0:34:26 > 0:34:30of the family from that generation that's still here in Chandannagar.
0:34:36 > 0:34:37How are you?
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Binita came here often as a child
0:34:41 > 0:34:44to visit her grandmother, Ashalata,
0:34:44 > 0:34:47though she never met her grandfather, Jawani Bhomwick,
0:34:47 > 0:34:50who led his family to safety during partition.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55As destitute refugees, Jawani, Ashalata, and their children
0:34:55 > 0:34:59were offered a room in a deserted colonial mansion
0:34:59 > 0:35:00in the centre of town.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03It's such a grand building,
0:35:03 > 0:35:08I don't think I was really expecting it to look so grand and beautiful.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12And how many families used to live here?
0:35:12 > 0:35:15- 35.- 35 families?
0:35:15 > 0:35:16Families.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22As refugee camps across West Bengal overflowed,
0:35:22 > 0:35:26empty buildings like this were taken over by desperate migrants,
0:35:26 > 0:35:29who often lacked even the basic means of survival.
0:35:34 > 0:35:35Where are we going? In here?
0:35:38 > 0:35:40We were very fortunate in a sense,
0:35:40 > 0:35:44they gave us the largest room available, of that mansion.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47We are all obviously sleeping on the floor
0:35:47 > 0:35:53and at least we had somewhere to stay, that was a relief.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56So, there were seven brothers.
0:35:56 > 0:35:57Seven brothers.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01- And your sister.- Ah.- And her family.
0:36:01 > 0:36:04- Sister.- One sister.- One sister.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08- And your mum and dad.- Yes.- And you were all living in this room.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13- Round here?- Yeah.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15All in a row.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22We had a good neighbour, so he saw that we hadn't eaten
0:36:22 > 0:36:24and he would give us a kilo of rice.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28But my father wouldn't eat.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31He was a rich man only a few weeks ago.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Now, he is a pauper.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38Can't feed his own children, his wife.
0:36:40 > 0:36:41He started to lose weight.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46He became very, very weak, day by day.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49I was always his companion.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52Can you show me where Dadu used to lie
0:36:52 > 0:36:56and where my dad used to look after him? Whereabouts was that?
0:36:59 > 0:37:00In that corner.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02Corner.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07He would just hold my hand, wouldn't say anything.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09He was so weak he could hardly move.
0:37:15 > 0:37:21So, he used to lie here with his head here and legs over there.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29And my dad used to sit here and study and look after him.
0:37:33 > 0:37:34And he was quite small.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Unable to pay for medical help,
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Jawani's family were forced to watch as his health deteriorated.
0:37:43 > 0:37:49I sat with him and he suddenly held my hand tight,
0:37:49 > 0:37:51and he said...
0:37:54 > 0:37:56.."Be a good doctor one day."
0:38:00 > 0:38:01And he passed away.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09Looking relieved, in one way, in my mind.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14I think he was praying for it...
0:38:14 > 0:38:16that he'd die.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20And still today...
0:38:22 > 0:38:24..I feel...
0:38:25 > 0:38:29..that God was very cruel to us.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32As far as Father is concerned.
0:38:38 > 0:38:43It's just something a child should never have to go through. And...
0:38:49 > 0:38:52It just really brings it home,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55sitting here in this room where it happened...
0:38:57 > 0:38:59..and what they went through.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06After his father, Jawani's death,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10Bim's siblings went to work to ensure he could go to school.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Honouring his father's final wish,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16he went on to study medicine in Calcutta
0:39:16 > 0:39:19before moving to Britain in 1969 to work as a doctor.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23He went on to become a renowned consultant
0:39:23 > 0:39:24in the care of the elderly.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29My grandad would have been really proud of him.
0:39:29 > 0:39:30And I think...
0:39:31 > 0:39:36..he worked his whole life to fulfil my grandad's dream,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38that he would become a doctor.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41And he spent the rest of his life caring for people
0:39:41 > 0:39:45and curing people in the way that he couldn't do for his own dad
0:39:45 > 0:39:48and it kind of makes sense now.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09Sameer has arrived on the Indian side
0:40:09 > 0:40:12of the Wagah Attari border crossing between India and Pakistan,
0:40:12 > 0:40:16where every evening the flags of these two nations
0:40:16 > 0:40:20are ceremoniously lowered and the border gates are closed.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25His grandfather, Asad, arrived here with his family 70 years ago
0:40:25 > 0:40:27on a packed refugee train,
0:40:27 > 0:40:30when the border post had just come into existence.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36All those people sitting on the roof of the train,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38they thought we had reached Pakistan.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42They didn't realise we are still inside India,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45so they started slogans, "Pakistan Zindabad",
0:40:45 > 0:40:47that means "Long live Pakistan!"
