E-Paper
They regretted their decision to leave India and settle in Pakistan
HE IS Hindustani to the core. This fact can be gauged by the fact that when an option was given to Muslim officers of the Indian armed forces to choose India or Pakistan at the time of partition in 1947, Maj Gen (Retired) SM Hasnain, as a young Major, opted for India. Though his elder brother Ali Hasnain, an information officer, and younger brother Kazim Hasnain, an Air Force officer, chose to shift to Pakistan, SM Hasnain was determined to serve only India.
HE IS Hindustani to the core. This fact can be gauged by the fact that when an option was given to Muslim officers of the Indian armed forces to choose India or Pakistan at the time of partition in 1947, Maj Gen (Retired) SM Hasnain, as a young Major, opted for India. Though his elder brother Ali Hasnain, an information officer, and younger brother Kazim Hasnain, an Air Force officer, chose to shift to Pakistan, SM Hasnain was determined to serve only India.
An original resident of Rudauli town in Barabanki district, Hasnain had started enjoying the game of bridge when he was only 13. Playing bridge still remains his passion even when he is 89.
He was a bright student and wished to become a teacher after doing MA in History from Lucknow University. But the destiny had a different plan and he got commissioned in Indian Army in 1941.
A recipient of PVSM and Mentions in Dispatches, Hasnain raised 4 Garhwal Rifles in 1959 and became its first commanding officer as a Lt Col and later went on to raise 115 Infantry Brigade in 1966 and became its first Brigade Commander. He was GOC of 20 Mountain Division at Binaguri and in the last his valuable services were utilised at Army Headquarters, New Delhi where he held the post of Director-General, Infantry till his retirement on January 27, 1972.
Hasnain was not only a witness to the Second World War but was also among those warriors, who chased away the Japanese forces from Burma (now Myanmmar).
Excerpts from the interview:
After getting commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Garhwal Battalion (now Garhwal Rifles) I participated in the Second World War and our battalion was entrusted the responsibility to get Burma freed from the Japanese forces. During this battle, we used to remain in trenches and during leisure the game of bridge happened to be the best time pass. I remember, when we were hiding in a trench in Ramree island, Lt Gen Slim, a very senior officer of the British Indian Forces, visited to boost our morale. After Ramree island was captured, Lord Luis Mountbatten, the then Commander of South East Asia and cousin of King George VI ordered our battalion to capture Rangoon and we completed the task in mid-1945.
From Burma, we went to Sumatra (Indonesia) to repulse the Japanese forces, who had repulsed the Holland forces from there and had occupied the territory.
In November 1946, our battalion was posted in Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province. Khan Gaffar Khan's brother was NWFP chief minister and his wife, a British lady, was fond of playing bridge. She used to play bridge with us and during that period I and Wali Khan, Khan Gaffar Khan's son, became good friends.
Since I opted for India at the time of partition, we left Peshawar by a special train on August 13. On the way from Peshawar to Lahore we found that over one thousand non-Muslims, who wanted to shift to India, were stranded and the locals were about to attack them. We chased away the locals and brought the stranded people to India by our train. They were hungry and thirsty and very frightened as well. We not only consoled them but also offered fruits, sweets and water.
I remember that when our train reached Lahore on August 14, the people of Pakistan were celebrating independence. Amidst celebrations, a large number of people were being massacred in both the countries. Another train, which had come via Amritsar, stopped at Lahore station at the same time. We saw that many passengers were killed and blood was dropping from its compartments. The harrowing scene drove the driver of our train to detach the engine and speed away. Now we were left helpless for several hours. However, driver of another train brought our train to India via Ferozepur.
In the first quarter of the year 1971, I went to Mizoram on an inspection tour. During my brief stay there two West Pakistani soldiers, who were being chased by Mukti Vahini men in East Pakistan, sought refuge from our soldiers. I told the then Army chief Gen HSFJ Maneckshaw about the uprising in East Pakistan. Gen Maneckshaw passed on this information to the then Prime Minister and that was perhaps the time when India came to know that the war would be inevitable.
And soon we were asked to prepare for the war.
After my retirement, I visited Pakistan in 1980 for 28 days. At this time my younger brother Kazim had become Air Vice-Marshall in Pakistan Air Force. He sought permission from the then Air Chief Marshall to entertain me at his mess.
The Air Chief Marshall not only permitted him but also instructed him to invite many more officers along with their families and organise a grand welcome party.
During my 28-day stay in Karachi, I hardly found an opportunity to dine at my brother's residence as every day I was invited by those who had shifted to Pakistan. They enquired about our living and status in India and when I told them that there was no problem, they said they were being ill-treated in Pakistan and were called Mohajirs. They even regretted their decision to shift to Pakistan.
