MUMAI: When Manoj Kumar recalled trauma of Partition- ‘Father made me swear not to resort to violence’

MUMAI: Manoj Kumar moved to India during
the Partition of India. The actor featured in numerous patriotic films in his
career. 

Manoj
Kumar, who was the face of patriotism in Bollywood for decades, had moved to
India during the Partition of India in 1947. The actor was born in Abbottabad,
in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan but had to migrate to India
with his family, wherein they lived at a refugee camp for a short period. 

During
the Partition, Manoj Kumar’s mother had
delivered a baby boy and both of them were extremely unwell at that point. They
were admitted in a hospital in Delhi. However, the baby couldn’t survive. 

The Purab
Aur Paschim actor, speaking with Rajya Sabha TV, had said in Hindi, “I was the
oldest son, I had a younger sister named Lalita. When the Partition happened,
my mother gave birth to a son, whom we named Kuku. He and my mom were unwell,
we were in a refugee camp at the time. Mom was admitted in a hospital and riots
were taking place. When sirens would ring, doctors and nurses would go
underground.” 

“My mom
and brother were suffering. Mom was calling out for doctors but they were all
underground. Maa ne cheekh maari, mera bhi Kuku chala gaya tha (My mom
screamed, my brother had died). I was extremely angry, I took a lathi (stick)
and went underground where I beat up a few doctors and nurses. My dad came and
handled the situation,” he recalled. 

Manoj and
his family performed the final rites of the two-month-old child the next day.
“Uss two mahine ke bache ko Jamuna ji mein baha diya aur jaise jaise wo neecha
jaa raha tha, waise waise mujhe lagta tha ke main dub raha hu (The next day, we
laid the baby to rest in the Jamuna river. As his body sank, I felt I was
sinking too),” he added. 

That day,
Manoj’s father took an oath from the actor that he would never indulge in
violence ever again. “My father made me swear that I would never resort to
violence in life. There were times when I wanted to slap someone but my (oath
to) dad would stop me,” he said. 

Manoj
Kumar eventually moved to Mumbai and became a popular Bollywood star. Although
he delivered hits such as Gumnaam, Woh Kaun Thi? and Dus Numbri, Manoj became
synonym to patriotism in Bollywood with films like Shaheed, Purab Aur Paschim
and Kranti.