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Made-in-India jet engines, desi semiconductors, nuclear power and more: PM Modi’s bold announcements for Viksit Bharat by 2047

OpIndia Staff
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Made-in-India jet engines, desi semiconductors, nuclear power and more: PM Modi’s bold announcements for Viksit Bharat by 2047

During his Independence Day speech from Red Fort today, PM Narendra Modi narrated how his government is making India self-dependent in modern technologies. He said that the country will soon be making its own semiconductors and jet engines, and will produce more clean energy.

PM Modi said that initiatives to develop semiconductor chips had started in India around 50-60 years ago, but such initiatives were buried under the boreoarctic red tape. People had planned about setting up setting up semiconductor plants 50-60 years ago, but the embryo of the idea itself was killed, he said. The PM said that had the initiatives succeeded, India would have become self-sufficient in the sector now.

He announced that while six semiconductor plants are already coming up in the country, approvals for six more have been granted. He said that first made-in-India semiconductor chip will be available in the market by the end of the year.

Talking about become atmanirbhar in energy, he said that the country is depended on foreign countries for energy sources like gas and oil, adding that it is important to become self-sufficient in energy. The PM mentioned the government’s initiatives in developing clean energy sources like solar power, hydroelectricity and hydrogen fuel energy.

The PM also announced the government’s renewed efforts in nuclear power. Significantly, he announced that India will be developing 10 new nuclear reactors. He said that the govt as resolved to increase nuclear power generation in the country by 10 times by 2047. He further announced reform in the nuclear sector, saying the government has opened the sector for private sector.

He said that the government had set the goal of increasing the share of clean energy to 50% by 2030, but the country has already achieved that goal by 2025. Which means, India now already obtains 50% of its electric energy from clean sources, that does not involve burning fossil fuel like coal, oil and gas.

He explained how India needs to spend billions of dollars in purchasing fossil fuel from foreign countries, and more clean energy India produces in the country, more money will be saved.

PM Modi also touched an important topic that has become very important in the current geopolitics and recent conflict with Pakistan, development of fighter jet engines in the country. He appealed the engineers of the country to come together to develop India’s own made-in-India jet engines for fighter jets.

He cited how India is known as pharma of the world, how the country developed Covid-19 vaccines in record time, and the development of the UPI system to say that India has full capability to develop a jet engine in the country.

The comments are significant given renewed efforts in developing the Kaveri engine, under development for decades but without achieving desired power output. India had to buy engines from GE in US for its own Tejas fighters, but the supply has been delayed due to supply chain issued faced by the American company. There have been talks about collaborating with a foreign partner, like Safran or Rolls Royce, to co-develop a jet engine for India’s upcoming 5th and 6th generation fighter jets.

PM Modi launches Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana: Read how the scheme will boost employment opportunities, what are the incentives, eligibility criteria and more

Rukma Rathore
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PM Modi launches Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana: Read how the scheme will boost employment opportunities, what are the incentives, eligibility criteria and more

On the occasion of the 79th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a series of announcements from the Red Fort aimed at the welfare of farmers, livestock owners, women and others. Likewise, he also introduced a major scheme worth ₹1 lakh crore for the youth from the iconic Red Fort.

Under the newly launched Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana, the central government will provide ₹15,000 to youth entering the workforce for the first time.

Additionally, companies that create more job opportunities will be rewarded with incentives. The government will offer up to ₹3,000 per employee to companies hiring fresh graduates. This initiative is expected to generate employment for approximately 3.5 crore young individuals.

The government initially rolled out the program on 1st August. It was also a part of the Union Budget for 2024-25 which was presented on 23rd July. The initiative was intended to be named the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI), however, it was later changed to Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana.

Its duration is till 31st July 2027. A total budget of ₹99,446 crore has been allocated and the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) will oversee its implementation. The primary objective of this program is to boost job creation for youth, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as well as diverse sectors like manufacturing, services and technology.

What is the criteria

  • Young people enrolling in EPFO for the first time are eligible for this scheme.
  • The person must not have been affiliated with EPFO or an Exempted Trust before 1st August 2025.
  • The gross salary of the employee should be ₹1 lakh or lower.
  • The EPF (Employees Provident Fund) contributions should begin from August 2025 or thereafter.
  • The employee must remain with the same company for at least 6 months.
  • The company must have registration with EPFO within the period from 1st August 2025 to 31st July 2027, inclusive of both dates.

If monthly income amounts to ₹10,000, the person will receive a maximum of ₹1,000. An incentive of ₹2,000 is allocated for salaries ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 and ₹3,000 for income between ₹20,000 and ₹1,00,000.

How does the scheme work

The Pradhan Mantri Vikas Bharat Rojgar Yojana is split into two sections. Part A contains provisions for first-time job seekers whereas Part B caters to companies that offer employment.

Part A: It is for those who are entering the job market for the first time and are registered with EPFO. It will benefit around 1.92 crore new employees. They will receive their first month’s salary, capped at ₹15,000, in two instalments (first following 6 months and the next after 12). This benefit is applicable to those earning up to ₹1 lakh annually. The second instalment will be put into a savings or deposit account which the employee can withdraw at a later time, to foster a culture of saving.

Part B: This concentrates on generating more employment opportunities in every sector. Businesses will be incentivized for employees whose salaries do not exceed ₹1 lakh. The government will allocate ₹3,000 per month for each individual to companies for two years, provided he or she remains in their role for at least 6 months. The same will be granted to the manufacturing industry during the third and fourth years as well.

Payments will be made following six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four months of consistent employment. Direct Benefit Transfer will be processed to a bank account that has a PAN linked to it. Companies that are registered with EPFO are required to hire a minimum of 2 new persons (for those with less than 50 employees) or 5 new persons (for those with 50 or more employees) for a duration of 6 months.

How to avail benefits

  • Obtain an EPFO Code through the Shram Suvidha Portal.
  • Create an account on the EPFO Employer Login Portal.
  • Recruit new workers with monthly salaries of up to ₹1 lakh.
  • Submit Provident Fund (PF) contributions along with monthly Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) returns.
  • Sustain extra workforce for a duration of at least 6 months.

