The Plight of Muhajirs

My friend Mr. S.M.A. Kazmi, former Advocate General of U.P. has his sasural in Karachi. He was once returning on the Karachi to Delhi PIA flight when the air hostess came to him and said that the pilot wanted to meet him in the cockpit. 

He was a bit surprised, but nevertheless he went with her to the cockpit. There the pilot and co-pilot welcomed him and offered him some coffee and snacks. They then told him that they were Muhajirs, and wanted to migrate to India, as they were not happy in Pakistan. They had seen from his passport that he was an advocate of Allahabad High Court, and wanted to know the legal formalities enabling them to migrate from Pakistan to India.

Now the interesting thing is that in fact both these young men were born in Pakistan and had lived all their lives in Pakistan. It was their parents who had migrated after Partition in 1947. Yet they were not happy in Pakistan, as muhajirs are often still treated as outsiders in Pakistan.

Many Muslims had migrated from India to Pakistan in 1947 thinking that Muslims could only feel at home in an Islamic state, but later regretted their decision. However , having given up their Indian nationality and acquired Pakistani nationality it was impossible to come back. A few could get a short time (one month or so) visa to India, and that too with many restrictions, e.g. that the visa was restricted to visiting a particular city in India only, that one had to report to the nearest police station once a week, etc

Many old Muslims (for the muhajirs who migrated had become old) came to India and lived with their relatives in Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, etc. When they had to leave they wept bitterly.

The plight of the muhajirs living in Pakistan has been poignantly depicted in the long poem 'Muhajirnama' written by the eminent Urdu poet of India, Munawwar Rana. I am quoting a few couplets (shers) from the poem:

"Muhajir hain magar hum ek duniya chhod aaye hain
Tumhare paas jitna hai utna hum chhod aaye hain

Kai aankhen abhi tak yeh shikayat karti rehti hain
Ki hum behte hue kaajal ka dariya chhod aaye hain

Kahani ka yeh hissa aaj tak sab se chupaya hai
Ki hum mittee ke khatir apna sona chhod aaye hain

Bahut mumkin tha hum ek din yooheen wapas chale jaate
Magar hum neend ke alam mein chalna chhod aaye hain

Wahaan Baba Farid Aaj tak khushboo lutate hain
To kyon Darbar Saheb ko akela chhod aaye hain ?

Yahaan sab kuch mayassar hai yahaan har cheez haasil hai
Sabhi kuch hai magar Punjab aadha chhod aaye hain

Woh mandir ho ki masjid ho ki girja ho ki gurdwara
Jahaan sab saath rehte the woh duniya chhod aaye hain

Kiraye ka yeh kamra yeh ghuzarti zindagi apni
Wahan itna bada naukar ka kamra chhod aaye hain

Mazaa aata tha Urdu ka jahaan ki bhojpuri mein
Woh Chhapra chhod aaye hain woh Ballia chhod aaye hain

Yeh batwaara nahin tha yeh to naasamjhi hamari thi
Dhundal ke liye ghar ka ujaala chhod aaye hain

Baha lai hame hijrat ki aandhi ajnabi ghar mein
Jahaan paida hue the woh thikaana chhod aaye hain

Woh Amroha jahaan par ilm ke chashme ubalte the
Usey bhi hum banakar ek naala chhod aaye hain

Yeh woh qasbe hain jinme aaj tak tehzeeb palti hai
Rudauli, Barabanki, Naanpara chhod aaye hain

Kisi bhi haal mein apne watan ko chhod mat dena
Hamaara haal dekho ghar hum apna chhod aaye hain

Moharram mein hamara Lucknow Iran lagta tha
Madad maula Husainabad rotaa chhod aaye hain

Kahaa karti thi bachpan mein ki hum se dur mat jaana
Magar hum apni ammi ko akela chhod aaye hain

Yahaan to khushbuon ka jhonka tak nahin aata
Wahan hum ek Alam ko mahakta chhod aaye hain

Riyaya the to phir Hakim ka kehna kyon nahin maana ? 
Hakim the to kyon riyaya chhod aaye hain ?

Nai naslen sunengi to yakeen unko na aayega
Ki hum kaisi zameenen aur zamaana chhod aaye hain

Yeh poonchon kitni qabren chhod aaye hain buzurgon ki
Yeh mat poocho zameenen kitni beegha chhod aayen hain

Siyasat ke bune ek jaal mein hum phans gaye aakhir
Muhabbat se banaaya ghar ka naqsha chhod aaye hain

Bataa ai zindagi ab aur kitna saath dena hai
Ki saansen chal raheen hain aur jeena chhod aaye hain

Kisi ke sar par hum ilzaam bhi to dhar naheen sakte
Hum apni zindagi mein khud khala sa chhod aaye hain

Chalo aisa karen mil jul ke rona seekh len hum sab
Ki hum mil jul ke hasna khilkhilaana chhod aaye hain

Koi aane lage to ek chutki khaak mangwa lena
Wahi jisko samajhkar gard-e-sehra chhod aaye hain

To kya takseem hi buniyaad-e-Pakistan thehri thi ?
Hum ek tukde ke khatir mulk saara chhod aaye hain

Bichadte waqt ki woh siskiyaan woh phoot ke rona
Ki jaise machliyon ko hum tadapta chhod aaye hain

