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PC Sharma
IN his nineties and standing ramrod straight at 6 ft is Balwant Singh, a veteran soldier of World War II. He fought on several fronts in Europe and also in El Alamein, but more significantly, he remembers his role as an Army soldier when he, along with a handful of other Army men, saved many lives — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs — during the Partition.
After completing his service in the Army, Balwant Singh settled down in his village. A daily visit to the gurdwara and interaction with friends set the tone of his life. Often, he used to regale his friends with war stories, when Hindu, Muslim and Sikh soldiers fought together, as of one nation. Never a thought crossed their minds that their communities would be fighting one another during the Partition that followed soon. He laments the cruel incidents of conflict that occurred then, as much as the gruesome incidents of lynching and killing of persons on sectarian beliefs these days.
Nostalgia overtakes him and he fondly reminisces the life lived in his village in the midst of all communities. But above all, he remembers his childhood friendship with Mir Deen, a pious Muslim.
Mir Deen left for Pakistan during the Partition. At the time of parting, he came to bid farewell to Balwant Singh. Also, he entrusted him with a heavy bundle wrapped tightly in a thick piece of cloth. About its contents, no questions were asked, no answers were given.
Balwant Singh’s siblings, and later his children — ever curious about the contents — were never permitted to touch it, not even dust it. They often said Mir Deen would not return. Why not, then, see what the bundle contained? Forbidding them, Balwant Singh used to say, ‘Amanat is amanat, and its life is not less than one hundred years’.
A day came when Balwant Singh’s son was returning from his fields and was stopped by an elderly man. There was no doubt that he was a Muslim — Mir Deen himself. He asked the young man if he knew Balwant Singh. He told him that Balwant was his father. The visitor jumped with joy and thanked Allah. Impatiently, Mir Deen asked him to take him to his house. Fighting hard to control their emotions, the two childhood friends met after 30 years. The entire village turned up to welcome Mir Deen.
After a few days, Balwant Singh gave Mir Deen his amanat. He dusted the bundle, and not believing his eyes, saw his valuables — in fact, his treasure — intact. His eyes welled up with tears. In shukrana, it was time for him to leave. Both embraced each other, echoing as it were, the famous line of poet Iqbal — ‘mazhab nahin sikhata aapas mei bair rakhna’.