The Tribune : An authentic witness to tragedy of partition

The Tribune : An authentic witness to tragedy of partition

                                                 -Raj Bahadur Yadav

The Tribune has been the voice of the people of India in general and that of Punjab in particular since 1881 when it was established in Lahore by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a Punjabi banker and an activist in progressive social reforms in the land of five perennial rivers . I have been a keen reader of this popular English daily for the last four decades. While dusting off an old  rickety box of books, I came through a handsome series of  reproduced  front-pages of The Tribune of the most turbulent year 1947 [ Page From History,  1997 ] with comprehensive news reports about the ill-fated Hindu,Sikh and Muslim refugees in millions  crossing the border from India and Pakistan.Due to constraints of space, I would refer only to some select pages of this great national daily to highlight the main political developments of those disturbed times and  huge sufferings of the victims of partition. In its late morning edition of August 11, 1947,published from Lahore, The Tribune breaks the front-page news,"New Status For Provincial Govts". We learn from this news report that the Indian Independence Act, 1947 would come into force from August 15 . The Provincial Governments in nine provinces would now  be bound to function under the Government of India Act, 1935. The Provincial Premiers and other Ministers were required to take fresh oaths without any reference to British King.  In those days, Britain was running out of dollars to fund the food imports for India.  Prime Minister,Clement Attlee, was feeling  helpless in addressing the deep financial crisis into which Britain had plunged.  Against this  political background, the people of India  were eagerly waiting for the historical day- August 15 to come soon, but  at the same time, the monster of communalism  had  come to pose a serious threat to their peaceful existence.. The Tribune[ Lahore, August 12] quotes Mahatma Gandhi,"No wish to live to see such madness. I will place my life in the hands of God". Gandhiji was greatly moved by the communal riots in Calcutta. When the country was on the threshold of freedom,  the Hindus and Muslims had gone mad.   But there were good and kind people also around. The Tribune[Simla, October 2] takes note of  their humanistic gesture,"Instances of Sikh villagers helping Muslim refugees moving from Beas to Amritsar with fresh drinking water and milk have been reported". The floods had caused a heavy damage to roads, railway lines and bridges.In Sialkot district,the railway line between Dera Baba Nanak and Jassar was under water over a distance of eight miles. The Hindu-Sikh convoys got stuck up at several places, facing great hardships. Amid reports of raids and attacks on refugee camps, The Tribune of October 5 has once  again  shown Gandhiji lamenting,"Does Independence mean goodbye to civilization?"

                                                                                          The Tribune[ Simla,October 9,1947] draws our serious attention towards its front-page headline,"Famine Threatens East Punjab".  More than five lakh Hindu and Sikh refugees are reported to have taken shelter in various  camps of Punjab..The Tribune cautions the rulers of the day,"Lakhs may perish unless timely help comes". The vigilant and genuinely a pro-people newspaper gives us "positions and numbers" of Hindu-Sikh refugee camps  located in different districts. There is a heart-rending tale of uprooted people from Lyallpur with the caption,"1.5 Lakhs Hindu and Sikh Refugees Held UP: Lyallpur D. C.'s Fiat". The Staff Representative of The Tribune reports that the people from villages on the Lyallpur-Jhang Road "have been held up by the Deputy Commissioner of Lyallpur. They have been told that unless they pay off their land revenue, they will not be allowed to proceed on to East Punjab".The innocent people had come with  one week's food on the assurance that after that they would be evacuated safely. They had left their home and hearth behind which might have been occupied by Muslim refugees by then.. Destiny had played a cruel joke with them. Their deep agony could move even God Himself but  the small men in big chairs were adding insult to their injury.   The Tribune[Simla, December 5, 1947] breaks a good news for the nation,"Hindus and Sikhs Evacuated From W. Punjab". As per the news report, over 8 million refugees had crossed the Indo-Pakistan border in both directions upto November 21, 1947. Long live The Tribune, the Voice of the common people!

Dr RAJ BAHADUR YADAV