NEW DELHI: This month marks 70 years since British India split into two nations — Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan — and millions were uprooted in one of the largest mass migrations in history.
An untold number of people — some estimates say up two million — died in the savage violence that followed, as Hindus and Muslims fleeing for their new homelands turned on one another, raping and butchering in genocidal retribution.
Five people who witnessed that bloody division told AFP of their fear, losses and attempts to rebuild their lives.
Nisar Akhtar, now a retired statistician in Karachi, was six years old when the smoke began to rise every night from the villages surrounding his family’s home in Hoshiarpur district in Punjab state — Sikhs, his father said, burning the surrounding areas.
Every day from that moment on they “faced the fear of being or not being.”
Eventually, after one failed escape attempt which saw his father separated from his family, they managed to flee to a refugee camp before beginning a 21-day walk into Pakistan, which was when the real nightmare began.
Sikhs attacked their caravan of several thousand people repeatedly. “They would toss the children in the air with their spears.
“I saw infants, children, and elders with spears pierced in their bodies. They were moaning with pain and I passed, skipping them.
“What could I have done? People were reeling in pain and shouting for water and we were too insensitive to help them. Everybody was concerned with his own life.”
He clung to his mother’s shirt so as not to lose her. She was also carrying his newborn sister. “At one stage, I am not sure whether knowingly or inadvertently, she left the baby lying on the ground. I asked her, ‘Where is my sister?’ ‘I don’t know,’ she flatly replied... I went back and I saw her (the baby) lying on the ground and picked her up. Today she is alive with the grace of Allah.”
Madhu Sondhi was five years old and living in Lahore when partition came and the Indian railway company offered her engineer father a choice of moving to India or staying in what is now Pakistan. The family ended up in a house near New Delhi’s central railway station that became a refuge for relatives streaming across the new border bringing horror stories.
“Opposite our house was a mosque where they were slaughtering Muslims. The bullets often fell in our garden so I was not allowed to play there.
“I wasn’t directly affected as I was very young. My mother’s sister, however, saw people being killed at the railway station, they were shoving pencils up their nostrils and into their eyes. She was never the same. One day she had one of her fits and picked me up, swung me around and threw me on the floor. My parents never left me alone with her again.”
“My mother’s brother stayed behind on his farm. As the rioters came looking for Hindus to kill, his Muslim servants hid him in a small shed and covered him with cow dung cakes. They loaded him onto a horse cart and set off to the refugee camp. On his way out he gave them his house keys — it’s yours, you saved my life, he told them.”
Raj Khanna was 14 years old, the third of seven children of a government accountant, living in a Hindu district of Lahore in 1947 when the killings mounted.
By summer of that year, an occasional stabbing had turned into a spree of killings and mobs attacks. “Rioters set fire to some of the houses in our lane,” he said.
“My friends and I had gone to see, and to help in any way. We were on the rooftop of the building next door, throwing water to douse the flames when someone pulled me back. That saved my life. There was a police wallah on the street firing at us. The bullet just missed me.”
“When our neighborhood went up in flames, that’s when the parents got scared and the exodus started.” The Khanna family went to Shimla, now the capital of India’s Himachal Pradesh state.
Raj Khanna eventually moved to Delhi. “I still had the refugee tag. The refugee tag stays with us. The wounds never heal.”
Saleem Hasan Siddiqui, now 76, vividly remembers the bloodied streets of old Delhi where the stench of chopped bodies wafted through the streets and frenzied mobs dumped corpses.
“The general atmosphere had become one of distrust, of fear. No one was ready to place their faith in one another,” said Siddiqui, who was first interviewed by the 1947 Partition Archive, an Indian organization that finds witnesses from that time and records their stories.
“We didn’t know who they were going to come for next.”
He recalled that as a six-year-old, he was frightened and fascinated by the violence.
“We weren’t allowed to go out much. But we would race out every opportunity we got because everyday it was ‘oh, that guy’s chopped head was found on the road’ or ‘oh, that guy was found murdered in the alley’. We were naturally excited.”
“They chopped people up and tossed them into the dry canal. Everyone was in a frenzy, killed whoever they saw... Hindu, Muslim, anyone. No one was really spared.”
