Hindu Refugee Camp, Lahore

The partition of India just keeps on happening History records that the partition of India happened on 15th August, 1947. But for people like Havaldaar Ghulam Ali Limb-Fitter, it’s an event stretched on for years and years. The year is 1958. The only thing Ghulam Ali wants is to come back to his motherland, his hometown of Lucknow, where his beloved Zahira and his life, wait for him. Instead, he finds himself in a Hindu Refugee Camp in Lahore, injured, starving, where everyone believes he is a jasoos. Ghulam has tried everything in his power to come back to India. But having served in Pakistani Army against his will, India would not accept him. Trapped across the border with no hope in sight, he begins writing letters to ministers, bureaucrats, journalists, whoever he can. And also, to the love of his life, Zahira Raza, who is his only motivation to continue living. Zahira Raza had always dreamt of dancing to her heart’s content. But her desire is obstructed by something, to which only Ghulam Ali holds the key. As she waits for him, living with her Naani and her sister, she battles with the challenges of being a working Muslim woman in the Lucknow of the 1950s. Written as an exchange of letters, ‘Hindu Refugee Camp, Lahore’ is the true story of Havaldaar Ghulam Ali Limb-Fitter, as relevant today as it was when it happened.