A recent podcast with the author of the book “Refugee”–it is centered on the 1971 events in South Asia, and the ordeals of the Urdu speaking community commonly referred to as Biharis–those who moved from Bihar to East Pakistan (Bangladesh since 1971) during and after the partitioning of the sub-continent. They are also called ‘Stranded Pakistanis’.
Irshad Salim from Karachi adds:I call them ‘Rohingya of the two-nation doctrine’–this led to the creation of India and Pakistan (two wings separated by India in the middle) as two independent States in August 1947. Twentyfive years later, three independent States evolved, but in my humble view, the merit of the two-nation doctrine remains profound just as the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile draws attention and as real as a paperweight on the working table.
