Home Interview Partition Story: Dayanand Mandhan’s journey from Kamu Shaheed to Bilaspur

Partition Story: Dayanand Mandhan’s journey from Kamu Shaheed to Bilaspur

0
Partition Story: Dayanand Mandhan’s journey from Kamu Shaheed to Bilaspur
Dayanand Mandhan

“My mother was very daring; she used to ride horses and swim in the canal. She never bothered about what anyone would say. My elder sister was also like her. My mother wanted her to be fearless…and she was,” Mandhan says.

By Citizen Historian Nita Bulani Thomas and Kavita Bulani

Dayanand Mandhan was born in 1935 in Kamu Shaheed, a village in Sindh. He lived in a large joint family with his brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, and cousins. They had farms which his father managed, and also did business in ghee (clarified butter). One of his uncles, a cloth merchant, knew the code language used for bookkeeping, he recalls.

Being the youngest in the family of three brothers and two sisters, Mr. Mandhan was his mother’s favorite. He remembers being taught to swim in the canal by his uncle and brothers by being thrown into it. He also used to walk to the neighboring village of Kot Sabzal to watch performances of plays like “Danveer Harishchandra” and “Dharamveer Karan.” He played kabaddi, Malkhamb, and swam in the canal with his friends in the villages of Reti and Kot Sabzal.

Mandhan was a bright and intelligent student, and remembers his teacher Gul Mohammad Dahar who had hopes of sending him abroad for further studies. He enjoyed going to school and competing with his friends in solving math problems.

Mandhan was 12 years old at the time of Partition in 1947. He says that there was no violence in Kamu Shaheed. The relations between different communities in his village were friendly, according to Mandhan. They celebrated festivals together; he remembers visiting his friends’ houses for Eid. The local leader assured the communities full protection. Some of his family members in Kot Sabzal, however, were attacked and killed, he recalls.

In September 1947, prompted by the violence elsewhere, his family joined a group formed by volunteers and moved to the town of Daharki, where they stayed for six months. Mandhan remembers doing odd jobs to earn some money, while also trying to keeping up with his education. From Daharki, they went to Karachi, where they stayed at the temple. He remembers some members of the group ventured outside and were attacked, so for about 15 days, they stayed inside the temple until they could leave for Mumbai by ship. It took them three days to reach Mumbai, by which time more had perished due to illness.

Once they reached Mumbai, they were put up at the Kalyan camp. Meanwhile, Mandhan’s sisters and their families had reached the Chakarbhata camp in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, via land. So his family decided to shift to Bilaspur. After about a year there, the community leaders decided to do something to help refugees start life anew. One group decided to stay on in Bilaspur and start businesses there, while another group moved to Amravati and Akola in Maharashtra, he remembers. Mandhan’s family decided to join the group moving to Amravati.

In Amravati, Mandhan resumed his schooling but was admitted to a lower class because he did not know Hindi, which was the medium of instruction. He had studied in Sindhi previously. His teachers helped him adapt to the change in language. Mandhan was keen to get a degree in engineering but the financial situation at home was not very good, so he did a short term course and received a diploma in engineering, after which he got a job with the government. Once he began receiving a salary, he helped his older brother set up a tailoring business. Soon the business took off and the family’s fortunes improved. Mandhan was meanwhile posted for work in remote tribal areas. The Banjara tribes populated the areas. He got along well with the local tribes and earned a lot of love and affection from the people.

His wife, daughters, and two sons sometimes accompanied him at his postings, and other times stayed with the extended family in Amravati. Now he is retired and lives with his joint family in Amravati, does yoga every morning, and helps out at his son’s electronic goods store.

Mandhan still remembers his birthplace and friends with a lot of affection. The desire to go back and visit was very strong but the government job put restrictions on his travel. Now, after his retirement, he still wishes to go back but his health does not permit him to travel, he shares. Mandhan’s message to all is to not be self-centered, to work together, and share knowledge.

_____________

Courtesy: Facebook page of The 1947 Partition Archive (Interview conducted in 2017)