Who was in Rawalpindi earlier than partition?

75 years have handed for the reason that institution of Pakistan and India. Right this moment, the residents on either side of the border have no idea how the political and social lifetime of the massive cities was earlier than the partition.

When Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs lived collectively, how did they relate to one another? How did partition have an effect on them and what occurred throughout it? We acquired the reply to those questions so far as town of Rawalpindi in an interview recorded by Dr. Kulant Singh Sethi in London within the Nineteen Eighties.

Dr. Kulant Singh Sethi’s father Dr. Amar Singh Sethi was a resident of Rawalpindi. This interview is with Dr. Amar Singh Sethi’s Muslim buddy Tariq Azam Chaudhry, who was a lawyer in Rawalpindi.

He belongs to the Waris Khan household, after whom Waris Khan is called after the Ganjanabad neighborhood of Rawalpindi. Waris Khan’s brother Chaudhry Zafarul Haq was additionally elected MP of Rawalpindi on a Mohammedan League ticket earlier than the formation of Pakistan.

Tariq Azam Chaudhry was the grandson of his youthful brother Chaudhry Gul Siraj. This interview was despatched to me by his son Chaudhry Fakhrzaman. This interview has a complete historical past and tradition of Rawalpindi.

Milkha Singh Thaye Puria, the founder of contemporary Rawalpindi

This Pindi which you individuals left was settled by Milkha Singh Thaypuria in 1763. Earlier than this, Pindi was dominated by the Bhattis and after them by the Ghakhas. The Bhatti space is alongside the Mall Street, known as Tench Bhatta.

Mall Street space is owned by Waraichs. Pindi Membership, Fleischmann’s Resort, Victoria Floor, all these are the world of ​​warachis coming from Jalalpur Jattan.

Among the homes had been of their dhok Piran Faqiran, when Pindi airport was constructed, their dhok was destroyed, then they settled in Naya Piran Faqiran, which known as Naya Mohalla. There are additionally some homes for ladies.

When Milkha Singh Thaypuria settled town, it retained the identify Rawalpindi. In 1763 Milkha Singh constructed the fort, with homes within the centre. Milkha Singh introduced expert staff from Bhera, Chakwal, Attock and Jhelum and settled right here.

After 36 years, Maharaja Ranjit Singh dominated Punjab. Across the metropolis settled by Milkha Singh was the street, which continues to be known as the round street, and the remaining had been surrounded by small dhokas.

When town started to broaden, the primary settlement to be established was known as Naya Mohalla, close to the Imperial Cinema.

Sajhan Singh Household

Among the many main nations that settled right here, there are Chadhes, who had been natives of Misriot particularly Rai Bahadur Karpal Singh, Rai Bahadur Sajhan Singh. Kirpal Singh was the Honorary Justice of the Peace within the first bench fashioned by the British.

A complete of seven individuals had been made Honorary Magistrates, together with Tara Singh, Malik Khazan Singh, Hyder Shah Singh Jani Wale, Pir Saddar Din Rajutar Wale, Sardar Jalal Din who was an Afghan and Siva Ram, a Hindu.

The final tehsildar in the course of the Sikh period was Kirpal Singh who was the uncle of Sardar Sajhan Singh. It was a well-known household of Pindi chieftains, whose home was in Shah Chan Chirag exterior the fort. Two parts of it nonetheless exist at this time. The Kirpal Singh portion is made from small bricks, the opposite portion was constructed by his nephew Sajhan Singh, which was accomplished in 1893.

All of the iron and wooden utilized in it had been procured from Glasgow. This home was situated exterior Sayed Puri Door. Kirpal Singh died in 1888.

The Sajhan Singh household got here underneath British scrutiny for a while as a result of they sided with Raja Nadir Khan Mandirawali within the Conflict of Independence in 1857, which resulted within the confiscation of their Katariyan property however Misriutwali was spared.

Kirpal Singh improved relations with the British, actively participated within the Afghan warfare, provided horses and animals. Sing Jani nonetheless has Sardar’s inn which was their transit camp, from the place items went to Afghanistan.

Then there was Sohan Singh Mohan Singh and many others. Nobody else acquired the consideration that this household acquired in Pindi. Sardar Sajhan Singh and his uncle Kirpal Singh earned this cash particularly in the course of the Anglo-Afghan Conflict.

