Riots start in undivided Punjab
From Calcutta, the riots spread to the north, east and west, up to Noakhali in East Bengal, where Muslims had killed Hindus, and as far as Bihar where Hindus killed Muslims. The Mullahs began to carry the skulls of the Muslims killed in Bihar in the Punjab and the border provinces. Hindus and Sikhs, who had been living in the north-western border areas of the country for centuries, left their homes and started fleeing to the east for safety, i.e., the areas where Hindus and Sikhs are in abundance.
Some walked on foot, some in bullock carts, some loaded with lorries, some hung in trains or on their roofs. Along the way they had encounters with similarly stricken Muslims who were fleeing west for safety. The riots turned into a stampede. By the summer of 1947, when the creation of the new state of Pakistan had been announced, nearly 10 million Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were caught in the stampede.
By the arrival of the monsoon, nearly a million humans had died. Arms were stretched all over northern India, people were fear-mongering and hide-and-seek. The only remnants of peace were the deserts, scattered small inaccessible villages on the far outskirts.
Cyril Radcliffe's dividing line had left five million Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistani Punjab. Fifty lakh Muslims were left out in Indian Punjab. These three castes clashed on each other. Collins and Lapier have written – When Europeans killed each other, bombs, grenades and gas chambers were used. When the people of Punjab set out to do their own destruction, sticks, hockey-sticks, ice-breakers, daggers, knives, swords, axes, hammers, bricks and thongs were used.
The public showed mutual hatred, cruelty and demonic tendencies to such an extent that all the leaders were stunned. …… did the devil worship of India and Pakistan with minimum conscience and maximum hysteria in that short period. The drains of Lahore had turned red because human blood was flowing in them.
On 14 August 1947, as soon as Pakistan was formed, the water supply to Hindu and Sikh mohallas in Lahore was cut off. The terrible heat made people crazy about thirst. Outside their mohallas, Muslim troops were standing taunting their arms. All the women and children who were coming out of the locality to beg for a dollop of water were being mercilessly put to death. The city was burning with smoke in at least half a dozen places.
Captain Robert Atkins was sent with an army of Gurkhas to restore peace and order in Lahore. He was besieged by Hindus and Sikhs in the city holding a few briefcases and children pleading. They wanted him to be kept in the camps. About one lakh Hindus and Sikhs were imprisoned in old Lahore. Their water supply was cut off by setting fire all around. …… The famous Gurudwara near Shah Alam Gate was surrounded by a mob and set it on fire.
On 15th August, 10 Down Express train coming from Pakistan to India stopped at Amritsar railway station in India Punjab. The passengers of the entire train were badly hacked. All the eight bogies of the train had severed throats, torn skulls, protruding intestines, mutilated limbs and torso. Some of the wounded were still alive and groaning in pain.
In the last part of the train, a compartment was written in big letters - 'We are sending this train in the name of Nehru and Patel as a gift of freedom.' At that time, there was a huge crowd of refugees who had come in the trains coming from West Punjab at the Amritsar railway station. Seeing these dead bodies, they burst into anger and frenzy.