The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy Through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts

by Ishtiaq Ahmed

A definitive, path-breaking account of the partition of the Punjab in 1947 ,The Punjab chronicles how east and west Punjab was emptied of unwanted minorities. Besides shedding new light on the events through secret British reports, it contains poignant accounts by eyewitnesses, survivors and participants in the carnage, from both sides of the border. This book aims to give a balanced account of partition, and shows how religious differences are no bar to peaceful coexistence unless highlighted by divisive forces. It will be of immense interest to anyone even remotely curious about the happenings of the most traumatic event in recent Indian history.

Genres: History, Pakistan, Nonfiction, India, Politics

2795 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Ishtiaq Ahmed is a Swedish political scientist and author of Pakistani descent. He is Visiting Professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Stockholm University.

Reviews

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a very detailed account of Punjab's partition in 1947. Interesting that before reading this book I considered the Partition in 1947 of Pakistan to be solely composed of Punjab. It only while reading the book that it dawned upon me that there was another large province also partitioned in 1947 with very different results. In comparison with Punjab, Bengali partition was a non-event, even with its large proportion of Hindu population. So Sikhs and the martial legacy of Punjabis was a big factor in the massive rioting and looting in Punjab.

Maybe the comparison between the two Partitions would make another interesting case of study one day?

Anyway, this great study offers some very interesting observations.....

The Punjabi Unionist party decided to support Muslim League only after Congress made known that they would outlaw feudal system once in power.

The British government believed that if threatened with the division of Punjab and Bengal, Jinnah would back down from his demand for separate Pakistan.

Sikhs were left with no option but to support the Congress as it professed a secularist policy as opposed to Muslim League with its very Islamic one.

The only reason why the British did not publicly announce the partition of Punjab before time seems to be that they wanted to continue playing the communal card. It's interesting how all major players (ML & Congress) played the communal card, threatening each other with its macabre ramifications instead of making contingency plans for when it eventually happened.

Why wasn't the Muslim League not invited to form a government (1946) in Punjab first even when it was the largest party? And why would Congress accept such a weak role in power in a province where communal tensions were already dangerously inflamed?

The British Raj had taken a policy decision to use their army and police to prioritize saving their own people above any of the locals.

The returning Punjabi vets from Second World War after witnessing the developed world first hand of their masters came back to even worst conditions then they had left. This raised the level of anger which prompted them to take action against the minority Hindu and Sikhs affluent class in the Rawalpindi division.

The majority of the killing and looting was done by the have not peasant Hindu/Sikhs and the Muslims classes. The affluent class was the victims not the main perpetrators of the atrocities.

Why did Jinnah refuse Mountbatten as the joint governor general of Pakistan and India when he was perfectly happy with British as governors and chief's of army staff?

[Nabataean Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by M. Rajivlochan

THE people of South Asia have been particularly ill-served by their political leaders. This judicious work provides a detailed analysis of their misdoings that resulted in the bloody partition of the Punjab.

Self-serving, short-sighted, unmindful of the concerns of the people and quick to cater to the basest of feelings among the people, the political leaders found the withdrawal of the British Empire from India as a great opportunity to grab for themselves as much as they could. In the process they created unprecedented pain for the people. That pain still rankles, and still creates bad blood between the two nations.

There are four unique contributions that Ishtiaq Ahmed makes to the large corpus that studies the Partition of India. One, he provides a theoretical underpinning to understand why people living peacefully for many generations can become so aggressive and hostile to each other all of a sudden. Two, he gleans much important information from official communications. Three, he interviews a large body of people who witnessed the carnage of Partition, evaluates their memories for veracity, provides us with one of the most comprehensive archive of what people went through at the time of Independence. Finally, he brings together all this information to provide us with, perhaps for the first time, a comprehensive account of what the people of the Punjab went through during Partition.

Ahmed brings to bear his skills as a political scientist to explain the politicking that went on during the time of Partition. The elections did not yield a clear majority to any particular political party. The result was that the political parties of Punjab began to posture wildly in order to attract popular support or at least prevent others from forming a stable government. The communal idiom came in handy for all. "Over my dead body" ceased to be a turn of phrase. Matters were not helped by political leaders who took too seriously their belief that they came from a warrior stock and that their so-called lineage compelled them to swing around the sword or worse.

To this was added the almost complete collapse of the administration. What little was left of government presence in those days itself became partial to communalism. The way had been opened for the goondas of all communities to take over the streets and attack people of the other community. Their ferocity easily overwhelmed the good people who tried to help out each other and contain the communal conflagration. Animosities, real or imagined, began to play out in a deadly drama that left over 1 million dead and 17 million displaced. Ahmed records all this in great detail.

