On 15 August 1947, Nehru proclaims in Delhi, “A new star rises, the star of freedom in the east, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes.”

On 14 August 1947 Jinnah declares in Karachi, “…..after he conquered them. He showed to them utmost tolerance and regard and respect for their faith and beliefs.”

As the ‘new star’ arose with ‘new hope’ and after they were ‘conquered’ a promise for ‘tolerance’!

Elsewhere the newly formed nations of India and Pakistan burnt in a faith based civil war that uprooted 10 million people! ‘TRESPASSERS’ threw people out of their habitats and occupied for themselves!

As I peered through the locked gates of a historical gurdwara in Pakistan, wondering how to enter, heeding my desire, Bashir Ahmed, a resident of the village asked his son to run home and bring a ladder. It is due to Bashir’s kind gesture that I was finally able to scale the wall and ‘TRESPASS’ into the property that was ‘TRESPASSED’ by the migrants, who equally faced the same tragedy elsewhere!

Kind gestures of the likes of Bashir Ahmed only reaffirm that humans care!

Photographed in Jan 2017, during the research for the book “THE QUEST CONTINUES: LOST HERITAGE The Sikh Legacy in Pakistan”