Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 310
310 AHMADIYY AT The aftermath of the partition of the Punjab proved to be a gruesome tragedy for all the three principal communities in the Punjab, Muslims (including the Ahmadiyya Com- munity), non-Muslims and Sikhs. A terrible holocaust in- volving extreme human suffering and misery was let loose on both sides of the newly determined border. An irresistible wave of horror raged unchecked over the greater part of the province. The general populace, with rare exceptions, exhi- bited a lack of moral and spiritual values that was heartrend- ing. It would serve no useful purpose to enter into a detailed description of the degradation of all human values that was manifested in all the areas that were overtaken by this foul maelstrom. It would be best to draw a curtain over the shameful spectacle. Neither side could be acquitted of blame. The moral guilt was shared by all. There were noble, courageous and heart-warming indivi- dual exceptions among all the communities, in which humanity maintained its priority over bigotry, passion and beastliness. For the Ahmadiyya Community it is a matter of satisfaction that both as individuals and as a Community they came out of this terrible trial, with loss of numerous precious lives and an enormous amount of property, but with their honour bright and unsullied. The Community as a whole, and its individual members, rendered aid and assistance to their suffering fellow beings without distinction of caste or creed, in every situation in which they were capable of rendering assistance, at the risk, and sometimes even at the cost, of their own lives, security and property. This was freely acknowledged on all hands. So long as the Ahmadis were not expelled from the greater part of Qadian, under police and military action, Qadian continued to serve as an asylum for Muslim refugees who were being driven out of the areas which had been allotted to India and were fleeing to Pakistan. When the turn of Qadian itself came, and the greater part of it had to be evacuated, the Community exhibited an extraordinary spectacle of discipline, orderli- ness, steadfastness and courage. Despite all. the adverse de-