There is no necessity to apply separately for the program. Once the employee opens their PF account for the first time, they will qualify for it but the gross salary must be ₹1 lakh or lower. The government will disburse funds based on the Universal Account Number (UAN) number only.

EPFO’s UAN number, the company’s appointment letter, educational certificate, Aadhaar card, bank account details, mobile number, proof of residence, and a passport-sized photograph are required to access the benefits of teh program.

How the money will be received

  • The initial payment will be credited to the employee’s account following the completion of six months with the company.
  • The subsequent payment will be made after twelve months of service and the successful completion of the financial literacy program.
  • A portion of the funds will be directed to the Provident Fund account to encourage saving habit among the youth.
  • Some funds will be deposited directly into the employee’s account.
  • The company’s share will be directly transferred to the account via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Incentives will be disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) utilizing the Aadhar Bridge Payment System (ABPS) to first-time employees and money is going to directly flow into PAN-linked accounts of employers.

Nearly two years after the heinous terror attack, UN puts terrorist organisation Hamas on blacklist for sexual violence in armed conflicts over the atrocities of October 7

OpIndia Staff
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Nearly two years after the heinous terror attack, UN puts terrorist organisation Hamas on blacklist for sexual violence in armed conflicts over the atrocities of October 7

Nearly two years after the terrorist organisation Hamas inflicted unimaginable atrocities on civilians in Israel during the ghastly October 7 attacks, the terrorist organisation has been blacklisted by the United Nations for committing sexual crimes during the terror attack.

The terrorist organisation has been included by the UN under the “List of parties credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence in situations of armed conflict on the agenda of the Security Council”. It was announced in the document titled the Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, dated July 15, 2025. This amounts to an official recognition before the international community of Hamas’s monstrosity unleashed on innocent, unarmed civilians.

In the report, the UN Secretary General António Guterres confirmed that the October 7 attacks were “led and coordinated by Hamas”. He added that, along with other Palestinian terrorist groups, including the military arms of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, civilians from Gaza also took part in the attacks on Israel.

“In March 2024, the mission led by my Special Representative found clear and convincing information that some hostages taken to Gaza were subjected to various forms of conflict-related sexual violence during their time in captivity,” the Secretary-General stated in the report. Notably, the Secretary-General had reportedly resisted the inclusion of Hamas in the UN blacklist.

As per the report, the findings were based on the “credible information” received by the UN Commission of Inquiry about hostages being subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, including sexualized torture, while in captivity. It revealed that following the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, several fully and partially naked bodies, mostly of women, showing signs of rapes and gangrapes were recovered.

“My Special Representative also found reasonable grounds to believe that sexual violence occurred during the attacks of 7 October 2023 in multiple locations, including rape and gang rape. Several fully naked or partially naked bodies from the waist down were recovered – mostly women – with hands tied, who had been shot multiple times, often in the head. Although circumstantial, such a pattern of undressing and restraining of victims may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence,” said the UN Secretary-General.

The report mentioned that in May 2024, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court submitted applications for warrants for the arrest of three political and military commanders of Hamas. The warrants cited reasonable grounds to believe that they bear criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, committed on the territory of Israel and the State of Palestine from at least 7 October 2023. However, the proceedings were halted by the Court after their deaths were confirmed.

The Secretary-General said that Hamas did not allow the UN representatives humanitarian access to hostages during the reporting period. He called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and restoration of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The UN has also put Israel and Ukraine on notice for their potential listing.

Could not sleep for a week after seeing the scale of Hamas’s atrocities: UN Special Representative

The report comes after the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, reported on these crimes earlier this year. Patten was invited last year by the International Organisations Division of Israel’s Foreign Ministry to present before her the evidence of atrocities committed by Hamas against Israelis. After seeing a video of Hamas’s atrocities compiled by the Israel Defence Forces, Patten said that she could not sleep for a week. “Only after I saw the footage did I understand things I hadn’t before, in terms of the magnitude of the disaster,” she said.

Hamas is still said to hold around 50 hostages taken during the October 7 attacks, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Israeli officials reportedly said that Hamas is still committing sexual violence against hostages.

The horror witnessed by the entire world on October 7, 2023

On the fateful day of October 7, 2023, thousands of terrorists of Hamas and other terrorist organisations inflicted a horror of unimaginable scale on Israel. The terrorists landed in Israel from land, sea, and air and launched massive attacks on the Nova festival, kibbutzim, several villages along the Gaza border, and Israeli military bases. The terror attack killed over 1,200 Israelis, including babies and foreign nationals, brutally assaulted, raped, and paraded women, and kidnapped over 230 Israeli and foreign nationals.

In February this year, the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel (ARCCI) submitted a report to the United Nations detailing the sadistic and systematic extent of the sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists during the terror group’s brutal October 7 attack. The report stated that in many cases, the Hamas terrorists shoved knives in the victim’s genitals.

It revealed that several bodies of the victim were found bound and shackled, and their genitals were brutally mutilated using sharp weapons like knives. In some cases, weapons were found inserted inside the genitals of the victims.

Mission Sudarshan Chakra to serve as a national security shield: PM Modi announces the ambitious program to protect India from external threats using only indigenous technology

OpIndia Staff
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Mission Sudarshan Chakra to serve as a national security shield: PM Modi announces the ambitious program to protect India from external threats using only indigenous technology

On India’s 79th Independence Day, during his speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort “Mission Sudarshan Chakra”. This project will protect India’s critical establishments through indigenous technological development in defence sector by 2035.

Stressing the significance of reliance in strategic innovation, PM Modi said, “In the next ten years, by 2035, I want to expand, strengthen, and modernise this national security shield. Every citizen must feel protected, This mission will be research-based and developed entirely with indigenous technology.”

The Sudarshan Chakra mission will likekly include a multi-layered security system that integrates cyber defence, enhanced surveillance, and physical infrastructure safeguards that are adapted to India’s changing threat landscape.

