Varma, a native of Pune, asserted in a video that her family was living in Rawalpindi at the time of the Partition on the Devi College Road.
Digital Desk: Reena Chhibber Varma, 90, who spent 75 years
living in India before leaving during Partition, was given a visa by Pakistan
on Saturday, enabling her to realise a lifelong goal by visiting her family's
home in Rawalpindi.
Moist-eyed Varma
quickly left for Rawalpindi, her hometown, where she would see Prem Niwas, her
family home, as well as her school and old friends.
Varma, a native
of Pune, asserted in a video that her family was living in Rawalpindi at the
time of the Partition on the Devi College Road.
"I studied
there at the Modern School. My four siblings and I each went to the same
school. My brother and sister were both students at the Gorden College, which
is close to the Modern School "She recalled.
"My father was a
progressive individual, therefore he had no issues with my elder siblings
visiting our home with their Muslim acquaintances. Prior to Partition, there
was no such issue between Hindus and Muslims. This happened after the
Partition. Despite the injustice of India's division, she continued, the two
countries should work together to eliminate visa requirements for everyone.
Varma, who was just 15 years old when her family moved to India after the 1947
Partition, has been granted a three-month visa by the Pakistan High Commission
in India.
Despite applying
for a Pakistani visa in 1965, Varma was denied due to the intense antagonism
that existed at the time between the two neighbours as a result of the war.
The elderly woman
alleged that she had made a social media post last year expressing her desire
to visit her family home.
She received a
message on social media from a Pakistani resident named Sajjad Haider offering
her photos of her Rawalpindi residence.
She just
reapplied for a Pakistani visa, but it was denied.
Later, she tweeted Hina
Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs, expressing her
desire to travel to her hometown of origin, and she arranged for her to obtain
a visa.
