There is something about Lajpat Nagar, in south Delhi, which attracts refugees of different hues — from Punjabis to Afghans. VIVEK SHUKLA analyses how the once ‘refugee colony’ has transformed itself over the years since Partition

Come August and it is time to recall the heady days of Partition, particularly by the fast dwindling refugee population of Lajpat Nagar, south Delhi, who had come here to restart their lives after losing everything in a communal frenzy in Pakistan. It is an equally emotional moment for their kids who grew up listening to their sob stories soaked in blood and sweat. The memories of those dark days are still fresh in the minds of those who had seen violence being perpetrated on them and their relatives.

While refugees from Pakistan came and settled in many cities and towns, Lajpat Nagar remains an altogether different story. It will go down in Delhi’s history as a haven for refugees. Since 1952, when homes for refugees were allotted, it has become a hub of several other people fleeing their homeland in search of peace and livelihood. The area saw the first wave of refugees just after Partition, when Hindus and Sikhs from Punjab and Sindh were rehabilitated here.

The second wave of refugees came from Afghanistan in 1979, following the invasion of their country by the then Soviet Union. Later, after a series of attacks from the Taliban, many Hindus and Sikhs from Afghanistan also came looking for shelter here.

The last couple of years have also seen the arrival of several Kashmiri families, mostly Muslims from the Valley. With their business not doing well in Jammu & Kashmir, they have been forced to migrate to the Capital. Interestingly, many of them have chosen Lajpat Nagar to settle down. As if this were not enough, some Chinese-origin families of Delhi have also considered the locality as their own.

According to Anil Makhijani, whose family hails from Hyderabad, Sindh, and has settled down in Lajpat Nagar, “The original allottees of this place were those refugees who were staying at Purana Qila camps after migrating to Delhi from Pakistan. Though several original allottees of Lajpat Nagar have moved to other places, families of the original settlers still make the majority of the population in the colony.

Except for Lajpat Nagar-III, each plot given to refugees was of either 100 or 125 sq ft. Lajpat Nagar-III has bigger plots. The area, which still has some old houses, is one of the most sought-after places in the capital: Today, a house here can cost you more than Rs 2 crore.

Recalls Deepak Joshi, a businessman and an old resident of Lajpat Nagar-IV, “Though the people who had seen the fire of Partition are not many around, those who have survived couldn’t stop discussing the circumstances that forced them to leave their homeland, particularly when August 15 is around.” Joshi then moves on to changing demographic profile of the locality. “In the early 1960s, people began renovating their houses in Lajpat Nagar. By the mid-1970s, the owners started constructing additional floors or rooms to give them on rent,” he adds.

That was also the time when a newly-built commercial complex — Nehru Place — started bustling with activity and a large number of companies set up their offices there. Those who were working at Nehru Place started looking for rented accommodations in Lajpat Nagar, as it was very close to their offices. This transformed the class character of Lajpat Nagar. The owners started letting out their houses on rent.

The 1980s saw the process getting intensified. This was the decade when house-owners, in order to earn quick money, defied municipal by-laws and constructed extra floors and basements in their houses. The process reached epidemic proportions by the mid-1990s when some residents gave their plots to builders, who constructed three floors and a basement. As per the deal, the owners were given the ground floor, comprising two bedrooms and a drawing-cum-dining room. The builder sold the remaining part of the house for a whopping profit.

What is so special about Lajpat Nagar that prompts refugees and migrants to settle down here? George Chiu, a Chinese of Indian origin, says: “Lajpat Nagar is close to central Delhi. Moreover, this place has such a charm that if you live here once, then you won’t feel like moving out anywhere else.”

Also, it goes without saying that the Central Market of Lajpat Nagar is among the most sought-after commercial centres in Delhi. It is a shopper’s paradise. Showrooms of virtually every big brand can be found here. Due to this reason, the commercial rates of this market have not come down even now when the real estate is facing rough weather. The 100 sq yard shop in the Lajpat Nagar Central Market is not available for anything less than Rs 3 crore.

Material prosperity, however, has brought its own tensions within families. Noted writer and cartoonist Sushil Kalra says that due to steep rise in property rates, many youngsters are putting undue pressure on their elders to dispose of their houses. Thus, many old refugee families have moved to other parts of the Capital.

Notwithstanding such tensions, Lajpat Nagar retains itself as an out-and-out refugee colony. And, those who have come later still call original residents ‘refugees’ even after more than six decades of Partition.

-- The writer is a Delhi-based journalist associated with a television channel