Prime Minister Modi drew inspiration from the Hindu scripture Mahabharat and invoked the moment when Lord Krishna shielded the sun with his Sudarshan Chakra to enable Arjun to kill Jayadrath. 

“We are taking inspiration from Lord Krishna, who once barred sunlight from reaching Earth. That divine intervention changed the course of battle. Today, we must similarly shield our vital institutions from emerging threats,” he said. 

“We have shown the world our capabilities and proved that India is ready to face any kind of warfare. We demonstrated this in Operation Sindoor. Pakistan attacked our military bases, civilian areas, and our temples, but our air defence systems, our Sudarshan Chakra, foiled all of their attacks,” PM Modi said.

Although PM Modi did not delve into the specifics of the project, reports suggest that India’s premier research agencies, defence establishments, and private innovators will collaborate to make this mission a success. 

Notably, the Indian Air Force currently refers to its S-400 Triumf air defence missile system which shot down several Pakistani fighter jets, drones and missiles during Operation Sindoor, as “Sudarshan Chakra”. 

The declaration coincides with increased global anxiety over hybrid threats, cyberwarfare, and strategic asset sabotage. PM Modi’s focus on domestic technology reinforces national sovereignty in the security architecture and signifies a shift away from reliance on foreign systems.

Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry has identified an Indian company to establish a maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for the S-400 air defence system. 

The Hindu reported citing a senior Defence Ministry official that while there were plans to set an MRO facility, and after Operation Sindoor, the process was fastracked. 

“It is a huge step for the armed forces as the role of S-400 was appreciated in Operation Sindoor and it was a long-pending demand to establish a maintenance facility for S-400 firing units in India. It will ensure operational readiness and reduce the dependence on foreign support,” the official said.

PM Modi praises Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh during Independence Day speech, says RSS has served the nation dedicatedly for 100 years

OpIndia Staff
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PM Modi praises Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh during Independence Day speech, says RSS has served the nation dedicatedly for 100 years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 79th Independence Day address from the Red Fort, placed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the heart of his remarks by hailing its century-long contribution to nation-building. He described the organisation as the “biggest NGO in the world,” praising its role in shaping citizens and dedicating itself to the service of Maa Bharati.

PM Modi’s tribute to the RSS

The Prime Minister called the centenary of the RSS a “golden chapter” in India’s history. “With the resolve of ‘vyakti nirman se rashtra nirman’, swayamsevaks dedicated their lives to the welfare of our motherland,” PM Modi declared. He said the organisation embodied the spirit of service, carrying forward a vision of dedication that has endured for a hundred years.

Bhagwat’s message on India’s mission

Away from the Red Fort, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat marked the day by hoisting the Tricolour at Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti. In his address, he described India as a “unique country” with a mission to guide the world towards peace, happiness, and solutions rooted in Dharma. Bhagwat said India’s independence was won so that every citizen could attain dignity, courage, and security, adding that the world, still “faltering” after centuries of experiments, looked to India for answers.

Ceremonial honours at the Red Fort

Earlier in the morning, PM Modi unfurled the national flag at the Red Fort, where he was received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, MoS Sanjay Seth, and the Chiefs of the three services. He also inspected a ceremonial guard of honour led by Wing Commander Arun Nagar. The guard included personnel from the Indian Air Force, Army, Navy, Delhi Police, and the National Flag Guard, totalling up to 128 members.

Guests from all walks of life

This year’s Independence Day celebration at the Red Fort was attended by nearly 5,000 invited guests. Among them were members of India’s Special Olympics 2025 contingent, winners of international sports events, Khelo India Para Games gold medallists, and farmers recognised for their success under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission. The inclusion of achievers from diverse fields reflected the government’s attempt to make the event a celebration of people’s contributions across the spectrum of society.

Chhattisgarh Waqf Board directs all mosques, madrasas, and dargahs to hoist tricolour on August 15, Congress MP dismisses it as “nonsense”

OpIndia Staff
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Chhattisgarh Waqf Board directs all mosques, madrasas, and dargahs to hoist tricolour on August 15, Congress MP dismisses it as “nonsense”

The country is preparing to celebrate Independence Day on August 15. Patriotic citizens will proudly hoist the Tricolour on this day. Meanwhile, Congress’s nationalism has once again come under question. The Chhattisgarh Waqf Board issued a directive to hoist the national flag at all mosques, dargahs, and madrasas, but Congress MP Tariq Anwar dismissed it as “nonsense.”

Anwar went a step further, claiming that hoisting the flag at religious places is not a tradition, and made a bizarre attempt to justify his stance. Not just Congress, but leaders of Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM have also opposed the directive.

What did Tariq Anwar say?

Tariq Anwar, Lok Sabha MP from Katihar, Bihar, told IANS that directing mosques, madrasas, and dargahs for hoisting the flag was wrong. He said: “I think this is all nonsense. It is not our tradition to hoist the Tricolour at religious sites. People hoist the flag out of their own will. It should not be done under pressure or restrictions.”

He further added, “It comes from inner feelings and patriotism that one hoists the flag. To impose such restrictions and pressure is completely wrong.”

Congress leader calls it an ‘absurd order’

Congress leader Salam Rizvi from Chhattisgarh also termed it an “absurd order.” Rizvi, former chairman of the Waqf Board, said, “It is Muslim leaders within BJP-RSS who are raising questions on the Muslim community.” He too maintained that it is not mandatory to hoist the flag at religious places.

AIMIM also opposed the Tri-colour

Asaduddin Owaisi’s party AIMIM too did not shy away from insulting the Tricolour. Party leader and MLA from Malegaon, Maharashtra, Mufti Mohammad Ismail, called the order “flattery of the government.” He argued that it was an attempt to question the patriotism of Muslims.

What is the Chhattisgarh Waqf Board’s order?

On August 11, the Chhattisgarh Waqf Board chairman issued a directive instructing that the Tricolour be hoisted at the main gates of all mosques, madrasas, and dargahs in the state. Dr. Salim Raj, chairman of the board, issued the order to all mutawallis (caretakers).