Siddiqui recalled that he would run home “with chills.”
“The things I’ve seen, the things I’ve heard, they have stuck. They have forever been etched into my mind.”
Saeed Hasan Khan was 17 years old, trapped in east Punjab in September of 1947 as the killing continued. He managed to hitch a ride with a friend on a special train carrying the Pakistan army over the border.
The scenery outside the window was grotesque: “Corpses all around... We saw bodies at Jalandhar Station, Amritsar we saw the bodies, and we saw them at Ambala... There was nothing in my mind except being shocked.”
He made it over the border safely, attending college in Lahore before moving to Europe for 50 years and making several documentaries with the BBC, then ending up in Karachi.
But what stood out for him was when Pakistan played India in a Test match in 1954, just seven or so years after Partition.
Pakistan threw open the floodgates, allowing fans from Amritsar and Jalandhar to attend without visas.
In Lahore, he said, every other household had suffered some tragedy or horror during Partition. “But they all forgot all those miseries. When they saw Punjabi Hindus and Sikhs here, the sweetmeat shop owner refused to take money from them... They showed immense hospitality.
“And when they (Pakistanis) went to Jalandhar and Amritsar, the people there reciprocated.
“It means that a common man is ready to forget and forgive, despite that all the things were quite recent and alive in the memories of the people.”
India-Pakistan: Voices of the Partition
India-Pakistan: Voices of the Partition
Bangladesh says ousted PM will face charges of ‘crimes against humanity’
- Bangladeshi court issued arrest warrants for Sheikh Hasina and her ministers in October
- In 2015, Dhaka returned Indian separatist leader under extradition treaty with Delhi
DHAKA: Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will face multiple charges of crimes against humanity, the country’s interim government said on Tuesday after sending an extradition request to India.
Hasina travelled to New Delhi in August during the student-led demonstrations that ended her 15 years in power. The initially peaceful protests, which began in early July, were met with a violent crackdown by security forces, which left hundreds dead and sparked a nationwide uprising against Hasina, forcing her to flee the country.
In October, a Bangladeshi domestic criminal tribunal issued arrest warrants for Hasina and more than 40 other people linked to the protest killings.
Bangladesh’s foreign affairs adviser, Md. Touhid Houssain, said on Monday that his country had sent a diplomatic note to India’s Foreign Ministry asking for Hasina’s return in order to begin a “judicial process.”
“We expect (India) will respond as soon as possible,” Azad Majumder, deputy press secretary of the head of Bangladesh’s interim government Muhammad Yunus, told Arab News.
There are multiple charges against Hasina, including that she bears responsibility for forced disappearances, and for ordering the killings that took place during the protests, he added.
“She will face multiple charges against her regarding crimes against humanity, and investigations are underway in this regard,” Yunus said.
India has confirmed reception of the request from Bangladesh. Bangladesh has an extradition treaty with India, which serves as a “commitment that both parties will comply with this instrument,” said Jyotirmoy Barua, a lawyer at the Bangladesh Supreme Court and a human rights activist.
In 2015, Bangladesh handed over Anup Chetia, a separatist rebel leader whose group had fought Indian rule in the northeastern state of Assam. He was arrested in 1997 for illegal entry into Bangladesh and for possession of large amounts of foreign currency.
Though Bangladesh expects that India will return Sheikh Hasina in respect of their bilateral treaty and the precedent that was set in Chetia’s case, there are concerns that New Delhi may not comply.
“India may (refer to) this clause of the treaty that Sheikh Hasina may face ‘political vengeance’ in the trial process and may not receive justice. On these grounds, India may not eventually comply with Bangladesh’s request,” Barua said.
“So, there is a fear that India may not follow the diplomatic norms here in returning Sheikh Hasina. It depends on the good judgement of Indian leadership.”
Five convicted over Amsterdam violence against Israelis
AMSTERDAM: A Dutch court on Tuesday convicted five men for their part in last month’s violence against Israeli football fans in Amsterdam that shocked the world and sparked accusations of anti-Semitism.
The Amsterdam district court found them guilty for a range of crimes from kicking fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv in the street to inciting violence in chat groups.
The heaviest sentence imposed was six months in prison, for a man identified as Sefa O. for public violence against several people.