Now Sajhan Singh constructed a home reverse his uncle, so a roof was placed on the road to attach the 2 homes and the homes had been joined throughout. Then when the railway line was laid right here in 1873, all of the railway sleepers had been additionally provided by Sajhan Singh.

At the moment, he constructed a mutton market at a price of two lakh rupees and handed it over to the cantonment. The Municipal Dispensary in Bani Chowk was additionally constructed and given to the Municipal Committee on the event of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1899.

Sajhan Singh donated 15,000 rupees to the Municipal Committee for medicines at the moment, the donation of which continues to be being obtained. Then he constructed Janj Ghar in Sardar Bagh, the place a big clock tower was put in, from which the sound of the bell might be heard all through town.

Sajhan Singh died in 1901, when the primary Kashmir warfare broke out, the Pathans fired and destroyed that clock tower.

Buildings there have been additionally set on hearth, together with a public library, one of many largest libraries of the time, named Hardeep Singh Library.

Sajhan Singh had two sons. Gardeep Singh and Hardeep Singh. Gardeep Singh married a dancer. He did not also have a beard, he stayed exterior the nation and died there.

Hardeep Singh had two sons, Sohan Singh and Mohan Singh. Hardeep Singh additionally died in 1904, when Sohan and Mohan had been nonetheless kids, so all of the property turned a court docket of ward. Lala Ram Chand Afsar Mal was appointed custodian of his property. When the Courtroom of Ward ended, these two brothers left the neighborhood.

He took up residence in one other giant bungalow of his personal above Gunj Thomas Street. He had one other bungalow on Mall Street, the Flagstaff Home, which housed the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Command.

When the bungalow turned vacant in 1924, Mohan Singh rebuilt it. It was a really lovely home which was the President’s Home of Pakistan for a very long time after the formation of Pakistan.

On the opposite facet of the street was Prince Kothi of Mohan Singh. It was known as Prince as a result of the Duke of Connaught, who was the son-in-law of Queen Victoria, was visiting there.

The wedding of the king of Phirwala to Princess Mangala

Kallar Wale Bedis had been large landowners, who got here from Taluna Sharif and settled right here. Half of his household was allotted squares by the British in Montgomery. The third largest landowners had been Sahni, Chaudhry Sarup Singh Sahni, Chaudhry Garmukh Singh Sahni and Chaudhry Ram Singh Sahni.

Dharam Singh, Hakim Singh, Vasava Singh Sahni, and many others. had been all landowners. The fourth was Alwaleed nation. Malik Khazan Singh was its founder who got here from Dera Khalsa. He was within the military of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and was later given the contract of taxation, from which he made a big fortune.

The household prospered in Pindi and purchased properties right here. The Raja of Phirwala married a princess Mangala close to Talla Jogian, with whom Aluwala had come as a private servant. Malik Mukhmin Singh and many others. All these had been Aloowali.

One other department of Alwalis got here from Sarai Salih Hazara. This was the household of Bhagat Jawahar Mill and many others. They had been Hindus and had been known as Bhagat in Rawalpindi. Bhagat Jawaharlal was a well-known lawyer. Lakshmi Narayan, Bhagat Saindas who practiced in Murree. In addition they had relations amongst themselves.

Jawaharlal and Bhagat Hiranand have additionally been large land lords. The entire space of ​​Tappa Band close to our homes was owned by Yashikh Saeed. Then the kiln of Bau Pratami Chinchache got here subsequent, then the backyard of Moti Ram and so forth. There was one other household of Chadhus which was not associated to Sajhan Singh and many others. Chaudhry Garmukh Singh Chadha was known as Chaudhry Mukha. Metropolis Sadar Street was all his.

Subsequent to our land was Mukha Singh Toha which is now known as Mukha Singh State. Mukha Singh had no kids. He inherited Sardarni Harnam Kaur, who was married to Captain Dhamodar Singh. In addition they had no kids. He additional inherited Niyamat Kaur. Lal Singh and Damudhar Singh lived within the new neighborhood.

Equally, Hira Singh Anand and Tera Singh are additionally household of zamindars however their lands had been much less. His place was as a result of his excessive jobs, however Sardar Sohan Singh’s second son from his first spouse Chhunder Singh was additionally Colonel Lal Singh’s son-in-law.

He died right here. The elder son Shamshir Singh was married on the home of Maharaja Jaind. Pindi’s first ICS (Indian Civil Servant) was additionally an Aluwalia Sikh named Hardit Singh Malik, who later turned the Prime Minister of Patiala State and India’s Ambassador to France.

