Partition Survivors Share Harrowing Memories at Remembrance Event in Delhi

Partition survivors gathered in New Delhi on Friday to recount their traumatic experiences during an event organised to mark Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, recalling the violence and distress that accompanied their journeys decades ago.

Among those who spoke was 86-year-old Shyamji Slawan, who described the enduring impact of his journey as an eight-year-old child aboard a train travelling from Lahore to Jalandhar. He shared memories of the panic, screams of people being targeted, and the sight of blood-spattered bodies inside the train.

Recalling the ordeal, Slawan said that he did not fully understand what was unfolding around him as a child, but today grasps the scale of the tragedy and feels fortunate that his family survived when many others lost their lives.

Slawan recounted that the train ride to safety was suffocating, with passengers crammed into coaches amid an overwhelming atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. Upon arriving in Jalandhar, his family spent the entire night on a railway station bench before heading to his maternal grandmother's home the following morning.

Another survivor, 91-year-old Urmil Lothra, also shared her recollections at the gathering, reflecting on how abruptly her family was forced to leave behind their belongings and life in Pakistan during the displacement.