BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday said the ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ is not just a day to remember the tragic chapter of the past, but to take a resolve for the unity and integrity of the country.
Addressing a function organised at the Lok Seva Bhawan here, the chief minister said the Partition of 1947 was not only about drawing a boundary line between two nations, it was the largest migration in human civilisation.
Remembering the dark chapter of the country’s past, Majhi said about 1.5 crore people were displaced from their homes. Communal violence claimed the lives of five to 20 lakh innocent people and over 50,000 women were subjected to abduction, rape and torture. The ‘Blood Trains’ and ‘Ghost Trains’ coming from Pakistan were filled only with dead bodies, the impact of which is still present in the minds of their descendants even today, he said.
While stating that Partition happened due to the British government’s ‘divide and rule policy and the narrow personal interests and craze for power of the political leadership of that time’, he said the decisions of the Muslim League and Congress at that time were also the root cause.
The chief minister said that the number of Hindus in Pakistan has become negligible while atrocities against Hindus are increasing in Bangladesh. “Those who view this horror lightly or are eager for friendship with an enemy country are selfish and anti-national,” he added.
Majhi said the horrors of partition have been included in the NCERT textbooks so that the youth are not misled and know the real truth. “On the other hand, while refugees like Lal Krishna Advani, late Manmohan Singh and Milkha Singh achieved excellence through hard work, even today Muslims who migrated to Pakistan are called Mohajirs,” he added.
Stating that observance of the ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021 has made people of the country aware of the consequences of hatred and animosity, he urged everyone to remain vigilant to protect the country’s sovereignty, security, unity and integrity.
