An Unacknowledged Diaspora

The annals of world history do clearly record
The aftermath of Partition and the bloody discord
The violence, the horror, the grime and the gore
On trains that plied from Amritsar to Lahore

But not even a footnote in history’s dusty archives
Makes mention of the hundreds of thousands of lives
That were left to ponder their future and fate
Upon the creation of a new Indian state

For what would now the Anglo-Indian do
Under the rule of leaders, alien, hostile and new
Would he be allowed to continue, to play his part
As into an independent age, did this new nation start?

Or would he become an alien in his motherland
A stranger who did not to know where he could stand
In the hopes, aspirations and dreams of this new nation
Would he be allowed his colony and his railway station?

Or would he have to leave it all behind
And in a new nation, fame and fortune find
Could he continue to teach, dance and drive
Or, in the land of his birth, would he no longer thrive?

These questions must have accompanied every family meal
For apprehension, fear and doubt, he did surely feel
And, on the day, a nation was set free
He was fettered in the chains of uncertainty

And thus began a diaspora of which very few know
An event in our history that no archives show
The migration of “half-castes” to England and Australia,
With only pennies in their pockets and a lot to fear

Many, of course, chose to continue and stay
While they prayed for the ones who went away
To corners of the world, far and wide
From the railway colony that was once their joy, their pride

Of this exodus, no historian makes mention
Its impact on history seems to deserve no attention
But to a now fast dwindling community
It’s part of their history, their very identity.