Warning them, Salim said that any mosque which fails to hoist the flag will be considered “Pakistani.” He remarked that only extremists and traitors oppose the national flag. He said, “It is everyone’s duty to celebrate national festivals and love the national flag. Whoever disrespects the nation and the national flag is a traitor.”

Pooja Pal expelled from Samajwadi Parti for praising Yogi Adityanath for avenging her husband: Read how Raju Pal was brutally murdered by Atiq Ahmed

Rukma Rathore
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Pooja Pal expelled from Samajwadi Parti for praising Yogi Adityanath for avenging her husband: Read how Raju Pal was brutally murdered by Atiq Ahmed

“Mere pati ke hatyare Atiq Ahmed ko mukhya mantri ne mitti mein milaane ka kaam kiya (Chief Minsiter Yogi Adityanath destroyed Atiq Ahmed who killed my husband.” Uttar Pradesh assembly resonated with the passionate words of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Pooja Pal on 13th August. She is the widow of former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislator Raju Pal. The mafia-turned-politician, Atiq Ajmed, murdered him in 2005.

“Everyone knows how my husband was killed and who did it. I want to thank the chief minister, who listened to me when no one else did. He gave justice to many women like me in Prayagraj and punished the criminals. Today the entire state looks at the chief minister with confidence,” she stated during the 24-hour marathon discussion on the “Vision Document 2047,” lauding the government’s zero-tolerance policy for crime. “When I started getting tired of this fight, then chief minister Yogi Adityanath gave me justice,” the MLA declared.

However, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav expelled her from the party in the name of “anti-party activities” and “serious indiscipline” hours after her remarks. According to the letter, Pooja Pal caused “considerable harm to the party” by continuing her actions in spite of earlier warnings. Additionally, it stated that she would no again be invited to any party programs or meetings and has been removed from all SP posts.

Men acting as journalists shot the gangster and his brother dead on 15th April 2023 outside a Prayagraj government hospital where the police had taken them for a nighttime medical examination.

Anatomy of a murder

Raju Pal, the BSP MLA from the former Allahabad West was on his way home to Dhoomanganj’s Neewa from the Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital’s post-mortem house in the present-day Prayagraj on 25th January 2005, at approximately 3 pm, merely nine days after his wedding. The murder of a student from his constituency was the cause of his hospital visit. He was also joined by four associates in another SUV (sports utility vehicle).

The lawmaker, who was driving himself, noticed a couple (Ruksana and Sajid) beside their scooter, besides the Neeva crossing in the Dhoomanganj region. He realized that the woman was an acquaintance and discovered that their two-wheeler had run out of fuel. He decided to give her a lift in his car to her home while her husband headed to the petrol pump with the vehicle.

Two of his supporters, Devi Lal and Sandeep Yadav, were also in the same car alongside Ruksana. The men in the second SUV were Saif, Omprakash and driver Mahendra Patel, all from Neewa. They were escorted by an armed police constable in each vehicle.

Pal had just moved forward when unexpectedly two vehicles encircled him from both the front and the rear, on GT Road as indiscriminate gunfire erupted from all sides before anyone could even make sense of the situation. He opened his window and attempted to flee for his life. However, the assailants were trained shooters and followed him as bullets kept flying. Pal was shot multiple times.

His supporters arrived and hurried him to the hospital but the attackers started to unleash gunfire on them. Bullets continued to rain down on Pal for a distance of 5 kilometers. The area was in a state of terror due to the sustained firing. The collision between the two SUVs sent pedestrians reeling.

A crowd gathered at the location and soon after police officers also arrived. They were Parshuram Singh, the station house officer of the Dhumanganj police station, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sunil Gupta and Superintendent of Police (City) Rajesh Krishna. The wounded were taken in an autorickshaw to Jeevan Jyoti Hospital. However, Pal succumbed to his injuries before reaching there.

The incumbent MLA had been killed in broad daylight by the time the screams and gunfire subsided. The assault also claimed the lives of Devi and Sandeep. The assassination caused a significant uproar in the state’s political landscape. Pal’s supporters took control of his body to stage a roadblock in Sulemsarai before it could be taken to SRN Hospital for a postmortem.

They engaged in stone-pelting as well. Somehow, the police were able to retrieve the body and submit it for a post-mortem. The tension was palpable throughout the region. The whole city was on edge because of the occurrence.

The MLA’s wife, Pooja Pal, later filed a complaint against nine people under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon), 149 (illegal assembly), 307 (attempt to murder), 302 (murder), 120 (criminal conspiracy) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the the Indian Penal Code in relation the murder, at the Dhumanganj police station.

It included the names of nine individuals, including Atiq Ahmed who was Phulpur MP from Samajwadi Party at the time, his younger brother Khalid Azeem also known as Ashraf and close associates.

A brutal end to a political enmity

The conflict between Atiq Ahmed and Raju Pal began in 2002, three years prior to the murder. The latter was known to have a criminal history and was reportedly affiliated with his killer at one point, however, he eventually distanced himself. Atiq ventured into politics while simultaneously broadening his criminal enterprise, in the late 1980s.

He first became an MLA in 1989, as an independent candidate from the Western Allahabad constituency and then in 2002, he won on an Apna Dal ticket. Atiq won 5 times between 1989-2002 from there and held extensive influence in Purvanchal which made it difficult for political parties to find candidates who were willing to contest Allahabad seat against him.

The course of events shifted as Pal entered the political arena and emerged as a leader of the BSP, marking the beginning of the rivalry between the two. During the Lok Sabha elections in 2004, Atiq who was an SP candidate emerged victorious from the Phulpur seat after which the West Allahabad assembly seat became vacant.

He wanted his brother Ashraf to take over as MLA from there and successfully secured a ticket for him from the Samajwadi Party for the subsequent by-election. Meanwhile, Pal also received a ticket from the BSP. The elections were conducted and he defeated Ashraf, ending the mafia’s dominance over the seat, for the first time. This result was a major setback for Atiq who decided to compensate for his loss with Pal’s blood.

