“I was going home after 71 years”: The emotional ‘homecoming’ of an Indian in Pakistan

[Tps43]

El Sidd recently Met an Indian businessmen who comes from your region. he was almost crying remembering your region. he Drew a little map of some village and could remember even the well. peaceful old family man.

El Sidd and uncles discussed politics among Social issues in the region.

uncles hugged El Sidd 3 times while saying goodbye.

Can u ask el sidd to explain this me in more detail in pm

 

[El Sidd]

Can u ask el sidd to explain this me in more detail in pm

Pata nahi choro El Sidd ka apna mamla hoga. awein beech me paren.

remember he dead

 

[Tps43]

Pata nahi choro El Sidd ka apna mamla hoga. awein beech me paren.

remember he dead

like tps 77 he is dead as well?

 

[El Sidd]

like tps 77 he is dead as well?

bhai apne khud mara hai. Retired Troll bacha hai. wo bhi thook do

 

[Tps43]

bhai apne khud mara hai. Retired Troll bacha hai. wo bhi thook do

El Sidd ne khudkushi ki hai, tps 77 shaheed hoa tha , abb tps 43 ko bhi shaheed karwa do

 

[El Sidd]

El Sidd ne khudkushi ki hai, tps 77 shaheed hoa tha , abb tps 43 ko bhi shaheed karwa do

edda to cutie pie tommy or hum bhow bhow

 

[Tps43]

edda to cutie pie tommy or hum bhow bhow

bhow bhow nhi hai lakin meow meow zaroor hain

 

[Awan68]

It is strong tradition amongst muslims to honour thy guests with thier lives and that is what was on display here.

It has nothing to do with the writer bieng Indian. He didnt get that treatment because he was Indian. Every foreigner that vists Pakistan narrates the same story about how welcoming and hospitable the people of Pakistan are. This is who we are.

This hopitality however should not be confused with the feeling of the nation towards India. Rest assured we will disember and break the hindutva state the first chance we get.

The wars of 65 and 71 were honourable ventures fought the warriors way between professional militaries but the hindutva state crossed the line when they used groups like TTP and BLA under the umbrella of the United States to massacre over 50k innocent Pakistanis in the past 2 decades.

We will never forget that, we will never forget the children of APS, we will walk knee deep in Brahmin blood for that and Dalits, Sikhs, Maoists and countless other opressed ethinicities of the hindutva state will walk with us, hand in hand. Honour demands it.

Welcome to Pakistan. Enjoy the mountains, one of them is called Hindu Kush.

 

[Yashal Jalil Chishti]

“I was going home after 71 years”: The emotional ‘homecoming’ of an Indian in Pakistan

“I am going home… after 71 years.”

I mumbled something along those lines to passengers sitting beside me, while taking a flight from Karachi to Islamabad on Christmas morning.

Late in October, a friend of mine who is like an elder brother and a bitter critic of Indian state policies, asked me for my passport. I quickly took some pictures and sent it over to him. A week later, he sent me an affidavit with an invitation to his daughter’s wedding in Karachi that was to be held in late December.


And that is how my journey of going home began.

It is quiet pertinent to share my family origin, given my ‘unusual’ interest in Pakistan.

I belong to a family with roots in Potohar which is around Pindi. We were uprooted in the upheaval that accompanied the Partition of the subcontinent 71 years ago. Cyril Radcliffe had first separated the people by drawing a line between them and then the affairs of the state made it impossible to maintain a kinship between people who had lived together for thousands of years and shared common heritage.

When it looked like I might actually cross Radcliffe’s line, I began going through a tumult of emotions. It wasn’t overwhelming initially; however, as the day to leave grew closer, I somehow lost the sense of balance and composure. It felt no less than a pilgrimage to me. To visit the land of your ancestors, land of your people and your soil is a sacred concept in ancient beliefs and that is something I identify with. I had essentially grown up with my late grandmother reminiscing about our home in Potohar. The home where she was born, where she spent a large part of her life, where she got married and had kids, these memories and places remained very dear to her.

While others who migrated had reconciled and knew India as their home, my grandmother had not forgotten where she came from and always spoke fondly of that life. Listening to her talk about her memories, I grew close to that home of the past.