Anand, Sahgal, Sethi and Sahni are outstanding Hindu households of Pindi

Among the many Hindus of Pindi, the 4 nations of Ananda, Sehgal, Sethi and Sahini had been the highest. Lala lived close to Ram Anand Novelty Cinema in Central.

He was the great-grandfather of Lala Devraj Anand, who was additionally the President of the Municipal Committee, typically Sita Ram would change into the President, typically Devraj would change into his rival. Sita Ram was the son of Bhera, the Bheras confirmed nice achievements in Pindi and earned an awesome identify by coming right here.

Sita Ramkarpa was one of many descendants of Ram & Brothers, which had a superstore at its head. A well-known man among the many Parsis was Seth Dhanji Bai whose tanga service ran from Rawalpindi to Kashmir which continued until 1919.

He had the Imperial Carriage Firm. Legs used to run in entrance of the GPO which reached Murree in 4 hours, Kashmir additionally reached Syria. They might change horses each fourth mile, and once they ran out of leg, they began the motors.

The founders of Motors had been ND Radha Kishan and Hari Ram Sethi. Lala Gond Ram Sethi was his elder. Their homes had been reverse Faculty Street. Three motor corporations operated from Rawalpindi. Bhai Sham Singh et al ran Amar Motors. All these had been vehicles, buses didn’t are available these days.

ND Radha Kishan and many others. had overland and dach vehicles. Seth Danjhibai died after a while and his son Homi couldn’t take over the enterprise and the work was discontinued.

Then individuals personally employed one automotive every, whose drivers had been additionally Muslims. Dr. Kapoor had a household in Lal Karti. Then there have been these of Bengal, an oil common all through India.

The Guptas had homes in Sadar. Then there was the neighborhood of girls. The Mohiyals of Pindi had been additionally a significant caste of Brahmins. There have been extra branches forward of them. Mohan, Bali, Dutt, Bhimwal, Leo and Chaban.

In Pindi, the Mohiyals had large homes and had nice personalities, for instance, Raizada Yug Jan Bali turned a revered man of Pindi. Equally, Bakshi Ibnashi Ram, whose home Nehru got here to, Bakshi Prathmichand who was a grasp, his son RM Bakshi, who turned a health care provider within the military in 1926 after finishing his doctorate from Wilayat.

He was a lieutenant colonel on the time of partition, remained in Pakistan after partition and was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1948. Earlier than his dying he went to India and died in Hyderabad Deccan.

Equally, there was Narendranath Mohan who went to India and made a reputation for himself. Among the many Mohiyals of Pindi, Rai Sahib Jamuna Das was additionally a revered man. Mohiyals used to publish their very own gazette. Indian Basic Zorwaar Chand Bakshi was additionally a patron of Pindi.

Equally, there was a road in Chhabran Mohyal in Pindi. Mehita Shulal Chhabar, who turned the ambassador, was additionally my buddy and had a home on the street subsequent to Committee Chowk.

Muslims of Pindi

The Muslims of Pindi had been very backward. Folks get indignant after we say that. Folks inform us that you just had relations with Hindu Sikhs, so we are saying that they had been equal to our standing at the moment.

Among the many Muslims, our solely household was named Grami. Even at this time individuals say that Chaudhary’s Pindi. Chaudhry Waris Khan and his father Chaudhry Madad Khan who turned members of the primary Municipal Committee. Solely in our household there have been three or 4 members of the municipal committee.

The rule of that point was that the President can be a Hindu, the Senior Vice President a Muslim and the Junior Vice President a Sikh. Bakshi Dilip Singh was the Junior Vice President for a very long time. Bhai Sham Singh Lagawala was additionally the Vice President. Our relationship was that of siblings.

The Muslims had not gone that far. Bohre Seth in Sadar, who got here from Bombay, and many others., was an awesome businessman. Their main man who made a reputation for himself in politics and enterprise was Seth Adamji.

Equally, Wazir Abadi Sheikh was additionally well-known in Sadr. Khan Bahadur Sheikh Ismail, who had an excellent enterprise known as Sheikh Ahmad Din & Brothers. Sheikh Abdul Majeed, Sheikh Muhammad Din and Sheikh Nabi Bakhsh Sadr had giant Muslim retailers and had been thought of respectable.

Sheikh Attaullah, brother of Sheikh Ismail, served as a provide to Sheikh Abdul Ghani of Gujarat. He lived in Dheri Hasanabad and did a variety of charity and likewise gave funds to Islamia Faculty.