0:40:57 > 0:40:59The Indian Army, they didn't like that,
0:40:59 > 0:41:04that they were shouting all those slogans, so they started firing.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08And I could feel the zing,
0:41:08 > 0:41:13the sound of that bullet pass near my ear, God saved me.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Otherwise, you know...
0:41:22 > 0:41:24So, both me and my grandfather
0:41:24 > 0:41:27have been to the Wagah border crossing now, but 70 years apart.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29When I was sat there and I looked at the people
0:41:29 > 0:41:32who were sat on the Pakistani side and I looked at the people
0:41:32 > 0:41:36who were sat on the India side, and it made me think...
0:41:37 > 0:41:40..that this wall is separating family.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44People who would have grown up together, people who lived together,
0:41:44 > 0:41:48people who had strong, long-lasting relationships,
0:41:48 > 0:41:50were all of a sudden separated by a wall.
0:41:52 > 0:41:53Asad was eight years old
0:41:53 > 0:41:57by the time he finally made it across the new border.
0:41:58 > 0:42:0270 years on, Sameer has also arrived in Pakistan
0:42:02 > 0:42:06to retrace the final leg of his grandfather's epic train journey.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14Asad and his family joined more than 7 million Muslim refugees
0:42:14 > 0:42:17who arrived in Pakistan during partition.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21Like many of them, they disembarked at a station
0:42:21 > 0:42:24on the outskirts of Lahore in early 1948.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29When we arrived, we were so tired, you see, we were so hungry,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32we were so cold, but we had some water at least,
0:42:32 > 0:42:37from the Moghalpura Station, that was our first night in Pakistan.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40- Welcome to Moghalpura station. - Thank you very much.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44Sameer has come to Moghalpura to meet Doctor Anusha Malik,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47an expert on the experience of partition refugees.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50If you look around now,
0:42:50 > 0:42:53it wouldn't have looked anything like this 70 years ago.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55The amount of people on this platform would have meant
0:42:55 > 0:42:58that you could barely move. If you think about the numbers,
0:42:58 > 0:43:02between August 1947 and March 1948,
0:43:02 > 0:43:051.7 million people came from India to Pakistan by train.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08A significant portion of them would have stopped
0:43:08 > 0:43:12- at this train station.- Wow.- Yeah, the numbers are actually staggering.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Where would they actually stay?
0:43:14 > 0:43:18They did spend nights and sometimes weeks on the platform.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22I've got some photos here of refugees arriving,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24if you want to take a look at them as well.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28- Wow.- So you can see the level of overcrowding here.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Gosh, there must be thousands and thousands of people on the train.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33And since there were 50,000 coming in,
0:43:33 > 0:43:35literally every day by this point,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38there would have been trains that were even more crowded than this.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41See, people have just stopped and put their clothes and belongings
0:43:41 > 0:43:43- on the platform.- Yeah.- Because they don't know what to do with them.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46Everybody just building a shelter anywhere and everywhere they can.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50The Government was overwhelmed just because of the sheer numbers.
0:43:50 > 0:43:51They were completely unplanned for.
0:43:51 > 0:43:56It was night-time when we reached Moghalpura.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00Father had no job, he had no clinic, nothing.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02And we were short of money.
0:44:02 > 0:44:08We had no home to go to, so we stayed that night on that platform.
0:44:08 > 0:44:12Your family was one of millions who came into Lahore
0:44:12 > 0:44:16at that point in time and then had to struggle to figure out
0:44:16 > 0:44:18what it meant to be Pakistani.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21They had a strong sense of patriotism,
0:44:21 > 0:44:22a strong sense of belonging
0:44:22 > 0:44:25and really, it was those refugees then that laid the groundwork
0:44:25 > 0:44:28as citizens of a new state. So, in that sense,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31it is possible to say that perhaps if there were no refugees,
0:44:31 > 0:44:32there may have been no Pakistan.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38It was open platform.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42We just made up our beds on the platform.
0:44:42 > 0:44:48We were so tired after all that journey, we went to sleep.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52But something tragic happened in the morning.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58My youngest sister died.
0:45:09 > 0:45:15She was sleeping with my mother and she was in my mother's arms.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20Her name was Mehmuna.
0:45:20 > 0:45:21She was the youngest child.
0:45:22 > 0:45:28We slept on that platform in cold weather, that's how she died.
0:45:30 > 0:45:35That was the first sacrifice we gave for Pakistan.
0:45:39 > 0:45:44People like my grandad, people who survived the partition,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47they need commending for what they went through, I really believe that.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51Because it was so... They went through so much.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55Despite the amount of loss they suffered, they survived.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58They lost everything and they built it from the ground up again.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04Asad and his family made a new and successful life for themselves
0:46:04 > 0:46:05in Pakistan.
