Shahezadi Begum

Shahezadi Begam lived in a joint family in Kolkata before Partition. Her father was in the construction business. In 1947, after Partition, her family decided to migrate to East Pakistan. Mrs. Shahezadi is unsure of the reason behind it. They took a train from Kolkata and arrived at Shahjahanpur railway colony in Dhaka crossing the border. She remembers that her family was not able to sell their house, so she believed that someone later occupied it. She did not go to school but learned Arabic and studied the Quran at home. A few years after moving to Dhaka, she married her husband, who was a worker in Shahjahanpur railway factory.
In 1971, Mrs. Shahezadi’s family was driven from their home during the riots. Looters ransacked their house. Some of her relatives were killed, she learned later. They were in custody of the military in Raja Bag for a month without having necessities of livelihood. They were then taken to Mohammadpur Geneva Camp where they reside currently. Her sister went back to Kolkata and is living there. Her daughter went to Karachi, but she could not follow. Mrs. Shahezadi has not seen her daughter for forty years.