By the time the tragedy had played out its first act, many more Muslims had been killed than Hindus and the Hindus and Sikhs had lost much more property than the Muslims. Narratives and analyses of the partition in India usually paper over this detail to portray Hindus as the helpless victims of Muslims with the Sikhs putting up a brave front to defend themselves and their neighbours. Ahmed judiciously sets the record straight by providing a large amount of oral and documentary evidence to the contrary from the district level. Much of it is also about the manner in which the Muslim League employed goondas to crush the "nationalist" Muslims, those who were against the creation of Pakistan and against the violence that was taking place.

The Communists on both sides of the border were confounded with the happenings around them. With a commitment to the idea of "self-determination" by the people of their political future they could merely rub their collective hands in helplessness while people went about creating a nation for themselves on the basis of religion inspired disorder.

Ahmed writes lightly yet manages to remain magisterial. If there is an absence in this book, it is about the gains made by the goondas through Partition. And if there is a flaw, it is of a sloppy proof reading and copy editing. To just point out two: it should have been easy to notice that the language of the Brahmins was not Sanskrit (p.26) and there was no SSP in Lahore in 1946-47 (p.153).

[Muhammad Syed · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only regret is that why I failed to read this earlier. An epic piece on United Punjab.

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book.
It is all of the adjectives that I have used in the title of the review.

It is very readable.
Extremely well researched, and balanced, it gives a marvellous insight into the happenings of the times. It took me some time before I had the courage to read the book, given that this is a rather emotional subject for me.
He starts with a chapter on ethnic cleansing, which I originally thought was not needed. Later, I realised the importance of this chapter.

There were surprises, like the alleged involvement of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. The antagonism between Mountbatten and Jinnah - no surprise.

The individual stories are heartwarming and heartbreaking.

People tend to come together, unless pulled apart by politicians. Sometimes they have tragic consequences like in the Punjab.

A brilliant book, and is a must read.

[Mihr Chand · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly detailed account of the circumstances surrounding Partition and the ethnic cleansing that followed after. It may be difficult to get through, but is heavily supported by extensive primary oral sources from both sides of the border.

[Mansoor Azam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a masterly account by Professor Ishtiaq Ahmed of the Partition days and the tragedy that befell to those who migrated across both sides of the border.

the author sets the tone early by quoting Amrita Pritam's Ode to Waris Shah, it's a tale drenched in blood and inhumanity. It moves the reader to tears again and again and again. It's a tale of how people turned into vultures for a variety of reasons, of humanity was murdered across Punjab in vast numbers. But then it's also a tale of how humanity survived through brave souls who rose up to the occasion and offered help and protection to those who over nightly were declared enemies by the community.

Spanning almost 550 pages this is a long read yet one longs for more by the end of it. For a reader not familiar with a map of Punjab there is an issue. It's not littered with maps as it should have been. There's a good referencing bibliography given with each chapter.

Basically the book is divided into to main parts; One consists of stories and incidents of people who migrated from West Punjab to East Punjab and the other vice versa. the first part is dense by comparison.

The author makes use of old published accounts, British official records, government reports and then from self conducted interviews from the survivors of the ordeal.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the study of Partition. it opens the eyes. I shall go as far as to say it should be made part of syllabus so that we know that atrocities occurred at both ends. That we have a torrid past, in a hope that we can learn from it.

[Ather Sheheryar]

heart-piercing experience to know how people, especially my co-religionists, i.e., Muslims, went very very very mad. Mere reading of atrocities left me sleepless at nights I would read it. Knowing good people on both sides did support faith in humanity. I know I cannot undo an iota of the pain, but still I want to apologize to the victims of Punjabi and other Muslims. In this age, I find that longevity of our life isn't long enough to warrant hate.

[Siddharth Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has it all. It should serve as an encyclopedia for anyone who wants to know anything about the Partition. Great research put on paper. Kudos to the author!

[Book Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Punjab, Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed" by Ishtiaq Ahmed provides a comprehensive and insightful examination of the tumultuous events surrounding the partition of British India in 1947. Ahmed skillfully navigates the complex historical landscape, offering a detailed account of the violent upheaval that took place in Punjab.The book delves into the political, social, and human dimensions of partition, shedding light on the devastating consequences for the people of Punjab. Ahmed's meticulous research and nuanced analysis make this book a valuable resource for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of this pivotal period in South Asian history.