0:46:05 > 0:46:10His father, Hameed, restarted his doctor's practice
0:46:10 > 0:46:13and Asad graduated from Sindh University
0:46:13 > 0:46:17before resettling in Britain in 1965.
0:46:18 > 0:46:24I think, overall, the sacrifice that that generation made was huge.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27And it shouldn't be forgotten.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Sameer's journey is over, and 100 miles away,
0:46:41 > 0:46:44I'm on the last leg of my family's partition story.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47I've left Mum behind, as I'm worried
0:46:47 > 0:46:49that things might get too upsetting for her.
0:46:52 > 0:46:57This is the rural district of Sahiwal, in Pakistani Punjab,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00which, in 1947, was known as Montgomery District.
0:47:03 > 0:47:0670 years ago, after the British announced the line of partition
0:47:06 > 0:47:10which split the state in half, these roads would have been full
0:47:10 > 0:47:13of Sikh and Hindu caravans trying to escape
0:47:13 > 0:47:15the escalating religious violence.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22My family fled their own village, Chak 44,
0:47:22 > 0:47:26to seek refuge in this nearby village, Chak 47.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30Pippa Virdee is a British Punjabi historian
0:47:30 > 0:47:35who's been researching what happened in this area during partition.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37- Hi, Pippa.- Hello, Anita.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39- Lovely to meet you. - You too, how are you?
0:47:39 > 0:47:42I'm really well, I'm hoping you'll be able to shed some light
0:47:42 > 0:47:43on what happened to my family here.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46Yes, I think I should be able to help you, come with me.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Thank you.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53Pippa's brought me to a roof of a former fortified Haveli
0:47:53 > 0:47:56or mansion, in the centre of Chak 47,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59that was owned by a powerful local Sikh.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02My great-grandfather and Pritam Kaur, my grandfather's wife,
0:48:02 > 0:48:04and his kids, would they have been here?
0:48:04 > 0:48:07We know about six, seven villages,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10the Sikhs and Hindus from those villages,
0:48:10 > 0:48:14actually fled for sanctuary in this area.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16So, they all came here to this Haveli?
0:48:16 > 0:48:19To this Haveli. 1,000 to 1,500 people,
0:48:19 > 0:48:23including your great-grandfather and his family.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25They came over here to seek sanctuary against a mob
0:48:25 > 0:48:28that were trying to attack them.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32And what's extraordinary here is that we've managed to find
0:48:32 > 0:48:35an account of what happened here in Chak 47,
0:48:35 > 0:48:38which tells us what might have actually happened
0:48:38 > 0:48:40- to your grandfather and his family.- Unbelievable.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43It's by a High Court judge,
0:48:43 > 0:48:47it was a survey of events leading up to and following partition.
0:48:47 > 0:48:48So, if you have a look at...
0:48:48 > 0:48:51"The Sikh villages were subjected to ruthless attacks.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53"Men, women and children were brutally slaughtered
0:48:53 > 0:48:56"and their homes were reduced to ashes."
0:48:56 > 0:48:58Have a look at this part here at the bottom.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00Chak number 44, amazing.
0:49:00 > 0:49:05"Chak number 44 was attacked by a Muslim mob on August 22
0:49:05 > 0:49:09"and the non-Muslims escaped to Chak number 47.
0:49:09 > 0:49:14"On August 28, Chak 47 was attacked by a large mob,
0:49:14 > 0:49:17"assisted by some police officials and Muslim soldiers.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20"The non-Muslims resisted the attack for a time,
0:49:20 > 0:49:24"but nearly 1,000 of them perished. Many young women were kidnapped."
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Bloomin' heck. We don't know what happened to Pritam Kaur,
0:49:29 > 0:49:31my grandfather's first wife.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34The only account I've heard and, you know, nobody knows for sure,
0:49:34 > 0:49:36but people have said she may have jumped in a well
0:49:36 > 0:49:37and taken her own life.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40For some reason, that is seen as more of an honourable death.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43- Yeah.- So, you know, rather than admitting that the girl
0:49:43 > 0:49:46might have been abducted or she might have been raped,
0:49:46 > 0:49:49or God knows what else might have happened to her,
0:49:49 > 0:49:54but it's better that she died an honourable death and killed herself
0:49:54 > 0:49:58- and threw herself in a well rather than...- Be kidnapped.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00- Be dishonoured. - And that happened on both sides.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04There are some horrific accounts of these things happening,
0:50:04 > 0:50:09both by, you know, Muslim attacks on Hindus and Sikhs
0:50:09 > 0:50:15and equally we have accounts of Hindus and Sikhs attacking Muslims.
