Events in Kashmir

 

“There were very few people left in the village. All night we called out to reassure each other. We were so scared.”

Arshad (1947 partition of India)

 

JALAL

Jalal was born in Kashmir before the partition of India.

He remembers what life was like growing up in the region

when it was ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh.

 

 

 

ARSHAD

Arshad belongs to a generation which lived through the events that followed the partition of India in 1947.

For her it was a terrifying time as India and Pakistan fought over Kashmir.

When no agreement could be reached the state was divided between the two countries.

 

 

MANGLA DAM

Another event which has had a lasting impact on those it affected was the construction of the Mangla Dam.

Muhammed Farooq is from one of the villages which is now under the waters of Mangla Dam.

He was six years old when he left his home with his family.

 

 

AFZAL

The pull towards the Kashmiri homeland is strong in the first generation.

The memory of life there….is alive in their minds.

In his interview Nazir Afzal from Rochdale recalls village life,

the daily routine and how people used to sit around the fire and tell each other stories.