The 1947 partition of India set in motion the largest human migration in history, skewering notions of nationality, citizenship and identity and further subjecting migrants to shocking violence and exploitation as they became refugees within their previously unified state. The effects of partition were, and remain to be, ubiquitous, resulting in a vast overhaul of society from the realms of high politics to the grass root community. The Radcliff Line implemented under British colonial authority created two new independent sovereign nations with membership of the British Commonwealth. 

Without a doubt, the March 1940 Lahore Resolution adopted by the Muslim League, that demanded separate states for Muslims in the Muslim-majority areas, struck a huge blow to the traditional stability and communal harmony in the Punjab. It remains a moot point what direction the Punjab would have taken if a Muslim League government had been installed which was impossible without the support of Sikhs, or the Congress or both. The most controversial move in the unfolding Partition drama was undoubtedly Mountbatten's decision to bring forward the date of Partition to mid-August 1947 instead of June 1948. Provocation for savagery can be dated to Calcutta riots or the Rawalpindi killings or the Shahalmi blaze but it was enough to fuel the animosity and seek revenge. 

Social capital, deriving from a shared Punjabi identity, began to dissipate when political entrepreneurs and ethnic activists shifted emphasis on differences and conflicts from the real and imagined past as well as present. One thing to note that while Muslims were the majority in Punjab but they were limited to the working class. It was the Non-Muslims i.e., Hindus and Sikhs being the land/business owners were the most prosperous communities which provided more towards the economic capital of Punjab. One can make an argument that the partition of the Punjab was most certainly a very attractive proposition for those seeking material benefit out of the crimes against humanity that they partook in. However, one can also make an observation that more Muslims perished in East Punjab than Hindus and Sikhs together in West Punjab. There are roughly ten million Punjabis that had become unwanted minorities, and force and terror were used to get rid of them. This was achieved through a loss of somewhere between 500,000 to 750,000 lives. 

A verse by Ustad Daman:

Lali ankhian di pai dasdi ay
Roay toosi vi o roasy asi vi aan
(The redness of the eyes tells us 
That both of us have wept)

This topic is of importance to me because my grandparents migrated from Pakistan to India during the 1947 partition. I cannot imagine what my grandfather (nana) went through to start his life all over again, join the Indian Army and the emotions he must have gone through to serve in the Indo-Pak 1965 war.  Maybe we can learn something from our prior generations and their indefatigability to ensure the future generations can prosper. 

P.S. I also learned something about my family and my ancestors. We are Hussaini Brahmis, also known as Mohyal Brahmins with their famous clans of Ditts, Balis, Chibber, Vaids, Mohans were once found all over Punjab. Unlike the other Punjabi Brahmin they were engaged in agriculture and sought employment in police  and military services. Their forefathers had settled in Arabia and one of their ancestors, Rahab Sidh Dutt, and his sons fought on the side of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussain, at the battle of Karbala in AD 680. They died fighting along with Hussain and his other followers. Some members of the family survived and returned to the Punjab. 

It's a wonderful book that provides a smorgasbord of information complemented with moving stories from individuals that witnessed the savagers with their own eyes. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand how Punjab was partitioned. Thank you to my cousin for recommending this book to me and to my sister for shipping this book to me from India despite her limited stay. 

[Peanut Butter Jelly Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was eye opening, brutal, demoralizing, hopeful, humorous, and a bit of a tear jerker. Ah, history.

The story of Partition is one I've always wanted to understand properly, and I requested a relatively unbiased source when I was looking for books on the subject. This one delivered. I truly felt like I went on a journey—through all these regions of the old Punjab, seeing all that happened during those tumultuous years. People of all backgrounds who actively went against the teachings of their faiths somehow in the name of their faiths is of course, another tale as old as time. All you can do is read in horror at what group hatred can do and the ills of creating these religious ethnostates which we apparently still have yet to learn from. (I truly can't believe people in India are still advocating for the creation of MORE ethnostates when this shit happened so recently like...???) It reminds you of the ugliest parts of humanity, and reminds very strongly that these same conflicts are happening now, happening then, happening forever. Raising of course the ultimate question of, Are we doomed to always try to oppress each other out of fear that we would otherwise be oppressed? Is this an evolutionary drive we can never erase?

