Refugees crowd onto train during the 1947 India Pakistan Partition
Credit: Photo Division, Government of India (Wikimedia Commons)
Historical Events Behind The Song In The Trees
Hindu evacuees at the Punjab Scouts Camp, Layallpur
Credit: Photo Division, Government of India (Wikimedia Commons)
1947 India Pakistan Partition
The partition of India in 1947 resulted in the end of British rule, and the division of British India into two independent countries India and Pakistan.
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Rani had read that after a long nationalist struggle, horrific violence left a million dead, a hundred thousand women kidnapped and raped, and over ten million displaced. Neither ghastly words nor horrific silence can describe the heart-rending reality of those days, as refugees from all walks of life arrived on both sides of the new border.
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China-India eastern border depicting disputed areas in this sector
Credit: Central Intelligence Agency (Wikimedia Commons)
1962 Indo-China War
A disputed Himalayan border was the main reason for the one month war between China and India. The combat took place at high altitudes and in freezing conditions that caused logistical difficulties and greater casualties.
Raani heard of dead soldiers sprawled amongst those who were still breathing, in trenches dug deep in the snow; of frost bitten fingers and toes that turned a thunderous blue, and several shades darker; of the howls accompanying the abominable noise of bullets slamming into human flesh and bone; and of the revolting colour of blood soaking the white, towering mountain sides.
Map of Gujarat region in India
Credit: BY-SA (Wikimedia Commons)
1969 Gujarat Hindu-Muslim riots
Ahmedabad was not a communally sensitive area until the 1960s. During September–October 1969, communal violence broke out between Hindus and Muslims, in Gujarat, India. The violence was Gujarat's first major riot that involved massacre, arson and looting on a large scale.
There were stories of atrocities so extreme and unimaginable, that Raani thought even the Gods must have stood behind the clouds, looked at their human creation and sobbed. No one could hold their heads high, the shock and shame rubbed off on all. Life as the city knew it came to a complete halt.
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