On December 21st, I crossed the white line at Wagah for the first time. The first Pakistanis I met were the ones I had already been talking to on social media and on the phone and thus they meant a great deal to me. Over the next many days, I realised that Pakistan had somehow preserved and retained what existed 71 years ago; its culture was more organic and full of feelings.

On the day of my arrival, I spent a good while at the Lahore Airport since my flight to Karachi had been delayed for over six hours. Azeem, a Facebook friend from Lahore who was travelling back home from Karachi, had just landed at the Lahore Airport when he discovered on Facebook that I was around. He called me on Messenger and we were overjoyed at this chance and manner of meeting. It was some coincidence!

After arriving in Karachi, I met many people who I felt a very strong bond and kinship with and something within me spontaneously reciprocated the love, affection and warmth. There were four other visitors from India and they were all received with the same fondness. I had brunch, lunch and dinner invitations the next day and had many visitors lined up. However for me, the most significant leg of this visit was only beginning.

On Christmas morning, I was struggling to keep my composure as I had a flight to Islamabad later in the day. Oddly enough, those standard chores ahead of the flight managed to divert my thoughts and attention for some time. However, as I comfortably sat in the flight that Christmas morning, the avalanche of emotions came rushing back with its absolute and final force. Two passengers sitting beside me offered me a tissue and that’s when I told them I was going home after 71 years. Throughout the journey, I kept looking at what appeared to be the landscape of Potohar, starting with the Salt Range.

Upon landing at the Islamabad Airport, I could sense that I was home. I had journeyed to the land that’s my own and as my friend and host in Islamabad put it, the land of my ancestors. There is something about strong roots, roots that go deep. They are often felt for a very long time; they resonate for long or possibly forever. However, fate often dictates a different course for individuals, communities and nations.

Over the past few decades, the Indian state, media and society have cultivated a picture of Pakistan that is far removed from reality. I can say this because I witnessed the reality firsthand during the 11 days of my visit to Karachi, Islamabad and even Lahore, albeit that was only for a few hours due to transit. The experiences I had in Pakistan go beyond words. If I were to venture describing them, I would only say that they defy all negative stereotypes that India and its people have associated with the country. I came across no hostility or negativity during my time here, which is often a misconception ascribed by visitors. With the kind of experience I had in Pakistan during these 11 days, I feel we do a great disservice to our common humanity by putting a premium on politics.

My visit to Pakistan had a very selfish and personal agenda: to touch base with my roots. I wanted to be able to go deeper and farther into the past that I had grown up hearing and feeling so much about. It is probably apt to mention another visitor, a pilgrim who managed to create something enormous out of a very poignantly-felt first visit. This first visit was followed by many more and it gave life to a cause: to rediscover and highlight a heritage lost. Amardeep Singh’s campaign is only gaining strength with each day. His first visit was also made memorable due to his strong feelings and the warmth, love and support he received from several ordinary Pakistanis, who joined him in his campaign with all their passion and all their earnest.

I would also like to thank the many people who made this visit a memorable one: Malik Rashid and Rabi Bashir in Lahore, Tariq Jamil Khan, Dr Yasmin Qazi and Dr Fasih in Karachi, Dr Uzma Anjum, Dr Omar Qureshi, Haroon Mustafa Janjua, Fatehul Mulk Ali Nasir and Osama Malik in Islamabad. There were several other individuals who out of love and affection did so much for me that I hope I never forget that feel of Pakistan, one of pure and unbridled joy. It restored my faith in the goodness of humanity.

I went to Lahore from Islamabad on December 31st and returned to India via Wagah on January 1st. Every time someone asks me if I have come back home, I correct them and tell them that I have come back from home.

Media is the biggest hurdle between good relations of India and Pakistan.

 

[Whirling_dervesh]

Are you retarded mentally or just with the use of the English language?

Before you try and advise people on the english language, try and learn to write a proper sentence in english. The correct term is:

"Are you mentally retarded?"

Regards WD

 

[MultaniGuy]

“I was going home after 71 years”: The emotional ‘homecoming’ of an Indian in Pakistan

“I am going home… after 71 years.”

