3 min readAmritsarUpdated: May 23, 2023 11:58 PM IST
This heartwarming tale of love and separation has all the trappings of a Manmohan Desai’s lost-and-found potboiler. Thanks to the reach of social media, two families desperate to find their loved ones who went missing during the Partition could meet again in an emotional reunion.
Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan on Sunday witnessed reunion of a man and his sister who were separated 75 years ago during the Partition. As they met and hugged each other, tears of joy welled up their eyes. The emotional scene left everyone present deeply moved.
Mahinder Kaur (81) and her family travelled from India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Sahib via the Kartarpur Corridor, while 78-year-old Sheikh Abdullah Aziz and his family came from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Originally hailing from India before the Partition, they shared their sorrow over the loss of their parents and embraced each other.
During the Partition, the family of Sardar Bhajan Singh from the Indian side of Punjab was torn apart when Aziz relocated to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, while his other family members remained in India, said Imran Sheikh, a family member of Aziz. He married young but had a longing to reunite with his parents and other family members.
Aziz made relentless efforts to reconnect with his family. It was through a post on social media that both families discovered their connection and realised that Kaur and Aziz were siblings.
On Sunday, Kaur and Aziz arrived at the Kartarpur Corridor on wheelchairs. Emotional scenes of the family reunion were witnessed, with the family members singing songs and showering flowers to express their love.
Overwhelmed with joy, they can be seen in a video recorded at the time hugging each other multiple times, expressing their love and affection. Kaur repeatedly kissed her brother’s hands and the two families also visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur , sitting side by side and sharing a meal. They also exchanged gifts as a symbol of their reunion.
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Following the joyful reunion, the Kartarpur administration adorned both families with garlands and distributed sweets.
Aziz, who has settled in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and embraced Islam, shared that his entire family has converted.
Kaur lauded the governments of India and Pakistan, emphasising the importance of Kartarpur Corridor in bringing people together. She expressed hope that this corridor would continue to reunite families separated by the India-Pakistan Partition.
As they bid farewell in the evening, both siblings promised to meet again in Pakistan through the corridor.
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The Kartarpur Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Punjab province, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India’s Punjab state.
The 4-km-long corridor provides a visa-free access to Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the Darbar Sahib.
