Meera, a college student in Delhi, is reading letters her great-grandfather wrote between 1946 and 1948. One letter describes crowds singing in the streets on a morning in mid-August 1947. A few weeks later he writes that the family next door, who had lived in the same lane for generations, has packed a few bundles and boarded a crowded train. Another letter recalls the naval ratings who had risen in Bombay a year earlier. A later letter speaks of rulers of distant kingdoms, still on their thrones, some of whom talked of keeping their lands apart from the new nation.
Suppose the family next door in the letters was a Muslim family. In the movement of refugees at that time, where were Muslims heading?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The regions of East and West Pakistan
Option (1) West Bengal and the eastern Punjab — Incorrect. These were the areas that Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan moved into. The movement ran the other way for Muslims.
Option (2) The regions of East and West Pakistan — Correct. After Partition, Muslims moved into East and West Pakistan. A Muslim family leaving Delhi was part of this movement of refugees.
Option (3) The cities of Bombay and Calcutta — Incorrect. These were large Indian cities. They were not the areas the Muslim refugees of 1947 were heading for.
Option (4) The states of Bhopal and Hyderabad — Incorrect. These were princely states with Muslim rulers. Refugee families from India moved into the two wings of Pakistan.
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