L09I, Sumeet Meerani ‘04, L.H. Meerani, Grandfather, 1916, India
I interviewed L.H.Meerani, my grandfather, in November 2002.
Sumeet = S: Where were you at the time of World War II ? How old were you then?
L.H. Meerani = LHM: It started in 1939 and ended in 1945. I was in Hyderabad, in Sindh province. I was about 23 when the war began.
S: Do you remember any effects of the war ?
LHM: During that period, there was British Rule in India, and we were considered British subjects. India’s struggle for independence was at its peak.
S: Were there any repercussions of war that affected daily life?
LHM: Everything had become very costly, and many things were not available, even daily necessities. During those days life had become very hard.
S: The war ended at last in 1945.
LHM: Yes, but only after the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, effects of which are carried from generation to generation. It seems never ending. India did not gain independence from British rule. After the war, that struggle was still going on.
S: Well, India got independence in 1947, two years later. Were you happy?
LHM: No, not at all. How could we be happy? The cunning British people divided the country into three and then left. We had to leave our native Sindh province. There were religious riots. Many people became mad, losing the balance of their brains, as they were forced to leave their homes in their native towns, and millions were killed. One Sikh fellow became mad. He went around abusing the British because his father was killed right in front of him. There were many such people.
S: How about you? How did you feel?
LHM: I had a government job. I was an inspector in the ration department. I had three houses, one where we lived, and two for rent. My mother could not walk; she was bedridden and sick. Good Hindu neighbors were leaving, and cruel Muslim people from India were coming into the neighbourhood. My family and your grandmother’s cousin’s family left together, as it was very dangerous to live in Hyderabad, Sindh. Even riding in the train to go to Bombay [Mumbai] filled our minds with fear.
S: Where did you live in Bombay?
LHM: We were told to live in an open refugee camp with a common toilet and bathroom, until temporary quarters under construction could be allotted to us. But with my sick mother, it was very difficult, so we proceeded to Bangalore to live temporarily with our cousin’s brother, who was living in a house owned by the company where he was working. Then after a few months, I started living with a friend who was doing business in Hong Kong. His wife became a friend of your grandmother. But as I could not find a suitable job, we came to Delhi, where my mother passed away. As it became difficult to make ends meet, my friend in Hong Kong arranged a job for me in Japan. I had to leave my family in India, which was the system of the Sindhi business community, in those days. Your grandmother had to take care of your father and bring up four children, with too many troubles in India.
S: What is your opinion about the present situation in India?
LHM: I always feel that the root cause of troubles in India was and is the partition of the country in 1947 by the British. Even West Pakistan and East Pakistan [now Bangladesh] were divided. Ordinary people like us are suffering.
S: What is your opinion of the present situation in the world?
LHM : War is never over, as long as weapons are created, and warriors are wishing for a war, to use them. The Third World War will be with nuclear weapons and many more weapons of mass destruction. Sometime, somewhere, anytime, anywhere in the world, there is always a war. But I wonder why atomic weapons should only be in the possession of a few industrially developed countries? The same international laws for weapons and war should apply to each and every country of the world without any distinction whatsoever. Preaching peace and waging war, cannot go together. Natural calamities, like earthquakes, floods, and famines cannot be avoided, as they are beyond our control, but we do have a choice of development or destruction, building or burning, weapons and war, or peace and prosperity.