Samjhauta rolls out for lasting peace

‘‘Ek tadap hai milne ki (there’s an urge to meet),’’ said Nargis Igris. A resident of Aligarh, she is travelling to Pakistan for the first time to meet her ailing sister, who stays in Karachi.

As policemen and sniffer dogs guard the entry to Platform 2 and camera bulbs flash all around her, she stands unaware of the political symbolism, and significance of the train?

‘‘Yes,’’ she says, ‘‘this time, things seem different. I hope that peace will be longlasting; ek relationship ban jayegi’’. Purshottan Pahuja, a resident of Quetta, has been in India for two years now, thanks to the suspension of travel links between the two countries following the December 13 attack on Parliament.

Visiting India in 2001 on a three-month visa, Pahuja was forced to stay back with relatives in Nagpur. ‘‘It doesn’t seem that long though, I could come again,’’ he smiled as he boarded the train with his wife and son. He said he experienced an apnapan here in the country.

All the travellers are sensitive to the reasons behind suspension of rail links last time round, but can’t help praying that such a step will not be necessitated again.

However, as the train pulled out of the Old Delhi Railway Station, about half of its 16 coaches remained empty despite booking being open upto a few minutes before the departure. According to figures given by a railway ticketing official, 124 reserved and 118 unreserved tickets were sold. Anwar Ali, a coolie at the station who had witnessed the last train to Attari, said the reason could be that travel documents are hard to get, and this is the first train after so many months.

‘‘Come next month, you will find the train packed to capacity like it used to be two years back at Platform 8,’’ he predicts. Anwar himself hopes to take the train to Pakistan sometime – to see his uncle in Lahore.