0:50:15 > 0:50:16If there was a group of girls
0:50:16 > 0:50:20or if they saw pretty, particularly young, pretty girls,
0:50:20 > 0:50:22they would be put aside and taken.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27So, rape and violence towards women was just another weapon of war?
0:50:27 > 0:50:30- It's another weapon of war. - It's just...
0:50:30 > 0:50:32You can't... It makes your blood boil.
0:50:33 > 0:50:35Pippa has managed to find a local Muslim,
0:50:35 > 0:50:38who witnessed the attack on Chak 47.
0:50:38 > 0:50:43He's agreed to meet me in the ruined living quarters of the Haveli.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46This is where the Sikh and Hindus,
0:50:46 > 0:50:48including my great-grandfather, Dheru,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50and Pritam Kaur and her two children,
0:50:50 > 0:50:52took refuge, as the mob gathered.
0:50:54 > 0:50:58Abdul Hamid was among several young boys who watched
0:50:58 > 0:51:00as the fighting began.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04So, please could you tell me what you know, what did you see?
0:51:29 > 0:51:30Where did they come from?
0:51:44 > 0:51:46They were in their thousands.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48And then what happened?
0:52:02 > 0:52:04So, people were killing each other.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10When the attack happened, where they are members of your family involved?
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Your brother.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16He... Your own brother came.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18Obviously, older brother.
0:52:24 > 0:52:25What happened to the women?
0:52:36 > 0:52:39Did you see any women take their own lives?
0:52:56 > 0:52:58So, there is a well.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00I want to show you a photograph
0:53:00 > 0:53:03because you're talking about the women, and I want to show you
0:53:03 > 0:53:06the woman that I'm on a quest to find out about.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14Do you recognise this face?
0:53:24 > 0:53:26She was here.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31Look at that face, she died here.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34They killed her as well.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54I know, of course, of course, we can only just put it onto God.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02Yeah, of course I want to... It makes me sad, it makes me sad.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08Yeah, it's all right.
0:54:14 > 0:54:15It's OK.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30Every partition story is full of horror, but this one, obviously,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34has a deep impact because it's my family.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38They were slaughtered right here, where I'm standing...
0:54:40 > 0:54:46..in the most brutal, horrific, tragic way.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05I'm just trying to pay my respects, I don't even know what to do.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Over 1,000 people died here.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14And it's just a rubbish dump.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16And I feel so sad.
0:55:17 > 0:55:22I don't know what to do, I just want to walk around and try and...
0:55:22 > 0:55:26I'm trying to think of all the souls, you know?
0:55:34 > 0:55:37I keep thinking about Pritam Kaur
0:55:37 > 0:55:40because I'll never know for sure how she died.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47The fact that my family say she jumped into a well,
0:55:47 > 0:55:51that's because it's the easiest one to deal with
0:55:51 > 0:55:56and I think that tells me something deeply profound about partition
0:55:56 > 0:55:58and why nobody talks about it.
0:56:01 > 0:56:07On some level, trying to understand that about humanity
0:56:07 > 0:56:13and that we all have the capacity to be that violent and vicious
0:56:13 > 0:56:16is really difficult to accept.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24By the end of 1948, over a million people had died
0:56:24 > 0:56:26on both sides of the border
0:56:26 > 0:56:30and 15 million more had been uprooted from their homes
0:56:30 > 0:56:34in one of the most catastrophic events of the 20th century.
0:56:34 > 0:56:39Relations between India and Pakistan have never recovered.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41But occasionally, there's a glimmer of hope.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48Nankana Sahib is one of the holiest shrines of the Sikh religion.
0:56:48 > 0:56:53Since 1947, it's been on the Pakistani side of the border.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57But over the last few years, Sikh pilgrims from India and beyond
0:56:57 > 0:57:00have been allowed to come and worship.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05Mum and I have come to say a prayer for my grandfather Sant Singh,
0:57:05 > 0:57:08and the family he lost during partition.
0:57:08 > 0:57:12Dheru, Pritam, Rajbal, and Mahindra.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17This has been an extraordinary experience
0:57:17 > 0:57:20for me, Sameer and Binita.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22What happened to our families during partition
0:57:22 > 0:57:24was unimaginably horrendous,
0:57:24 > 0:57:27as it was for millions of others,
0:57:27 > 0:57:31and it's been so important to bear witness to what happened here,
0:57:31 > 0:57:36to honour those who lived through it and to remember that, for us,
0:57:36 > 0:57:38a generation born in Britain,
0:57:38 > 0:57:42partition is still very much part of who we are.