After 74 years of partition of India, the brothers met again, hope to spend the rest of their lives together
Phulewala: In August 1947, when British India was being divided into two independent states, Sikka Khan’s father and elder brother, Sadiq, left the village of Phulewala – which became the Indian part of Punjab – and returned to his native village, Bogran , which became part. of Pakistan.
Just two years old at the time, Sikka was too young to leave and lived in India with his mother. The family was soon to be reunited. The parents only wanted to wait until the child was safe to travel.
But the promise of being together again was shattered by a bloody orgy of violence and communal riots, which led to one of the largest forced exodus in history. After Partition in 1947, fears of discrimination and violence led to a political turmoil that saw nearly 15 million Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs swap countries in a political turmoil that claimed more than a million lives.
It was under these circumstances that Sikka and Sadiq lost their father, mother – who committed suicide upon learning of her husband’s death – and the bond was restored only last week.
“I told you we would meet again,” said 76-year-old Sikka through tears as he hugged his 84-year-old brother when they met in Pakistan’s Kartarpur on January 10.
Kartarpur is a border town where Pakistan, in late 2019, opened a visa-free crossing to allow Indian Sikh pilgrims to access one of their religion’s holiest sites, Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. After partition, the site found itself on the Pakistani side of the hastily drawn out border.
The reunion of the brothers did not last long, as each of them had to return to his country. For the past seven decades, cross-border travel has been limited by tension and conflict.
“It was an emotional moment for us, and I couldn’t believe I was meeting my brother and his family,” Sikka told Arab News in Phulewala village, where he has lived since 1947.
“Life has given me a chance to be reunited with my brother and I don’t want to be without him,” he said. “I need my brother’s company more than ever. I want to spend the rest of my life with my older brother.”
They came in contact in 2019, when Pakistani YouTuber Nasir Dhillon visited Bogran village, where Sadiq still lives, and heard his story. He shared the footage on social media and soon received a message from Jagseer Singh, a doctor at Phulewala, who linked him to Sikka.
The YouTuber and doctor helped the brothers meet virtually.
“Two years ago the brothers first saw each other on a video call,” Singh told Arab News. “Since then, they have been in touch with each other through WhatsApp.”
They have been talking to each other for at least 15 minutes every day, but it took two years for them to meet in person as even the visa-free Kartarpur Corridor was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of last year. was influenced.
“The opening of the Kartarpur Corridor in November last year gave us an opportunity to organize a meeting between the brothers,” Singh said.
When he reached Kartarpur on January 10, Sikka, who does not have a family of his own, was accompanied by a dozen villagers from Phulewala.
“For me, my village has been family,” he said, as he spoke to Sadiq via a video call. “Now I want to go to Pakistan and stay with my elder brother for some time. I hope the Pakistani government will give me a visa.”
Sadiq also wants to go to his birthplace.
“I want to meet Sikka in his village,” he said during a video call with his brother. “We want to be together and make up for the time we’ve lost.”
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