The Anglo Indian men who escorted millions of refugees to safety

The Anglo Indian men who escorted millions of refugees to safety
(Left to Right) My grandfather Bundy Nixon, 2 bearers - one sitting & one standing, my Uncle, Norman Costanzio Nixon, Rob May (an Australian Gurkha officer) and my father, Leslie Nixon. Pagdhal, Hoshangabad District, Madhya Pradesh, 1946

(Left to Right) My grandfather Bundy Nixon, 2 bearers - one sitting & one standing, my Uncle, Norman, Rob (an Australian Gurkha officer) and my father, Leslie. Pagdhal, Hoshangabad District, Madhya Pradesh, 1946 Image and Narrative contributed by Deborah Nixon, Sydney My family has a history of having lived in India for four, or possibly 5 generations- they were all Railways people. Both my grandmother and great grandmother were buried in Bhusawal. My father Leslie Nixon, was born in Agra in 1925, schooled in Mussoorie, trained with the Gurkhas and joined KGV's 1st OGR (King George V's regiment). He worked during the Partition to transport refugees in and out of  the Gurkha head quarters in Dharmsala (then Punjab territory, now in the independent state of Himachal Pradesh) to and from Pathankot, Punjab, by train. This photograph was taken at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh in 1946 . Behind them was an empty elephant stable. I like this photograph because it is at variance with the way the British in India were depicted on Shikar (Game hunting). This was an ordinary Anglo Indian life away from the metropolis and now there is very little to be seen of it. My father, aged 22 then and his friend Rob May were very young and had to take on an enormous responsibility and an almost impossible task during partition in protecting refugees. He, like millions of others, was left deeply affected by it . My father archived all of the family images in India and thanks to him I have been lucky to have a 'bird's eye view ' of partition. He kept a lot of old army documents and memorabilia from the few years he served with the…

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Shanta Bhandarkar as a grown up lady

Shanta Bhandarkar as a grown up lady
Shanta Bhandarkar, with her husband Dr. S.S. Bhandarkar, soon after they were married. Bombay, Maharashtra.1935

Shanta Bhandarkar, with her husband Dr. S.S. Bhandarkar, Bombay, Maharashtra.1935 Image and Narrative contributed by Usha Bhandarkar Shanta Bhandarkar, my Mother in Law, with my father-in-law, SS Bhandarkar, soon after they were married.

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The baby girl lived to be 100 years old

The baby girl lived to be 100 years old
Shanta Bhandarkar as a baby with her English Mother Louisa Bishop, and father Dr Vasudev Sukhtankar (with turban) and her uncle. Bombay, Maharashtra. 1910

Shanta Bhandarkar as a baby, with her English Mother Louisa Bishop, and father Dr Vasudev Sukhtankar (with turban) and her uncle. Bombay, Bombay Presidency (now Maharashtra) 1910 Image and Narrative contributed by Usha Bhandarkar Shanta Bhandarkar, my Mother in Law, turned 100 on February 25, 2010. On the occasion of her birthday our family gifted her an album with a collection of these old photographs, one of which is this as a baby. Shanta Bhandarkar doesn't have very good short term memory, but her long term memory is sharp. She remembers details like her mother's Christmas Pudding and the cakes that they used to bake. She studied at Sommerville, Oxford , UK and has travelled the world extensively.

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They went to receive the groom, but returned empty handed

They went to receive the groom, but returned empty handed
Mr & Mrs H.E Chowfin on their wedding day. Lahore, (Now Pakistan). December 28, 1938.

Mr & Mrs H.E Chowfin on their wedding day. Lahore, (Now Pakistan). December 28, 1938. Image and Narrative contributed by Madhypriya Sinha Mr Chowfin was part Chinese and part Indian. When the strapping Pathans from the bride's family went to the station to receive the groom, they returned empty handed claiming that the groom's family never arrived, there were however, many Chinese people hanging about at the station.

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