Woh hijrat thi ki mayyat thi tamaasha ban gaye the hum
Ghadi rukhsat ki aayi sab ko goonga chhod aaye hain

Nahin maloom tha jannat ki bhi takseem hoti hai
Magar Kashmir tujhko hum adhoora chhod aaye hain

Kai gorey abhi tak dur baithe has rahe honge
Ki do qaumon mein woh saahi ka kaanta chhod aaye hain

Bahut chup chup se rehte hain shikaayat bhi naheen karte
Ki ai khaak-e-watan hum saath tera chhod aaye hain

Gale milti hui nadiyaan gale milte hue mazhab
Allahabad ka kaisa nazaara chhod aaye hain

Kal ek amrood wale se kehna pad gaya humko
Jahaan se aaye hain is phal ki bagiya chhod aaye hain

Woh hairat mein hame takta rahaa kuch der, phir bola
Woh sangam ka ilaqa chut gaya, ki chhod aayen hain ?

Abhi hum sonch mein ghum the ki usse kya kaha jaaye
Hamare aansuon ne raaz uglaa chhod aaye hain

Karachi ka yeh halwa Bambai mein bhi to milta tha
To phir Bambai ko hum sisakta kyon chhod aaye hain ?

Avadh ko khwaab mein dekhen to aakhir kis tareh dekhen
Malihabad-Kakori-Sandila chhod aaye hain

Karachi tere khaatir Bambai bhi reh gayi peeche
Teri chaahat mein Poona aur Khandala chhod aaye hain

Gulabon ki bhari faslen abhi tak muntazir hongi
Sikandarpur, Ghazipur, Ballia chhod aaye hain

Kayi sadiyon ke qisse muh zabaani yaad hain jisko
Woh Dilli aur uska lal qila chhod aaye hain

Woh leechi se ladey pedon ka khamoshi se muh taknaa
Muzaffarpur hum tujhko akela chhod aayen hain

Banaras yaad karta hai ab tak jaane walon ko
Banaras ai Banaras hum tujhko kyon chhod aaye hain ?

Jaahaan ki khaak milkar jism ko loha banaate the
Woh Jhansi chhod aaye hain woh Datiya chhod aaye hain

Hamen bahka ke le aayi siyasat kis kharaabe mein
Chaman ko ho chuka hai ek arsaa chhod aaye hain

Dua ke phool Panditji jahaan takseem karte the
Gali ke mod par hum woh Shivala chhod aaye hain

Muhalle ke sabhi bachche jahaan miljul ke padhte the
Na jane kis liye woh paathshala chhod aaye hain

Usi mein bhai Jumman Ram ka kirdaar karte the
Abhi tak yaad hai jo Ramlila chhod aaye hain

Jahaan Akbar ne rishta karke buniyaad-e-wafa rakkhi
Wafadaron ka woh sachcha ilaqa chhod aaye hain

Zameen-e-Nanak-o-Chishti, Zubaan-e-Ghalib-o-Tulsi
Yeh sab kuch paas tha apne yeh saara chhod aaye hain

Sabhi tyohaar miljul kar manaate the wahaan jab the
Diwali chhod aaye hain, Dussehra chhod aaye hain

Badi sharmindagi hoti hai jab bhi sonch leten hain
Ki hum Ajmer, Kaliyar, Dewa chhod aaye hain

Hamen hijrat ki is andhi gufa mein yaad aata hai
Ajanta chhod aaye hain, Ellora chhod aaye hain

Kisi naqqash ke dast-e-hunar ne phool tanke the
Woh huqqa kya Moradabad saara chhod aaye hain

Jo ek patli sadak Unnao se Mohaan jaati hai
Waheen Hasrat ke khwabon ko bhatakta chhod aaye hain

Bhateeji ab saleeqe se dupatta odhti hogi
Wahi jisko jhoole mein humakta chhod aaye hain

Agar hijrat karni thi to hum arab hi jaate
Zara sa itr lekar mushk-e-naafa chhod aaye hain

Himalay se nikalti har nadi aawaz deti hai
Miyan ao, wuzu karlo, yeh jumla chhod aaye hain

Janaab-e-Mir ka diwan to hum saath le aaye
Magar hum Mir ke maathe ka kashka chhod aaye hain

Woh khudgharzi ka jazbaa aaj tak humko rulaata hai
Ki hum beta to le aaye, bhatija chhod aaye hain

Khuda jaane yeh hijrat thi ki hijrat ka tamaasha tha
Ujaale ki tamanna mein ujaala chhod aaye hain

Hansee aati hai apni hi adakaari pe khud humko
Bane phirte hain Yusuf Zuleikha chhod aaye hain

Basi thi jismen khushboo meri ammi ki jawani ki
Woh chadar chhod aaye hain, woh takiya chhod aaye hain

Woh khaprailon pe phaili har taraf angoor ki belen
Unhi belon se hum bachpan ko lipta chhod aaye hain

Harey honge abhi tak ped woh saare gulistaan ke
Badan pe jinke hum ek naam likkha chhod aaye hain

Hamen marne se pahle sabko yeh taakeed karni hai
Kisi ko mat bata dena ki kya kya chhod aaye hain"