I mumbled something along those lines to passengers sitting beside me, while taking a flight from Karachi to Islamabad on Christmas morning.

Late in October, a friend of mine who is like an elder brother and a bitter critic of Indian state policies, asked me for my passport. I quickly took some pictures and sent it over to him. A week later, he sent me an affidavit with an invitation to his daughter’s wedding in Karachi that was to be held in late December.


And that is how my journey of going home began.

It is quiet pertinent to share my family origin, given my ‘unusual’ interest in Pakistan.

I belong to a family with roots in Potohar which is around Pindi. We were uprooted in the upheaval that accompanied the Partition of the subcontinent 71 years ago. Cyril Radcliffe had first separated the people by drawing a line between them and then the affairs of the state made it impossible to maintain a kinship between people who had lived together for thousands of years and shared common heritage.

When it looked like I might actually cross Radcliffe’s line, I began going through a tumult of emotions. It wasn’t overwhelming initially; however, as the day to leave grew closer, I somehow lost the sense of balance and composure. It felt no less than a pilgrimage to me. To visit the land of your ancestors, land of your people and your soil is a sacred concept in ancient beliefs and that is something I identify with. I had essentially grown up with my late grandmother reminiscing about our home in Potohar. The home where she was born, where she spent a large part of her life, where she got married and had kids, these memories and places remained very dear to her.

While others who migrated had reconciled and knew India as their home, my grandmother had not forgotten where she came from and always spoke fondly of that life. Listening to her talk about her memories, I grew close to that home of the past.

On December 21st, I crossed the white line at Wagah for the first time. The first Pakistanis I met were the ones I had already been talking to on social media and on the phone and thus they meant a great deal to me. Over the next many days, I realised that Pakistan had somehow preserved and retained what existed 71 years ago; its culture was more organic and full of feelings.

On the day of my arrival, I spent a good while at the Lahore Airport since my flight to Karachi had been delayed for over six hours. Azeem, a Facebook friend from Lahore who was travelling back home from Karachi, had just landed at the Lahore Airport when he discovered on Facebook that I was around. He called me on Messenger and we were overjoyed at this chance and manner of meeting. It was some coincidence!

After arriving in Karachi, I met many people who I felt a very strong bond and kinship with and something within me spontaneously reciprocated the love, affection and warmth. There were four other visitors from India and they were all received with the same fondness. I had brunch, lunch and dinner invitations the next day and had many visitors lined up. However for me, the most significant leg of this visit was only beginning.

On Christmas morning, I was struggling to keep my composure as I had a flight to Islamabad later in the day. Oddly enough, those standard chores ahead of the flight managed to divert my thoughts and attention for some time. However, as I comfortably sat in the flight that Christmas morning, the avalanche of emotions came rushing back with its absolute and final force. Two passengers sitting beside me offered me a tissue and that’s when I told them I was going home after 71 years. Throughout the journey, I kept looking at what appeared to be the landscape of Potohar, starting with the Salt Range.

Upon landing at the Islamabad Airport, I could sense that I was home. I had journeyed to the land that’s my own and as my friend and host in Islamabad put it, the land of my ancestors. There is something about strong roots, roots that go deep. They are often felt for a very long time; they resonate for long or possibly forever. However, fate often dictates a different course for individuals, communities and nations.

Over the past few decades, the Indian state, media and society have cultivated a picture of Pakistan that is far removed from reality. I can say this because I witnessed the reality firsthand during the 11 days of my visit to Karachi, Islamabad and even Lahore, albeit that was only for a few hours due to transit. The experiences I had in Pakistan go beyond words. If I were to venture describing them, I would only say that they defy all negative stereotypes that India and its people have associated with the country. I came across no hostility or negativity during my time here, which is often a misconception ascribed by visitors. With the kind of experience I had in Pakistan during these 11 days, I feel we do a great disservice to our common humanity by putting a premium on politics.

