Tarn Taran Diary: Couple recounts tales of Partition on Independence Day
An elderly couple, Gurdial Singh, a retired headmaster from a Government High School who is 90 plus in age and his wife Varinder Kaur (82), retired head teacher from a Government Primary School, who reside in Tarn Taran, is an eye-witness to the Indo-Pak partition of 1947. Gurdial Singh was 15 years old at the time of partition. Though his family was related to Vein Poin village in Tarn Taran district, his father lived in Dorangla (Gurdaspur district) and was the manager of a landlord (Jagirdar). He lived with his father to pursue his studies. He did his B.Sc from Sikh National College, Kadian and then did his BEd from Chandigarh in 1957. In 1959, he joined service in Master category which only the well educated youth in the area did in those days. He said there were few private educational institutions, particularly religious institutions at that time. He recalled that most teachers were from the Muslim community and used to wear white colour Salwar-Kameez with turban. Teachers of the Hindu community wore white coloured shirt (Kameez) and Pyjama with turban. He said that the educational institutions were under the District Board which came under the Panchayat Department. He still remembers that the Government High School, Attari was a rare institution with high standards and the Government Elementary School, Pandori Takhat Mal, also was an institution of repute in the primary section in the rural area. He said that all students used to go to school on foot though they had to go miles away. He said that he himself along with other students used to go to Fatahbad school from their native village Vein Poin, 5 km away, on foot. He recalled that there was a single voter in Vein Poin village in the area. The farmers had to pay malia (revenue) to the then British government. Varinder Kaur, wife of Gurdial Singh, a native of Pandori Takhat Mal, was a student of the village primary school and then did her Matriculation (Class 10) from the SGAD Government Girls Secondary Smart School, Tarn Taran. She then did her JBT training from Government Senior Secondary School, Kairon. She said that only a few families used to send their girl child for education above the primary level. Gurdial Singh said that there was less violence at the time of partition in Gurdaspur as Muslims had gathered at a single site to face it. Previously, there was news that Gurdaspur district would be a part of Pakistan but its fate was declared in the last leg, by August 15, and then the Muslims left for Pakistan on the intervening night of August 15-16. He said Gurdaspur was less affected by violence after the partition. Varinder Kaur recalled that they saw body parts lying unclaimed on the outskirts of nearby villages in the area when they went to school. The couple is an eyewitness to the partition of India and has many information regarding it.
Civil Hospital, health centres receive quality certification
The Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran and five health and wellness centres at Khadoor Sahib, Goindwal Sahib, Chabal, Algon Kothi, Dialpura, Sarhali and Shahabpur were awarded with the state certification under National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) recently. This recognition is a testament to their commitment to providing top-notch healthcare facilities to the community.
Dr Bharat Bhushan, Civil Surgeon, emphasised the NQAS certificate was an acknowledgement of the hard work put in by doctors and that the health workers had been duly acknowledged at the state level. He reiterated the Health and Family Welfare Department’s commitment to further strengthening healthcare services and improving medical facilities in government hospitals, including district hospital, Community Health Centre (CHC), Primary Health Centre (PHC) and health and wellness centres in both rural and urban areas. He said under the NQAS evaluation process, government health institutions are assessed on eight key parameters, which include the quality of health facilities offered, patient rights, availability of essential resources like medicines, competent service providers, effective quality management, proper maintenance and efficient data assessment. The Civil Surgeon said the award was granted after a thorough evaluation of the hospital’s various wards and operation theatres. With this achievement, the District Civil Hospital in Tarn Taran has emerged as a shining example of quality healthcare services in the region, setting new benchmarks for the healthcare sector in Punjab, said the Civil Surgeon.
(Contributed by Gurbaxpuri)
