Emotional story of a Hindu nurse from Chichawatni city

By: Arshad Farooq Butt

This is the story of Bharawan Bhai, a Hindu nurse from Chichawatni, who was associated with the profession of a nurse at Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Chichawatni. Bharawan Bai lived in Block No. 4 along with her two sons Anand Kumar and Satyanand Sevak, and a daughter Lakshmi.

The place where the Baldia Chichawatni offices are situated today used to be the tehsil headquarters hospital Chichawatni. Relatives of patients coming from far away used to go to Rahat Bagh for taking a nap. The partition of India brought big trouble into the lives of many families and Bharawan Bai also fell victim to it, but the attacks of the misguided mob could not remove the love of the city from her heart and she returned to the city.

In the year 1948, Retired Headmaster Riaz Sahib, while recalling his memories, writes that:

I was a 10th class student in Government MC Model High School, Chichawatni, Bharawan Bai’s elder son Anand was my classmate. While his younger son Satyanand Sevak was studying in the sixth grade. Bharawan Bhai was a woman who was devoted to the spirit of service and possessed ideas beyond religious prejudice. Some people who settled in the vicinity of Chichawatni after partition were full of bigotry.

A few such rioters attacked Bharawan Bai’s house in the evening. Clutching her children in her arms, she jumped from the roof to the other side of the empty house, breaking one of her legs, but she herself suffered the pain and didn’t make any noise. And the children were not allowed to make a sound. She remained hidden in this condition for about three hours.

After the danger was over, Bharawan Bai sent a message to Dr. Abdul Ghafoor, who shifted her to his quarters at 9 p.m., treated her injured leg and kept her hidden in his quarters for three months. She expressed the desire to work in Tehsil Headquarters Hospital. On which Dr. Abdul Ghafoor discussed with his staff but he faced severe resistance. On the news of another attack on Bharawan Bai, Dr. Abdul Ghafoor took her along with the children to the border overnight in his car.

Bharawan Bhai settled in Ludhiana, Punjab, India with her children and started her journey of life anew from her clinic there. His elder son died, the younger son Satyanand Sevak became a doctor and came back to Chichawatni in 1991 with his wife and mother. Now the dust of partition had settled. Bharawan Bai went to every house in the city where there were people of her acquaintance.

In the year 2014, Dr. Sevak visited Chichawatni again. This time his sister Lakshmi was also with him. In his honor, an honor ceremony was also held at Jinnah Hall, Chichawatni, in which Dr. Sevak expressed his love for his city, Chichawatni. You will be able to see his detailed interview after a few days.