My visit to Pakistan had a very selfish and personal agenda: to touch base with my roots. I wanted to be able to go deeper and farther into the past that I had grown up hearing and feeling so much about. It is probably apt to mention another visitor, a pilgrim who managed to create something enormous out of a very poignantly-felt first visit. This first visit was followed by many more and it gave life to a cause: to rediscover and highlight a heritage lost. Amardeep Singh’s campaign is only gaining strength with each day. His first visit was also made memorable due to his strong feelings and the warmth, love and support he received from several ordinary Pakistanis, who joined him in his campaign with all their passion and all their earnest.

I would also like to thank the many people who made this visit a memorable one: Malik Rashid and Rabi Bashir in Lahore, Tariq Jamil Khan, Dr Yasmin Qazi and Dr Fasih in Karachi, Dr Uzma Anjum, Dr Omar Qureshi, Haroon Mustafa Janjua, Fatehul Mulk Ali Nasir and Osama Malik in Islamabad. There were several other individuals who out of love and affection did so much for me that I hope I never forget that feel of Pakistan, one of pure and unbridled joy. It restored my faith in the goodness of humanity.

I went to Lahore from Islamabad on December 31st and returned to India via Wagah on January 1st. Every time someone asks me if I have come back home, I correct them and tell them that I have come back from home.

So what? who cares.

Before partition, even though my family are Pathans ethnically, we used to live in Delhi, Agra, and Jodhpur.

But we knew the realities, we needed a country of our own which was Pakistan.

Good riddance.

Media is the biggest hurdle between good relations of India and Pakistan.

Wow are you even Pakistani?

Do you know what it felt like to be a Pathan in Delhi or in Agra?

Muslims were facing persecution in those cities during partition.

Thankfully we got Pakistan.

I also heard Muslims were killed in Jammu and in East Punjab during the Partition riots.

And you guys want to soften up because of one guy coming to Pakistan? lol?

Muslims did wrong too in partition, but my family made the right choice going to Pakistan during Partition.

Yes partition was the right thing to do.

Thanks goodness.

You're naivety is beyond recognition, no one here is fooled by sentiments. Being a Muslim, I respect other faiths, but not at the cost of my own. Every Muslim knows that, and if you don't, then you're living on a different planet. There is no compromise on faith for a Muslim. You are the one that needs to wake the heck up. Islam has been in this region close to 1000 years. Yet hindus (some among them) hate Islam. And india allies itself with israel. Only blind idiots pander to sentiments. Peace is what we pursue, but not at any price.

Both Russia and China have courted india to come to it's senses and join them. China has even invited india into SCO. Why do suppose China would do that? Especially when it has border disputes with india and particularly when india allies itself with america. Pakistan too has understood the strategic importance of india being part of SCO and a power bloc which can challenge NATO. It is for this reason, the government and the army are still trying to pursue peace with india. But these indiots are idiots, consumed by hubris.

There is no friggin home for those who still think Pakistan was india. I ask everyone this, for those who still believe the two countries are one, what do you suppose the fate of all Muslims would if that were the case? Every idiot has conveniently forgotten Babri Masjid and Gujrat Massacre? Yup fools who live in fools paradise. Keep living there bud!

China invited India into SCO as a counterweight to the west.

But in reality India is with USA.

Anyways we will see what happens.

 

[M. Sarmad]

Wow are you even Pakistani?

So, any Pakistani who wants peace with India cannot be a Pakistani, according to you?
Such kind of bigotry is really harmful.

 

[MultaniGuy]

So, any Pakistani who wants peace with India cannot be a Pakistani, according to you?
Such kind of bigotry is really harmful.

I want to have peace with Republic of India, but at the same time Kashmir needs to be resolved first.

So, any Pakistani who wants peace with India cannot be a Pakistani, according to you?
Such kind of bigotry is really harmful.

I have nothing against any community or culture.

I am saying resolve Kashmir first, and India must accept Pakistan as a separate and sovereign country with a different culture.

 

[War Thunder]

Unfortunately, I was not educated by subjugating myself to the English over there in the land of Britons.
So we take liberty with and how we write instead of being dependent on a system to tell us how to be slaves of a system. But instead, how to use a system to portray a meaning as and how we please.

And now since your skills with reasoning revolve around finding flaws in the language, where the logic escapes over your head, or you're just too egoistic to let it go, so keep living that tiny existence of yours