The Maccabi Tel Aviv fans came under “hit-and-run” style attacks in the early hours of November 8 after their European League match against Amsterdam giants Ajax.
Images of the violence, which left five fans briefly hospitalized, went around the world and sparked a furious reaction in Israel including accusations of a “pogrom.”
The most serious case under consideration Tuesday was O., who prosecutors said played a “leading role” in the violence.
The court saw images of a man identified as O. kicking a person on the ground, chasing targets, and punching people in the head and the body.
The prosecutor said the beatings had “little to do with football” but added that “in this case, there was no evidence of... a terrorist intent and the violence was not motivated by anti-Semitic sentiment.”
“The violence was influenced by the situation in Gaza, not by anti-Semitism,” said the prosecutor.
The attacks followed two days of skirmishes that also saw Maccabi fans chant anti-Arab songs, vandalize a taxi and burn a Palestinian flag.
Police said they were investigating at least 45 people over the violence, including that carried out by fans of the Israeli club.
Another man identified as Umutcan A., 24, received a sentence of one month for assaulting fans and violently ripping a Maccabi scarf from one of them.
Prosecutors had called for heavier sentences against the men — of up to two years in the case of O.
The judge said that people convicted of such crimes would normally have to serve community service.
“But the court finds that, given the seriousness of the offense and the context in which it was committed, only imprisonment is appropriate,” she said.
Only one of the five men was in court to hear the verdicts, an AFP reporter saw.
A 22-year-old identified as Abushabab M., 22, faces a charge of attempted murder but his case has been postponed while he undergoes a psychiatric assessment.
He was born in the Gaza Strip and grew up in a war zone, his lawyer told the court, while M. sat sobbing as his case was being heard.
A further six suspects are set to appear at a later stage.
Three of these suspects are minors and their cases will be heard behind closed doors.
At an emotionally charged news conference the morning after the riots, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said the city had been “deeply damaged” by “hateful anti-Semitic rioters.”
However, Halsema later said she regretted the parallel she had drawn between the violence and “memories of pogroms,” saying this word had been used as propaganda.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the violence at the time as a “premeditated anti-Semitic attack.”
Noche Buena: How Filipinos celebrate Christmas Eve with a traditional family feast
- Noche Buena is the dinner that follows the last evening mass of the Christmas season
- In Philippines’ Pampanga province, some Christmas celebrations take place from Dec. 24 to Jan. 2
MANILA: For many Filipinos, the time-honored traditions of Noche Buena, or Christmas Eve, is the most awaited part of this holiday season, when dinner tables across the country are filled with a hearty selection of traditional dishes.
Noche Buena, which is Spanish for “the good night,” is the dinner that follows the last evening mass of the season, known as misa de gallo or simbang gabi.
The multi-generational feast features staples like queso de bola, a ball-shaped Edam cheese wrapped in red wax coating, or lechon, the popular roasted pig dish that often gets the spotlight in most Filipino festivities.
But it is the classic hot chocolate that Noelle Lejano looks forward to the most, as her grandmother makes it extra special and only at this time of the year.
“Hot chocolate holds a deeper sentimental value because my lola (grandmother) makes it only once a year, every Noche Buena. It’s the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had, and it makes the celebration feel extra special and nostalgic,” the 24-year-old writer and brand strategist from Manila told Arab News.
Her family mixes it up between classic and more modern fare for the occasion, from the tried-and-tested favorite Christmas ham to a charcuterie board that she makes with her mother.
“These dishes aren’t just food — they’re traditions that bring us together and make the holiday feel like home,” Lejano said.
“Noche Buena is a highlight, especially with everyone gathering together and making the rounds to greet and hug each other as the clock strikes midnight. To pass the time before midnight, we play games, which keep the energy alive and the laughter flowing.”
Noche Buena is also celebrated in Latin America, reflecting a unique mix of Catholic traditions, indigenous folk practices, and more recent American influences, the late food historian Doreen Fernandez wrote in her 1994 book “Tikim: Essays on Filipino Food and Culture.”
For people in Pampanga province, about 80 km north of Manila, the deep-seated Catholic and Spanish influences are reflected in their culinary fare.
