Genocide: - DIIS

Anders Bjørn Hansen
Muslims still waiting to be evacuated from Western Punjab. According to
Trivedi it had been emphasised by Governor Mudie that the organised
massacres by Sikhs on Muslims “naturally” were producing “a violent
reaction” in Western Punjab. 152 The incidents of retaliation were especially
prominent in train attacks. Whenever a ‘ghost train’ laden with dead bodies
arrived on one side, another would immediately be sent in the opposite
direction. 153 According to a British offi cer the “murder, brutality, looting,
ill treatment of women and small children in evacuee trains had exceeded
even Belsen and other bestialities created by the warped Nazi mind”. 154
For the Sikhs the partition proved disastrous. As the smallest and most
vulnerable of the Punjabi communities they were now being divided
between two countries. Thus earlier threats of violence were carried out.
Nevertheless, the serious critique of Sikhs for committing the bulk of the
atrocities was denied by the Home Minister for Eastern Punjab, Swaran
Singh (a Sikh himself). In his view only sporadic and local outbursts of violence
had occurred and there was no evidence of an organised effort. His
defence clearly manifested how diffi cult, if not impossible, it is to delink
oneself from the fate of one’s community.
Other offi cials were also affected by their emotions. Governor Mudie
wrote on September 23 in a letter to Jinnah that. “We have told the Sikh
Major-General who is in command at Amritsar that unless our people are
allowed through Amritsar we will hold the Sikhs who left Lyallpur about
a week ago and who are now about to cross the Sutlej to East Punjab”. 155
In Mudie’s view it would be impossible for Muslims to remain in Eastern
Punjab and all of the 5,4 million Muslims would have to be accommodated
in the west. He then asked rhetorically. “How can we accommodate
these people unless we get rid of the Hindus and Sikhs. All or practically
all Hindus and Sikhs would have to leave western Punjab, if not for any
other reason than to make room for the Muslims who had been forced out
of eastern Punjab.” 156 This statement showed a new rationale in the ethnic
152 Trivedi to Swaran Singh, September 12, 1947, in Singh (1991), p. 523-24.
153 Sir Francis Tucker, While memory serves, p. 480.
154 Ibid., p. 482.
155 Mudie to Jinnah, September 23, 1947, in Singh (1991), p. 529-31.
156 Ibid.
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