Or perhaps more broadly, "Are we [humanity] the baddies?" I still struggle with the answer to that question. The sentiments expressed in this book are frequently that on a large scale we are horrible. Cold blooded murder, looting, raping, honour killing, all kind of horrors are explicitly described in this book, as something people of all backgrounds took part in as a mob mentality brought on by fear and religious differences accentuated by the British rule and the power vacuum that appeared as those dickheads were leaving. Some of the first hand accounts were from people who literally took part in the murders of the other side, for god's sake, and people on the record saying they hate the other group for all they did to their family, people who wouldn't allow certain groups to eat at their tables or off their plates because they were too different etc. It's enough to make one question all your optimism.

But there are also ground-level stories that deeply moved me by the gentleness and kindness and affection we can treat each other with. Sometimes at great risk to ourselves, sometimes against social norms, against all odds. Sometimes we were wonderful, truly. We welcomed each other into our homes, at our dining tables, we played together and learned together as children and as adults we raised other's children as our own. We missed each other when we were separated. We cried when we were united. We defended each other against angry mobs, we angrily declared that this wasn't what our faiths fought for. We hid each other, helped each other get to the border to a safe place. We welcomed each other back to our ancestral homes decades later to heal some of the heartbreak. And, we still watch the border that divides us and reminisce about the time we were united.

Of course, we are all capable of being the baddies. Just as we are capable of the opposite. We focus on the horrors a lot because it's important to learn from them, but I do believe it is equally important to learn from the good we have done for each other. Case in point: Frequently in this book, it was the good deeds between people that saved them, that allowed humanity to peek through when all seemed lost. That was the only effective thing that in the throes of bloodthirst had the power to give mobs momentary pause, to make people think twice, to remember, they are human, and to remember, so am I.

Some parts of the book were unintentionally funny. Like the part where someone said that when he saw the horrors going on, he thought God must have died or taken a sedative to avoid what his children were doing. Or when the author said the Muslims and Sikhs were both operating under the "delusion" that they'd get Amritsar and Lahore, respectively, and were left shocked when that didn't happen. or the part where someone was recounting the wild massacres he'd seen and the guy he was talking to was like "Kill them all" and he was like "?? what kind of advice is this??" and concluded the dude must be in the throes of delirium.

Anyway. This was a deeply insightful book, and I'm glad I read it.

[Muhammad Osama Yousaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

In that book, I put nearly 900 bookmarks, so you can imagine how important it is. Without a doubt, it is highly recommended, and every Punjabi should read it.
This book depicts a detailed account of the partition of Punjab, covering almost all topics.

The Muslim League's demand for India's partition is the fundamental reason for the partition of Punjab mentioned in this book.
The Muslim League demands a separate Muslim state based on the disparity between Muslims and other castes. In practice, however, their logic failed miserably, and Pakistan remains a pro-capitalist country with the same economic disparities as before.
Punjab would have been united if Muslims had not demanded a separate Muslim state, but due to India's divide, Punjab's division is inevitable.

The Britishers had a key part in splitting India, although it's unlikely that they had the notion to divide Punjab. Punjab was divided after Sikh and Hindu demand.

Second, the massacre in Punjab can be stopped if the British want it to be stopped, but evidence shows that they were behind the Rawalpindi massacre in March and were providing a platform for Muslims to do so because they think this type of violence will lead to their plan of India's division.

Third, the British did not use their army men to stop the massacre; instead, they stood by and watched as people were slaughtered. The death toll could be reduced if British troops were present to protect the partitioned areas.

Fourth, the inept and biassed Punjab boundary force was unable of dealing with any crisis. They are vastly outnumbered and biassed in favor of their respective religions. This vacuum could have been filled by summoning troops from other countries, but the British did not do so.

Fifth, even in the outlying districts of Punjab, such as Gurgaon, Muslims in East Punjab did not know whether they were going to India or Pakistan until the Red Cliff award. They were given false optimism by the Muslim League that their districts would become part of Pakistan.

Sixth, Mountbatten announced India's division ahead of schedule, causing chaos, and his involvement in the Punjab boundary award was one of two main measures that contributed to the bloodbath that followed.

Last but not least, the Sikh plan to eliminate all Muslims from East Punjab remains one of the most heinous atrocities perpetrated by the Sikhs; whatever reason they offer, such cruelty cannot be condoned.

In the end, the Muslim League, RSS, Akali Sikhs, and the British are all responsible for the heinous massacre.

[Sam Gurvinder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and long description of how a region living almost in harmony turned into river of blood and humiliation to each other .
This book goes deeper into political , religious and social causes of of question , "why it happened "
The accounts of survivers are shocking , disturbing and emotional .
This book is one of best account of what happened before and between partition .
Every Punjabi of both Panjabs should read this book .

