Revisiting Memories! After 75 Years, 92-Year-Old Indian Woman Visits Ancestral Home In Pakistan

After 75 years, a 92-year-old Indian woman identified as Reena Chhibar reached Pakistan on Saturday to visit her ancestral home. The Pakistani High Commission has issued Chhibar a three-month visa as part of a goodwill gesture.

The 92-year-old woman, on Saturday, July 16, made her way through the Wagah-Attari border to visit her childhood home at Prem Niwas in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She urged the governments of both nations to "work together" to ease visa restrictions to make "coming and going easy for us", reported NDTV.

Was Just 15 At The Time Of The Partition

The woman was just 15 years old when she left her ancestral home. Her family sent Reena and her siblings to Solan in March 1947. Soon after the partition, her parents also moved to India.

She said that she "could not remove her ancestral home, her neighbourhood, and the streets from her heart".Reena recalled a multi-cultural, diverse community that was thriving in Pindi before the partition as she was driven from the border to Rawalpindi.

"My siblings had friends who would come over to our house from various communities, including Muslims," she said, according to The Express Tribune. She also recollected that "our house-help was also a diverse mix of people".

Had Applied For Visa Several Times

Reena, also known as 'Toshi', attempted to visit Pakistan several times in the past but couldn't do so due to varied reasons. In 1965, she got a special India-Pakistan passport, but she could not receive permission amid high tensions due to the warfare between the two neighbouring countries.

Then recently, in March 2022, she again applied for the visa, but it was rejected. But later in May, the Pakistani High Commission issued her a three-month visa after a video story of Reena, covered by the Independent Urdu, went viral on social media.

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