8 months ago
Partition Legacy: Aitchison and YPS Celebrate Separately
A long time ago, there was a famous school in Lahore called Aitchison College.
When India and Pakistan were divided in 1947, many students had to move to India.
A new school, Yadavindra Public School (YPS), was started in Patiala, India, to help these students continue their studies.
Both schools have a special connection because of this history.
Now, they are celebrating their birthdays separately because India and Pakistan are not getting along well.
YPS will honor some special alumni who studied at both schools.
There are also efforts to reconnect families who were friends before the division.
A special prayer service will also be held at Aitchison College for the first time in many years.
Aitchison College in Lahore and Yadavindra Public School in Patiala celebrate their foundation days separately due to strained India-Pakistan relations.
YPS Patiala will honor 15 alumni who studied at both Aitchison and YPS after migrating due to Partition.
Peace activists are reconnecting families of former Aitchison students from both countries.
A Sikh worship service will be held at Aitchison Gurdwara on February 13, 2025, for the first time since Partition.
Aitchison College was founded in 1886 and named after Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison, while YPS was founded in 1948 by Maharaja Yadavindra Singh.
- Who
- Aitchison College in Lahore, Pakistan, and Yadavindra Public School in Patiala, India
- What
- Celebrating their foundation days separately due to strained relations between India and Pakistan
- Where
- Aitchison College in Lahore, Pakistan, and YPS in Patiala, India
- When
- Aitchison: February 13-15, 2025; YPS: February 2-3, 2025
- Why
- To honor their shared history and legacy, with YPS also honoring alumni who migrated from Aitchison after Partition
Key facts
- Aitchison College
- Founded in 1886, Lahore, Pakistan
- Yadavindra Public School
- Founded in 1948, Patiala, India
- Aitchison College Foundation Day
- February 13-15, 2025
- YPS Patiala Foundation Day
- February 2-3, 2025
- Shared Alumni
- 15 living alumni who attended both schools
- Sikh Worship Service
- February 13, 2025, at Aitchison Gurdwara
- Aitchison College Founder
- Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison
- YPS Patiala Founder
- Maharaja Yadavindra Singh
Quotes
Tarunjit Singh Butalia
Founder of Jeevay Sanjha Punjab, an organisation working for peace on both sides of the border
“We are in touch with all the 15 living boys in India who attended Aitchison till 1947 and later moved to YPS. We are also in the process of reconnecting cross-border descendants of old boys who were friends before 1947 at the college. We have already connected six pairs of such families — the Raza and Bedi families, Manawala and Raza families, Bharwana and Bhadaur families, Bajwa and Zulqarnain families, Tiwana and Butalia families, and Bedi and Taarar families.”
indianexpress.com
“These are heartwarming reunions of families after a long time, built on lifelong Aitchison friendships and memories of their ancestors who were friends at the Lahore college. It is an ode to the old boys and their good old memories, which can never die despite Partition creating physical borders.”
indianexpress.com
Navin Kumar Dixit
Headmaster of YPS Patiala
“We have managed to contact at least 15 such alumni who will be invited and honoured at the Special Assembly on February 3. They studied at Aitchison and later moved to YPS after Partition. Very few of them are alive now, but we are trying to get in touch with as many as we can.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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