In Gerald Gloton’s household, Noche Buena is a time to indulge in their provincial roots, which includes serving sopas, or Filipino chicken soup, from the morning of the 24th all the way into Christmas morning.
They also serve an array of other beloved dishes, such as the ube halaya, a rich purple jam made from boiled and mashed ube and thickened with milk, rice cakes, and menudo, a stewed pork and tomato dish.
“We gather for sumptuous meals, exchange gifts, and attend Mass to celebrate the birth of Christ, reinforcing our shared faith and family values,” Gloton said.
The celebration of Noche Buena, which comes after Midnight Mass, has been “customary and required” for food anthropologist and writer Ruston Banal, who was raised in a devout Catholic household and is also from Pampanga.
“It’s significant because, in my situation, it marks the moment when the entire family gets together. Some of my siblings are already employed elsewhere, but they still make an effort to honor this custom by coming home,” he said.
In his hometown of Guagua, Christmas is an extended celebration that begins from Dec. 24 all the way to Jan. 2, where celebrations are centered on food.
“It’s all about the food; some of my relatives even spend a lot of money to prepare a lavish feast for other relatives who visit us,” he said.
Every year, the occasion turns into “a quiet competition among family members,” as they try to make the greatest dishes, ranging from bringhe, a local version of the Spanish paella made with sticky rice, chicken, sausage, vegetables and coconut milk, to kaldereta, a hearty tomato and liver stew made with leghorn chicken with carrots, potatoes, and bell peppers.
“Food is an extension of themselves,” Banal said. “(They cook like) a person in love, giving it their all.”
Russian court jails US citizen Spector for 15 years in espionage case, RIA says
- Spector in his first court case had pleaded guilty to helping bribe an assistant to an ex-Russian deputy prime minister
MOSCOW: A Russian court has sentenced US citizen Eugene Spector to 15 years in jail for espionage, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported on Tuesday.
Currently serving a 3-1/2-year sentence in Russia for bribery, Spector, who was born in Russia and then moved to the US, was charged last August with espionage.
Before his 2021 arrest, he served as chairman of the board of Medpolymerprom Group, a company specializing in cancer-curing drugs, state media has said.
Spector in his first court case had pleaded guilty to helping bribe an assistant to an ex-Russian deputy prime minister.
US, UK criticize Pakistani military court convictions of civilian supporters of Imran Khan
- The convictions had previously also been criticized by the European Union and domestic human rights activists
ISLAMABAD: The United States and the United Kingdom have expressed deep concern over the recent handing down of convictions by Pakistani military courts to 25 civilian supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan over their alleged involvement in riots last year.
The convictions had previously also been criticized by the European Union and domestic human rights activists.
“The United States is deeply concerned that Pakistani civilians have been sentenced by a military tribunal for their involvement in protests on May 9, 2023. These military courts lack judicial independence, transparency, and due process guarantees,” according to a statement released by State Department on Monday.
It asked Pakistan to respect the right to a fair trial and due process.
In London, the Foreign Office said that “while the U.K. respects Pakistan’s sovereignty over its own legal proceedings, trying civilians in military courts lacks transparency, independent scrutiny and undermines the right to a fair trial. We call on the Government of Pakistan to uphold its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
The statements were referring to the violence that erupted after Khan’s arrest in Islamabad in May 2023. The former premier was ousted through a no-confidence vote in the parliament in 2022, and he was convicted of corruption and sentenced in August 2023. Since then, Khan has been behind bars. Khan’s popular opposition party is in talks with the government to secure his release.
The 25 supporters on Monday received prison terms ranging from two years to 10 years, which the army in a statement warned acted as a “stark reminder” for people to never take the law into their own hands.
Khan's opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, has rejected the convictions of civilians, demanding they should be tried in the normal courts if they were involved in the riots.
There was no response from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government to the criticism from the U.S. and the U.K., but state-run Pakistan Television on Tuesday showed people welcoming the convictions, saying the punishments were given to people who attacked military installations.
Earlier this month, Khan and dozens of others were indicted by a civilian court on charges of inciting people on May 9, 2023, when demonstrators attacked the military’s headquarters in Rawalpindi, stormed an air base in Mianwali in the eastern Punjab province and torched a building housing state-run Radio Pakistan in the northwest.
