Curse of partition undone after 50 years, lost brothers unite

Abhishek
RS Pura, Apr 12—It took fifty years for a family to undo the curse of partition but still the scars of that horrible event can not be erased even now.
The joy which went out of the lives of the family of late Chattar Singh living at Simble Camp, near the border town of RS Pura, returned when his long lost son came back to meet them from across the border, where he was left behind along with family members during the holocaust.
The family here is now headed by Chattar Singh’s son Harbans Singh, who now lives here in Simble camp.
With the improving relations between India and Pakistan, an increasing number of visitors from Pakistan many of whom are part of divided families are coming here to pick up the lost threads.
It was only after a sustained search which lasted half a century, that Harbans Singh’s brother, now known as Sheikh Abdul Aziz could find his lost family in R S Pura.
Yesterday, when Aziz came from across the border, he was given a emotional welcome not only by his family members here, but the entire Simble camp gathered to meet the visitor from Pakistan.
As soon as Harbans Singh saw his brother Aziz, he could not control himself and embraced his brother as to make for the lost fifty years, since they were parted in the melee of partition.
The tragic tale of this family begins from Poonch town, where the family headed by their father Chattar Singh lived in 1947.
Family members said that when the situation became volatile in the area which they lived, they joined a group of people coming to this side of border.
While coming to this side, Chatter Singh lost contact with his family members, due to the prevailing confusion caused by the rioters as a result of which he alone managed to reach Jammu.
Here, he reached Simble camp and after a prolonged search for his family, he married a local woman Harbans Kour and started a new family.
In the meanwhile, his three sons, who remained in Pakistan also settled there and adopted Islam and began life afresh there.
It was only few years back that Singh came to know that his family members had survived partition and were living there.
Thereafter, both families got in touch and started exchanging letters, and many a times plans were made and unmade to meet each other.
It was only after the relations between India and Pakistan improved that it become possible for Chattar Singh’s son Paramjeet Singh aka Sheikh Abdul Aziz to visit his lost family in India.