Only three months had elapsed since Raju Pal became an MLA when his life was taken. The Uttar Pradesh Police conducted the inquiry initially but the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The CBI court found six of Atiq Ahmed’s aides guilty, sentencing them to life imprisonment while one received a four-year sentence. A charge sheet was submitted against ten individuals in this case of whom three, Atiq, his brother and Gulbul alias Rafiq have already passed away.

Ranjeet Pal, Abid, Farhan Ahmad, Israr Ahmad, Javed, Gulhasan and Abdul Kavi were found guilty of criminal conspiracy and murder, among other serious charges, by the Special Judge of the CBI, Lucknow. Farhan Ahmad was also convicted under the Indian Arms Act.

Atiq Ahmed unleashed his fury on the witnesses

Over a dozen witnesses were involved, however, 15 witnesses provided testimonies in the CBI court, including that of Ruksana Begum who was struck by two bullets. Atiq and his accomplices initially attempted to entice her and Sadiq with offers of money, land and business opportunities, reported Navbharat Times. However, when they did not fall for his offers, he started to torture them and filed false charges against Sajid, their son and other family members.

Their relatives also faced harassment. Anyone associated with them was threatened and intimidated. The gangster exerted pressure through law enforcement who kidnapped them. They even sought to sway the family by stating that Atiq was also a Muslim, implying that the latter should back him.

He conspired to threw Sajid and his son in Naini Central jail in a bogus murder case when they did not comply. They were subjected to brutal physical violence in front of Atiq’s men. They endured relentless beatings for 16 days. Their clothes were also removed. Death threats were issued to their entire family.

Kidnapping and torture of Umesh Pal

Pooja Pal’s cousin Umesh Pal, an advocate who was an active member of BSP and zila panchayat (Allahabad) was a crucial witness in the murder case of Raju Pal. He complained to the police in 2007 that Atiq and his aides were constantly threatening and pressuring him to alter his statements in the courtroom regarding the murder of Raju Pal.

Umesh was abducted on 28th February 2006, at about 2:00 pm in Prayagraj close to Fasi Imli, Sulemsarai Road. He filed with the Dhoomanganj police on 5th July 2007. He unveiled that in addition to kidnapping him at gunpoint, Atiq and his goons had cruelly tortured him while he was their hostage.

They pressured him to take back his statement in the Raju Pal murder case. He also charged that Atiq pressured him into making a false statement in court. Umesh was given a paper by Atiq who instructed him to thoroughly read it. He was then told to present the written material as his statement in court, failing which he and his family would suffer grave repercussions.

Atiq’s aides had also threatened to kill Umesh if the family dared to call the police. The Prayagraj police filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Atiq, Dinesh Pasi, Khan Saulat Hanif and others. Atiq, Khan Saulat Hanif and Dinesh Pasi were deemed culpable in the case by the Prayagraj MP/MLA court and given a rigorous life sentence.

Murder of Umesh Pal

The death threat soon turned into a grim reality for Umesh, whose life was claimed by Atiq and his associates. On 25th February 2023, Umesh and Sandeep Nishad his police security guard were mercilessly shot and killed at Jaitipur at the Prayagraj Dhoomanganj police station area, outside the former’s residence.

His second bodyguard, Raghvendra Singh who was also hurt during the incident was brought to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) in Lucknow after he was admitted to the SRN Hospital. The assaliants used rifles and handguns to shoot Nishad and threw bombs at Umesh and the other cop. CCTV recorded the entire incident.

Atiq’s son Asad Ahmed, Ghulam who was Asad’s close acquaintance, Guddu Muslim, Arbaaz, the driver of their vehicle and Vijay Chaudhary, also known as Usman were seen on camera and they were later killed in encounters with Uttar Pradesh police except Guddu who is on the run.

Moreover, chargesheets had been submitted against Guddu, Arman and Sabir. They played aw major part in Umesh Pal’s murder and held a reward of Rs 5 lakh each. 15 people have been charged till now. Three including the chief shooters remain at large, while twelve including the sons of Atiq Ahmed, Umar and Ali are presently in jail. Atiq’s wife Shahista Parveen who is also an accused in the case is also absconding.

According to reports, Atiq told the police that Umesh Pal was undermining his authority and he killed him to preserve his “empire.” The mobster informed officials that he had repeatedly requested a meeting with him but he refused. Atiq  reportedly informed the police that this infuriated him and resulted in the murder.

There were more than 100 criminal cases against Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf was facing 50 more. Police arrested the former in February 2017 after he attacked employees of Prayagraj’s Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences. He was transported to Prayagraj for a court hearing after being detained in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail.

Previously a formidable presence in the political and criminal domains of eastern Uttar Pradesh, he was feared as the leader of a network dedicated to land-grabbing and extortion, underscoring the blend of politics and crime in the region.

Conclusion

The action taken by Akhilesh Yadav against Pooja Pal is not unexpected, nor are her comments which further emphasize the disparity between the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh under the Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The zero-tolerance policy against crime implemented by CM Yogi has resulted in several instances where dreaded gangsters and other criminal elements have faced consequences for their acts, rather than receiving political patronage as was the case with previous administrations.

This is the reason why the law and order situation has significantly improved under the governance of the saffron party. CM Yogi repeatedly warned, “Mafia ko mitti main mila dengey (Would eliminate the mafia in the state) and has remained true to his word time and again, the evidence of which was showcased by Pooja Pal.

Gendered genocide from Punjab to the North East: How the darkest legacy of India’s Partition was written on women’s bodies

Mita Nath Bora
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Gendered genocide from Punjab to the North East: How the darkest legacy of India’s Partition was written on women’s bodies

Few questions haunt many a times- Why did partition ever happen if it had to go through bloodbath? Why did a geographical division of land suddenly become an episode of genocide? What was partition meant to achieve and what did it actually achieve? 