[Gunmeet Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very detailed account of Punjab through the troubled time of 1947. A lot of personal accounts reinforce the message of utter savagery that Punjabis resorted to, with humanity and common decency lost. For any measure of rapprochement, Punjabis need to collectively learn and then atone for the sins of their earlier generations. This book is a step in that direction

[Munish Handa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense
The author has done a hell of a job to collate all the first person accounts of those who survived the holocaust that the Brits brought to us
“ ….. Roye tussi vi ho te roye assi vi haan” of Ustad Daman sum up the emotions as the Punjabi Identity was butchered by politics of religion

[Kamran Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book offers a very through and detailed account of what happened during Punjab partition. Unfortunately things were not as straight forward as they are taught in schools, yes even today.

This book is well researched and provides all the references.

[Abrar saiyed · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an eye-opener
So much brutality and death in name of religion and nationalism

[Shamoon Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Very detailed and to the point.

[Satinder Mullick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books with documents from Secret British letters and telegrams by Governor of West Punjab ,Francis Mudie and by Jenkins ,Governor of both West and East Punjab before Aug.14th,1947 to Mountbatten from Aug.1-13 th ,1947.
Jenkins gave great details of events leading to bloodshed and Mudie sent a letter to Jinnah confirming that "No Sikhs will remain in West Punjab".Ahmed confirmed that letter with Mudie.
Ahmed confirmed that massacre in Sikh villages near Rawalpindi in March ,1947,when British took one week to send Army there(Rawalpindi had a big Army cantonment with ready soldiers). Also why Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan kept their silence on this massacre? He talked to Ambassdor Moni Chadha who lost most of his family there.
Later,Ahmed found the key culprit behind Shahalmi fire in June,1947 in Lahore who provided 2 pages detailed account of how he was recruited to light the fire,how Magistrate Cheema arranged a Muslim Police sub-inspector to be on duty and provided kerosene to mix that in water drums. I saw that fire and I knew that police was behind it and Kerosene was mixed in water but I did not Know Magistrate Cheema planned it. Cheema burnt most of Lahore after that from Aug.10-13th,1947 with Baluch Regiment joining in on Aug.14th in killing Indian Army soldiers and Non-Muslim refugees headed to Amritsar.
Ahmed has provided daily telegrams by Governor Jenkins of United Punjab from Aug.1-13th Aug.,1947 To Mountbatten ,Viceroy of India. He also included the letter from Governor Francis Mudie to Jinnah,which he confirmed with Mudie.
Ahmed calculated the killings and migration data from various official reports and confirmed them with First-Person accounts from Muslims and Non-Muslims in West and East Punjab. I am amazed at his balanced writing without being influenced by his past.
Two books-one by Durga Das and the other by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre have my respect for balanced reporting. But Ishtiaq Ahmed book answers my memories of my experiences in 1947 in Dharampura,Lahore. I now believe that our house was looted around Aug.13-14th and not Aug.17-18th in the presence of Capt.Ghosh and 6 Indian soldiers.Muslim JCO gave a correct account to my father that when he went to our house,looting was over and he found 3 pieces of furniture that belonged to me. This JCO was incharge of burying dead bodies or cremating them using his heavy bull dozers of Military Engineering Services near the Attari-Wagah border.He came from Lahore Cantonment daily. We knew situation was deteriorating in July,1947,but did not know that it was 99% over by Aug.14th,1947 in Lahore during my father's absence (leave)from his job in Lahore Cantonment to pick us up in Dalhousie. Because of Logistics nightmare,we were stuck in Dalhousie but finally reached Delhi in mid Oct.,1947. Unknown to many,Muslim SSO-Captain flew Pakistan Flag in Dalhousie on Aug.14th,1947. That flag was taken down on Aug.17th and India's flag was flown on 17th Aug.,1947 by an elderly Sikh gentleman in the middle of Dalhousie-3 miles from Cantonment.

[Sukhwant Dhesy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read and delivers a balanced view to help explain the chaos and tragedy that ensued to all Punjabis during the partition. Dr. Isthiaq Ahmed does a great job on explaining how mob mentality works and societal urges to align with groups that have like minded agendas. Phenomenal read and very much advised to add to you list for those looking to learn about a combined Punjabi heritage.

[Aashish Upadhyay · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my history assignment.

[Rahul Khanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart wrenching story of partition with hundreds of anecdotes by the eye witnesses.

[Gurpreet Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best!

[Chan Chowdhry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent narrative of partition . It's a must read for all who want to know what lead to horror of partition . It gives an inside to the liberal minded people but shortage of commodities, returning soldiers carrying rifles and nothing to do .