Thousands of families like the Bakay brothers remain torn apart three-quarters of a century after their countries broke independence from British-ruled India in 1947. “I felt I couldn’t touch them,” younger brother Abid Hasan told Reuters in New Delhi. It was good to see Ali Hassan in Karachi, but it was nothing like “a hug, a touch, a handshake or talk to them” in person. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Muslim-majority Pakistan marks independence on Sunday, while Hindu-majority India on Monday. The Baqai families last met eight years ago when the elder brother traveled to New Delhi. Repeated subsequent visa attempts by the two families were rejected by both sides, the brothers said. Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence, two over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both fully claim. Tensions peaked in 2019 when each sent fighter jets into the other’s airspace. read more Britain’s creation of new nations by dividing the two, as its empire declined after World War II, caused mass religious migration in both directions, marred by bloodshed and violence on both sides. About 15 million people changed countries, mostly on the basis of religion, and more than a million were killed in religious riots in the 1947 partition, according to independent estimates. Between being divided, the Buckeyes couldn’t share each other’s happiest or saddest moments. Ali Hassan, the older brother, was not allowed to attend the Indian funerals of his two brothers and mother in New Delhi. (This story corrects the name of the brother in New Delhi in paragraphs 1 and 3 to Abid Hasan Baqai) Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Reuters TV Writing by Asif Shahzad Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