Partition was not only a horrific political division, with more than 20 million people displaced, more than 2 million killed in just two months, homes, villages, communities, families, and relationships destroyed, but it has another truth—the gendered genocide. Partition saw mass violence of women’s bodies.  Over 75,000 to 100,000 women were abducted when India had to go through the partition nightmares in 1947. The violence against women turned out to be not accidental but intentional, communal, and patriarchal. 

This truth must be told, not to reopen wounds but to ensure that women’s suffering is no longer erased from history.

Hindu and Sikh women were snatched from their families forcibly by Muslim men, many kidnapped as families prepared to move, leaving the land they once called home. They were not just abducted—they were systematically raped, impregnated, many who protested were butchered and burnt, others forcibly converted, married against their will and many kept as sex slaves. Pregnant women had their wombs ripped open and foetuses killed. Countless children vanished without a trace, leaving behind no record of their fate. Their bodies became instruments of revenge, their identities were erased, and their autonomy destroyed.

Trains crossing borders were ambushed. Women’s corpses were found naked, mutilated, and arranged in grotesque displays.

In Amritsar and Lahore, women were publicly raped, paraded naked, and killed, many were set on fire alive. Survivors and eyewitnesses documented horrific forms of genital mutilation. Women had their breasts cut off, vaginas mutilated, and were branded with religious symbols of the Islamic community—Islamic crescents on Hindu women.

In Punjab when gendered genocide news travelled, many Sikh families opted for mass suicides and ‘Honour Killings’. In villages like Thoa Khalsa (Rawalpindi) entire groups of Sikh women jumped into wells to avoid being raped. In many refugee caravans, fathers, brothers, and uncles slit the throats of their daughters and sisters to save family honour. 

The trauma of partition in Eastern India, especially in Bengal, Assam, and Tripura is less discussed but equally brutal. Unlike the Punjab focus in mainstream narratives, the women of Bengal, Assam and surrounding eastern regions also endured horrific violence, mass rapes, abductions, forced conversions, and systemic displacement; some even years after 1947 due to the prolonged nature of the East Pakistan crisis. Like in Punjab, trains and refugee caravans in Bengal too were targeted. Many refugee trains from East Pakistan to Sealdah and Howrah arrived with dead or raped women. Bodies were found with genitals mutilated and breasts slashed, naked and dumped by the railway tracks between Bongaon and Jessore.

Hindu girls from zamindar families in Barisal and Khulna were kidnapped. A woman named Bina Das recounted in an oral testimony how she and her sister were abducted. Her sister was never seen again. Young girls, often under 15, were taken as domestic slaves or sex workers across the border into East Pakistan. Some were trafficked as far as Chittagong and Rangpur and sold to Muslim landlords. A woman named Anima Chakraborty from Barisal was found in a Dhaka brothel in 1951. Instances of young females being raped 40-60 times by different men became a common episode. Countless girls were forcibly converted to Islam, renamed, and married off. 

Assam was deeply affected, particularly in Sylhet (now in Bangladesh) and the Barak Valley (Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi), and later during the 1950s refugee influx, and 1971 Bangladesh War, which is also linked to the extended fallout of Partition. 

After the 1947 Sylhet Referendum, which ceded Sylhet to East Pakistan, Bengali Hindu families in Assam and Barak Valley were suddenly foreigners. Reports surfaced of Muslim League mobs targeting Hindu homes, especially attacking women. Hindu women from tea garden areas and outlying villages reported rape, forced conversion, and abductions. A schoolteacher in Karimganj, in her eighties later, once said, “We hid under the haystacks. They took the girls. They always took the girls.” Testimony from another Karimganj-based refugee in an oral history project (unnamed due to stigma) said “We left our village with just two cloths and my elder sister. At the border, we lost her.”

Families hosting refugees recalled that many women came in pregnant or mutilated, and refused to discuss their experiences. Amongst other women some had children born from rape; others had no homes to return.

Even three years after Partition, in 1950, communal riots broke out in Dhaka, Barisal, and Chittagong, triggering a second wave of attacks. Hindu women in East Pakistan were gang-raped in temples, had their breasts mutilated, and were forcibly branded with Islamic symbols. Traumatized Hindu women arrived in Assam—especially into Karimganj, Goalpara, and Dhubri. A survivor in Goalpara recalled: “My aunt had bite marks all over her. She didn’t speak for months. Later we learned she had been kept in a hut for two days by a gang.”

There is a lingering trauma and quite many old women in Barak Valley refugee colonies still refer to “that journey” or “those nights” in cryptic ways. NGOs working with Partition migrants in the 1970s and 80s reported that many elderly women remained unmarried or childless, by choice or trauma. Whoever survived hardly ever spoke. The trauma was so deep and the social stigma so heavy that thousands of women buried their stories within themselves. Many displaced women never revealed their pasts. Unlike Punjab or Bengal, Assam lacked formal recovery programs, so no systematic tracing of abducted women was done.

The assault on Tripura and the Chakma refugee women are hardly told. Tribal and Bengali Hindu women fleeing riots in Comilla and Chittagong took shelter in Tripura. Refugee camps near Agartala were full of women who had been raped along the way by gangs of people from the other side. A Chakma girl, age 13, testified in 1950 that her father had tried to poison her to avoid her falling into the hands of attackers. She survived. He did not.

Violated women’s stories remain the unwritten chapters of history. But their silence is the loudest reminder that Partition’s wounds were not only about borders, but about bodies.

The role of RSS volunteers during the Indian partition: A forgotten history steeped in the blood of millions of Hindus

ભાર્ગવ રાજ્યગુરુ
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The role of RSS volunteers during the Indian partition: A forgotten history steeped in the blood of millions of Hindus

14th August, 1947 is a black day in the history of India, which is stained with the blood of millions of Indians. It was the time of the partition of India. The land of independent, autonomous Indians was divided on the basis of religion, because of the ‘Two Nation Theory’.

Firstly, the demand for a separate nation arose from Muslims and thousands of Hindus became victims. Then, when a separate territory was given, namely Pakistan, even then, the bloodthirsty people shed the blood of Hindus. Thousands of Hindu bodies were loaded into trains coming from Pakistan and thousands of women were raped.