There have been some Muslim households in Lal Karti too. Muslims within the cantonment space had been like salt in flour, amongst whom was Khan Sahib Sheikh Fazl Elahi.

The Murir Maliks, who had been Awans, owned appreciable property. He was a resident of Khai Awan, a village close to Rawat. Murir, Islamia Faculty space in entrance of Firm Bagh, the street from right here to the day by day cinema, all this space belonged to them.

One other main Muslim feudal lord was the Chaudhris of Dhok Rata Amaral. Chaudhry Bakhsh Khan was a resident of Chak Amaral, a village in Chountre. His sons Fateh Muhammad and Sher Muhammad had been additionally members of the Muslim League.

Among the many Muslims in Sadar, there was the property of Mamun ji and Luqman ji and many others. There have been solely homes on Kachhari Street, all belonging to Hindus and Sikhs, Muslims with thatched doorways. Some good homes in Sadar will need to have belonged to Muslims.

The primary posh space exterior town was Asghar Mall

Rawalpindi was a small city, confined to Kohati Bazaar No. Chongi. Past this was the cemetery of Parsis solely. Right here within the Chowk was the Kothi of Babe Garbakhsh Singh Bedi. Throughout the road was Shanti Sarup Bhagat, who made a fortune within the Kashmiri silk commerce. He constructed a Kothi known as Kashmir Gate, in entrance of which was the home of Hardit Singh Bhattewale.

When the individuals of Haripure, Kartarpure, Bhabarkhana turned wealthy, they began transferring out of town to construct large homes. Then Asghar Mall Street was constructed, named after Sheikh Asghar Ali, the then Commissioner.

Jahan was additionally the house of Malik Mukhmin Singh, Main Prithipal Singh, Rai Bahadur Hari Singh, Chunilal, son of Bau Pratnichand, son-in-law of Rai Bahadur Hari Singh. Going additional to Dussehra Maidan, the inhabitants would disappear.

Sardar Bahadur Chaudhry Sarup Singh constructed an enormous home right here. The home of Rai Bahadur Pandit Cho Narayana Das Mohan and many others. was right here. One other elite residence was known as Faculty Street, a street of docs and attorneys. The homes of Surjeet Singh, Dr. Bandra, Bhagat Lakshmi Narayan had been completely different.

On this street was the home of Sardar Bahadur Bayan Singh, Bakshi Gul Charan Singh. Earlier, Bakshi Dilip Singh lived there, who left the regulation and began contracting. Then large and delightful homes began being constructed on Murree Street. Sahib Singh and Thapar had been at residence. These had been 5 or seven homes which had been very lovely.

The canal was the demarcation of town and the cant. The street that results in Roz Cinema was then known as Sahni Street after Hans Raj Sahni, who was a lawyer and belonged to Bhere.

The Gordon Faculty Street and Murree Street began to change into posh settlements, however Rawalpindi Sadar’s space was mentioned to be the cleanest in all of India, which was the headquarters of the Northern Command. India had 5 instructions, one at Pindi. A lot of the house owners of properties and bungalows in Sadar had been Hindus and Sikhs.

The primary automotive was purchased by Nawab Muhammad Hayat Midday

Vehicles had been additionally owned by a number of individuals in Rawalpindi. The primary automotive got here to a non-public man in 1919. She belonged to Nawab Muhammad Hayat Midday who was the daddy of Sir Firoz Khan Midday. He was posted as ADM in Rawalpindi.

Sajhan Singh’s household was within the Courtroom of Ward at the moment. Later they acquired large lovely vehicles. Then Dr. Bandra additionally had a very good automotive.

Town was so small, a automotive was not a necessity however a vogue. Folks used to maintain their horses and legs. Then there was Tim Tama and Gig. The individuals of Rawalpindi had been very properly dressed, particularly Bawa Sind Singh Bedi, who was a good-looking and good-looking persona of Rawalpindi.

The face of Bau Ram Narayan Dhoom additionally comes earlier than the eyes. The type of Lala Barkat Ram additionally comes earlier than the eyes, who used to return to our home nearly each night.

Equally, Hakim Singh Sahni was additionally properly dressed. They wore turbans, had been tall and tall, however ate betel leaves with tobacco. Dr. Shakuntala can also be significantly missed. She was a really lovely girl. The city was so small that everybody knew one another who it was.