Tribune News Service
Sadiqi (Fazilka), August 16
Partition of India, done by the British rulers under the garb of giving independence to India and Pakistan in 1947, have brought everlasting pain for a number of families. Hundreds of families living in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and in various parts of neighbouring Pakistan, visit Sadiqi (a joint check-post in Fazilka sub-division) on August 14-15. to see their loved ones and convey their 'unspoken feelings' through gestures.
Deepak Kandpal, commandant, 199 Battalion, BSF, said, "Though there is no physical contact among people standing on both sides of Zero Line, we allow them to exchange their feelings by waving their hands. Sometimes, these people shout to express their pain of separation from kin," he pointed out.
"I have come with my grandson to see my kin, who were separated during the bloody partition and to introduce him to them," said Shafinya Bibi, from Rajasthan.
"What has been adding insult to injury is the fact that the physical barriers between India and Pakistan have become stronger due to bitter relations between the two governments," said Dina Nath, who came to see friends of his grandfather, who was uprooted from Lahore during partition. Some locals said they were depressed that the two countries could not cover a distance of about ten feet, between the barriers erected on Zero Line by the BSF and Pakistan Rangers on their sides in the past 63 years.
Praful C. Nagpal adds: "I and my family have come to meet the family of my maternal uncle Gul Mohammad. We had fixed the meeting on telephone" said Asif Mohammad of Suratgarh. Asif had a glimpse of his relatives but could not talk to them due to the huge rush at the border.
Meanwhile, 600 BSF personnel, volunteers of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Youth Club, Radha Swami sect and Border Sangharash Samiti members managed the crowd on the border. Shaheed Bhagat Singh Youth club organised a cultural programme in which visitors were seen dancing bhangra at the Zero Line.
Ferozepur: The BSF jawans and Pak Rangers manning the Sadiqi and Hussainiwala JCPs exchanged sweets to mark the Independence Day. Deepak Kandpal, commandant, 199 Battalion of BSF and PK Rathore, commandant, 143 Battalion of the BSF manning Sadiqi and Hussainiwala JCPs gave sweets to company commanders of Pak Rangers.
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