The situation was so serious that millions of Hindus living in present-day Pakistan were in danger. This partition had not only divided the land, but also cut the hearts of millions of Hindus. There was no one to hear this cry of Hindus against these atrocities.

Hindus were dying and were fleeing from the lands of their ancestors. In such a difficult time, only the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) stood by the side of the Hindus. Neither the government nor the Congress cared. Only the RSS volunteers risked their lives to save the Hindus.

What role did the Sangh volunteers play during the partition

At the time of partition, the Sangh and its volunteers kept a close watch on the activities of the Pakistani army. When riots broke out and the Nehru government was completely on the backfoot, the Sangh took the lead and arranged more than three thousand relief camps for lakhs of Hindu refugees from Pakistan.

RSS took up the task of bringing the Hindus living in Pakistan safely to India. At that time, the RSS was fighting a war on two fronts simultaneously. One was to evacuate Hindus from Pakistan at any cost and the other was to fight the anti-Hindu riots started by the Muslim League within the country.

Professor Dr. Harendra Singh, who has worked on the Sangh, says in an article that at the time of partition, the Muslim League had accumulated a large amount of weapons and explosives and had built a huge arsenal in Delhi. Not only this, but it had also trained numerous Muslim workers and hatched a conspiracy to massacre the Hindus and Sikhs living in India.

Even during this time of crisis, the volunteers of the Sangh exposed the conspiracy by risking their lives. While the second-tier leaders and volunteers of the Sangh were protecting Hindus within the country, the first-tier leaders and many volunteers were monitoring the situation of Hindus in Pakistan.

The article says that at the time of partition, the then Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, Guruji himself had said, “As long as there is a single Hindu there (in Pakistan), do not leave him there.” On his call, lakhs of volunteers brought about two crore Hindus from Pakistan to safety. While the RSS was helping in Pakistan, there was also a struggle to maintain the integrity of the independent part of India and to save the lives of Hindus trapped in modern-day Bangladesh.

What role did the Sangh volunteers play during the partition

During the partition, the RSS and its volunteers kept a close watch on the activities of the Pakistani army. When riots broke out and the Nehru government was completely on the backfoot, the RSS took the lead and arranged more than three thousand relief camps for the lakhs of Hindu refugees from Pakistan.

RSS took up the task of bringing the Hindus living in Pakistan safely to India. At that time, the RSS was fighting a war on two fronts simultaneously. One was to evacuate the Hindus from Pakistan at any cost and the other was to fight the anti-Hindu riots started by the Muslim League within the country.

Professor Dr. Harendra Singh, who has worked on the Sangh, says in an article that at the time of partition, the Muslim League had collected a large amount of weapons and explosives and built a huge arsenal in Delhi. Not only this, but it had prepared numerous trained Muslim workers and hatched a conspiracy to massacre the Hindus and Sikhs living in India.

Even in this time of crisis, the volunteers of the Sangh risked their lives to expose the conspiracy. While the leaders and volunteers of the RSS were protecting the Hindus in the country itself, the leaders and many volunteers of the first row were going to Pakistan and monitoring the situation of the Hindus.

In the regions of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan, the then Sarsanghchalak Guruji and senior officers of the Sangh were working tirelessly and were taking many people with them to boost the morale of the Hindu community there and taking protective measures.

The Sangh also organised yatras of revolutionaries like Veer Savarkar and leaders like Balasaheb Devsarji across Punjab. Not only this, but Sindhutai, the director of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, organised Hindu women in Sindh and Punjab by spreading awareness and made strenuous efforts from Karachi to Lahore over a period of three weeks.

The article says that at the time of partition, the then Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, Guruji himself had called out, “As long as there is a single Hindu there (in Pakistan), do not leave him there.” On his call, lakhs of volunteers brought about two crore Hindus from Pakistan to safety. While the RSS was helping in Pakistan, there was also a struggle to maintain the integrity of the independent part of India and to save the lives of Hindus trapped in the other separated part.

RSS volunteers came to save the lives of Hindus

The Sangh had taken upon itself the responsibility of protecting the lives and honour of Hindus in Pakistan. At the time of partition, the Sangh Shiksha Vrag was suspended in Punjab and the volunteers started performing their duty without going home. The Sangh provided protection to Hindus by setting up 80 security camps in Lahore and more than 300 in other parts of Pakistan. It also set up relief camps with names like Hindu Raksha Samiti, Punjab Rahat Samiti, Vastuhar Sahayata Samiti etc. for the Hindus who had been displaced from Pakistan and reached Jammu, Delhi, Amritsar, Kolkata.

Volunteers also provided various services through these camps in collaboration with the society. For example, the Sangh took up the responsibility of finding and reuniting separated siblings, parents, husband and wife. Apart from that, services like treating the injured, giving blood when needed, running blood donation camps are also provided. Arrangements were made to provide food to 20 to 25 thousand people every day and to provide clothes, utensils, food items, etc. Arrangements were also made for accommodation in schools, dharamshalas and economically well-off residences in other cities and places of the country.

Bhagirath’s work was done without any publicity

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, while praising the work of the volunteers during that difficult time of partition, said, “It cannot be denied that the brave volunteers of the Sangh saved countless innocent women and children. They saved them from far and wide and brought them here.” However, it is also a reality that very few people took note of this heroic work of the Sangh. It can even be said that they did not take note at all.

At present, hardly anyone would have information about the work done by the Sangh. Gandhi was sitting in Noakhali at that time and Hindus were dying, children were being mutilated and women were being robbed. If there was another sight, it was only the service spirit of the Sangh. Thousands of volunteers of the Sangh had devoted their all to the service of those unfortunate victims without any publicity.

Millions of Hindus became victims of Islamic Jihad

Hindus were the worst victims of violence in both India and Pakistan. About 2 million people were killed and two crore people had to leave their ancestral lands. Daughters were raped in front of their fathers. Entire families were burned, temples and gurdwaras were targeted, and young children, the elderly and even women were killed by Muslim mobs.

