Woman Separated From Family During Partition Reunites With Brothers After 75 Years

Mumtaz Bibi who was separated from her family during partition seventy-five years ago met her brothers from India at Kartarpur in Pakistan's Punjab province, as per a report.

The woman was born to a Sikh family and during the violence of the partition, she was separated from them. She was then adopted and raised by a Muslim couple who gave her the new name Mumtaz. Dawn reported that Mumtaz was an infant when she was found lying on the body of her mother who was killed by a mob.

Muslim couple named Muhammad Iqbal and Allah Rakhi adopted her as a child and raised her as their own daughter. After the partition, Muhammad Iqbal and his family settled in Varika Tian village in Sheikhupura district of Pakistan's Punjab province. During her growing years, Mumtaz's new parents did not tell her that she was adopted. When Iqbal's health started to get worse two years, he told Mumtaz about her history and her Sikh family in India.

Mumtaz has a son named Shahbaz then who started searching for her family in India. He found some leads on social media. The mother and her son found out about the village Sidrana in Patiala district of Punjab. It was the place where Mumtaz's birth father settled with his family after the partition after being removed from their ancestral home which later became part of newly formed Pakistan.

Suggested Reading: Lahore Book 1 Of The Partition Trilogy by Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, An Excerpt

The families then connected on social media and Mumtaz's brothers Gurumeet Singh, Narendra Singh and Amrinder Singh reached Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur along with other family members to meet Mumtaz. The brothers and their long lost sister finally saw each other after 75 years.

The Kartarpur corridor has Gurdwara Darbar Sahib linked in Pakistan. It is said to be the final resting place of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism. Another shrine named Dera Baba Nanak is situated in Gurdaspur district in Punjab. Indians and Pakistani nationals can access the Kartarpur corridor without visa.

Mumtaz Bibi is one of the many women who were separated from their families during partition due to the atrocities that took place at the time. Many Hindu women were taken in by Muslim family in good or bad faith and they lived in Pakistan since then. The same happened to many Muslim women who later lived with Hindu families.

Feature Image credit: DAWN