BJP President Marks Partition Horrors Remembrance Day in Gurugram

BJP President Nitin Nabin led a Partition Horrors Remembrance Day program in Gurugram on August 14, paying tribute to the victims and displaced persons of the 1947 Partition. Nabin described the day as a solemn occasion to remember those who suffered violence, stating that the pain of those events "lingers in our hearts". He attributed the tragedy to the two-nation theory and the 1940 Lahore Resolution, arguing that those who hastened the transfer of power secured their own futures while compromising the lives of millions of Indians.

The commemoration coincided with historical reflections on the human cost of the division. According to journalist Kuldip Nayar in the autobiography 'Beyond the Lines', Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, expressed deep despair after being flown over the divided Punjab region. Upon seeing streams of refugees fleeing across the border, Jinnah reportedly struck his forehead and asked, "What have I done?"

These accounts highlight the humanitarian tragedy that followed the rejection of population exchange proposals by both the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League. While Nabin noted that many affected families later contributed to India's national development, Nayar's documentation recalls the stark reality of the era, including witnessing corpses and looted belongings near the Wagah border crossing.