The worst violence was committed in Sindh, Hyderabad, Punjab, Bengal and Kashmir. In Kashmir, Pakistanis in tribal guise massacred Hindus, in Sindh, Bengal and Punjab, Hindu and Sikh families were burnt alive and children were tortured and killed. During all these incidents, rape and gang rape of Hindu women and girls had become common. Millions of people have never forgotten this atrocity.

The misfortune of the country is such that such horrible, cruel and barbaric events were erased from history. There is no mention of such events in academic history. This includes people like Munshi, Savarkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. This work of remembering the pain of millions of Hindus and making the next generation aware of the truth is done through the Partition Horrors Remembrance Day by PM Modi.

Was RSS inactive in the freedom movement

The biggest propaganda spread by the Left and the Congress till now is that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh remained inactive in the freedom movement. This propaganda is part of a deliberate conspiracy. The fact is that the Sangh not only played a role in the great freedom struggle, but every member also gave their life when needed.

Sangh volunteers like Umakant Kadia participated in Gandhi’s ‘Quit India’ movement and also attained martyrdom. Umakant Kadia is the first revolutionary to attain martyrdom in the ‘Quit India’ movement.

The reality is that when the country was in need, the Sangh came forward and helped. When the then Nehru government was going on the back foot, the volunteers of this same Sangh helped the government by exposing the activities of the Pakistan Army and the Muslim League. Many volunteers participated in this freedom movement and even gave their lives for the country.

In addition, when the Hindu community was isolated, only the volunteers of the Sangh stood by them. They fought for the Hindu community by risking their lives and also saved the lives of lakhs of people. Later, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Sardar Patel also said that thousands of brave volunteers of the Sangh were at the forefront to save the lives of lakhs of people and to stop the barbarity against women.

Therefore, the claim of the Congress and the Left historians-clique that the RSS was not involved in the freedom movement is baseless and a propaganda spread deliberately as part of a conspiracy. It is a well-known law of nature that no matter how much truth is suppressed, at the right time it comes out. This is the time.

The original Gujarati report can be read here.

From ancestral mansion to refugee camp: How the Partition of India changed the destiny of my maternal family

Dibakar Dutta
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From ancestral mansion to refugee camp: How the Partition of India changed the destiny of my maternal family

My maternal grandfather, Shri Naresh Ranjan Gupta Roy, was a teacher in Sunamganj district in Sylhet Division of present-day Bangladesh.

His family had been living there for centuries. The ancestral home ‘Roy Bhitta Bari’ (Roy mansion) used to host Durga Puja each year and welcome Hindu devotees from nearby areas.

By 1946, my grandfather had been working as an English teacher for more than a decade.

Trained at the prestigious Presidency College at Calcutta, Shri Naresh Ranjan Gupta Roy had planned to spend the remainder of his life in his hometown.

He even married by grandmother Smt. Usha Gupta Roy in 1946 and wanted to start a family. But by that time, the All-India Muslim League had intenstified its efforts to create Pakistan based on religious lines.

The party, led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, orchestrated genocide of Hindus in Calcutta and Noakhali. Hindus in East Bengal became increasingly worried about their future in a Muslim-majority region.

By July 1947, Sunamganj like many of other areas of Sylhet had a referendum and most voted in favour of joining East Pakistan.

Referendum in Sylhet

And soon after the newly wed Roy family had to bid adieu to his job and a provident fund accumulated over a decade to escape persecution and being killed at the hands of maruading mobs.

My maternal grandfather also left behind his ancestral house, parcels of land and generational wealth collected over centuries forever.

He could not carry anything valuable with him to India from what had become ‘East Pakistan’ by then. My grandmother, however, was able to bring some gold ornaments along with her by embroidering them in her saree.

And that is how Shri Naresh Ranjan Gupta Roy of Sunamganj (Sylhet) and his wife Smt. Usha Gupta Roy were rendered refugees overnight in newly independent state of India.

The act of ‘Partition’, fuelled by the Muslim League and facilitated by the British in cahoots with the Congress party, stripped by maternal grandparents of their peace, stability and heritage.

A page from my grandfather’s diary with Macbeth as lesson plan dated 1st February 1961

As my mother recalls, my grandparents were temporarily housed in refugee camps after coming to India.

Shri Naresh Ranjan Gupta Roy eventually found work as a teacher again, first in Assam and then in Tripura over the following 3 decades.

But his life was never the same again. He could never own another piece of land or build a house in his lifetime.

My grandfather battled through poverty, ethnic violence (which was rampant in Assam and Tripura at that time) and corruption, which prevented him from receiving timely wages.

While he and my grandmother were fighting on that front for survival, they were raising three daughters with a vision to give them a good education and make them financially independent.

While the Partition took away his ancestral land, home, job and wealth, it could not snatch his education, values and modern outlook that he passed on through his defining legacy.

Shri Naresh Ranjan Gupta Roy did not give up. He strongly believed that education was the key to ensure that the family, devoid of generation wealth, was back on their feet within a few decades. And he was right.

Today, I have a house to live that I can call my own. We have come a long way from the time my maternal grandparents had to spend time in refugee camps.

Shri Naresh Gupta Roy retired in 1975 and passed away on 28th June 1981. When I talk to his students (elderly people in their late 60s and early 70s) who reside in my hometown, all of them in unison highlight his love for reading books.

My mother tells me that grandfather would confine himself to his study room 2 hours every single day, a routine he went onto follow until a week before his death.

My grandmother, who spent most of her life tending to the family as a homemaker, left for the heavenly abode just 4 days before my birthday on 15th October 1995.

Nonetheless, the foundation laid by them proved extremely significant to turn around our family fortunes within 2 generations.

Conclusion

The Parition of India remains one of the dealiest episodes of the Indian Independence Movement. An estimated 5-20 lakh people were killed while 1-2 crore others were permanently displaced.

As we observe the ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ on 14th August, we remember the stories of people like my grandparents who had to leave everything behind to avoid religious persecution.

And yet they steered the ship with hard work and determination so that future generations like me have a chance today to retell the story of their grit and resilience to the world.

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