The Qadian Diary — Page 5
5 12 August 1947 Railway and postal services are suspended in Qadian. Soon after the telegraph is shut down too and then the phone lines, leaving the 18,000 residents of Qadian, 95 per cent of whom are Ahmadi Muslims, cut off from the outside world. 17 August 1947 The decision of the Boundary Commission is announced and Gurdaspur, despite being a Muslim majority district, is placed within the union of India and with that Qadian comes under a heavy trial from God. 18 August 1947 Sikh militias begin to conduct raids in Gurdaspur committing murder, loot, arson and abduction. These attacks quickly esca- late. Muslims are driven out of their homes and villages across the district. Approximately 500,000 Muslims including 70,000 Ahmadis find themselves displaced in three subdivisions of Gur- daspur. There is widespread killing, loot, arson and abduction and numerous cases of forced conversions. 19 August 1947 In the area surrounding Qadian, Sikh militias block all canal bridges and routes leading to the town. It is no longer safe to freely move around. 21 August 1947 The Ahmadi village of Winjwan, which is situated to the west of Qadian, comes under Sikh attack. Fifty people are killed and 39