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| Muslims look to end misery of separation |
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| siddiqui |
| 06/06/03 at 17:30:03 |
| Muslims look to end misery of separation By Sanjoy Majumder and Asit Jolly BBC correspondents in Punjab The closing of the India-Pakistan border 18 months ago has caused agony for Punjabi Muslims. But moves to restore road links have brought hope to the Muslim residents of one town in the Indian state of Punjab. Malerkotla is the state's only Muslim majority area - with Muslims making up about 70% of the total residents. A former Muslim princely state during the colonial era, it is the only place in Punjab in which riots did not take place when India and Pakistan were partitioned in 1947. Most of Malerkotla's Muslims have close ties with Pakistan, often with families split up on either side of the border. Many others traditionally choose to get married to distant relatives across the border, a common practice in Islam. But the closing of the border in December 2001, after an attack on the Indian parliament, brought an end to those ties. "We had to go to states such as Uttar Pradesh to look for marriage partners. It's been our practice to marry relatives or families we know well," says Amjad Ali, a local businessman. "Culturally and ethnically we are closer to the Pakistani Punjabis than we are to other Indian Muslims. So the tension between the two countries has affected us directly." Letters and phone calls Salma Kanwal is from Faisalabad in Pakistan and came to India 13 years ago after she married Mohammad Tahir. All her close relatives live in Pakistan and for the past two years her only contact with them has been through letters and telephone calls. "It's been three years since I met my parents. I think of them often," she says softly. Last year her youngest sister got married. "I was the only one who couldn't make it," she says as she looks through the wedding album. "They called me up. Daddy was crying at that end, I was crying here." Malerkotla's Muslims say the distance hurts most when they are unable to attend family and social events. " We e-mail, telephone but it's not the same thing," says Irfan Farooqi, a college lecturer. "Recently I heard that one of my uncles had fallen ill. It upset me greatly because I could not go there." Marooned But for some the snapping of ties nearly two years ago had an immediate impact. Tanveer Hussain's aunt moved to Pakistan after her marriage. Two years ago she returned to Malerkotla to visit her parents. If the borders do open, the first thing I'll do is leave for Pakistan Liaqat Ali But then the borders closed and she was stuck in India, away from her husband and children. "She stayed here for over a year, thinking that things would get better," says Tanveer. "But after her husband's pleas asking her to return, she eventually bought an air ticket to Lahore via Dubai. It was a long and expensive way to cross the border." Liaqat Ali, a lawyer, was also caught by the sudden closure - with tragic consequences. He was ready to take the train to Pakistan on 24 December, 2001, to meet his ailing aunt. But the borders closed on the 23rd and his trip was put on hold. Last year his aunt died. "If the borders do open, the first thing I'll do is leave for Pakistan. I want to visit her grave," he says. Broken ties "The closing of the borders have particularly affected the older generation, who have lived through partition," says Mohammad Ramzan, who teaches in the local state-run college. "They say that it is their wish that links be restored and they get a chance to see their relatives one last time before dying." I want to see [my daughters] and my grandchildren desperately Jaffri Begum One such person is Jaffri Begum, a widow in her 80s. Her husband died last year and most of her family have moved away. Her daughters, Naseem and Rajda, live in Pakistan with their families and she hasn't seen them in years. "I miss them very much and want to see them and my grandchildren desperately." Mohammad Rafi says it is for the government to determine policy. But for the sake of humanity, he says, the barriers between the two countries must come down. "All these years we have been unable to share our grief and our joy," he says. "There is an old Punjabi saying: If only these walls of steel could be brought down forever we can once again gaze upon each other." Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/2968102.stm Published: 2003/06/06 09:32:53 GMT © BBC MMIII |
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