Arghwani Begum

At the time of Partition, Arghwani Begum was over eight months pregnant with her third child. As communal tensions increased, she and her family decided to leave their Delhi home for Lahore in Pakistan. Their first destination, however, was the Purana Qila or Old Fort refugee camp in Delhi, where Arghwani gave birth to her son. After two days, the family traveled in army jeeps to the Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi where they boarded a train to Pakistan. The train was attacked at Wagah border and Arghwani Begum's infant son nearly fainted from lack of oxygen. A man on the train helped the baby get some air through the main door. She recalls seeing countless bodies of men, women and children that night. The family fortunately escaped the attacks and reached Walton in Pakistan. They eventually settled in Lahore.