A Muslim boy named Muhammad Shafi, who was separated from his family in East Punjab during the 1947 Partition, has reconnected with them after 77 years. This reunion was made possible through the efforts of Indian historian Nonica Datta and Pakistani YouTuber Abbas Khan Lashari.
At the age of 10, Shafi was separated from his family and adopted by a Sikh family in East Punjab, where he was renamed Mahinder Singh Gill. Lashari, who runs the YouTube channel ‘Sanjhe Wele’ (The Age of Unity), had shared the story of Gill’s long-lost family in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, which ultimately led to their reunion.
Nonica Datta, a professor of Modern Indian History at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, shared her role in this journey. She recounted to Radiance how she came across Lashari’s video while conducting research.
“I met Mahinder Singh Gill during my fieldwork in Ferozepur and interviewed him. He told me that although he was raised in a Sikh family, his birth parents were Chiragh Din and Fatima from a Muslim family. He had been separated at the age of 10. This story stayed with me, and when I googled his original village in East Punjab, I found Abbas Khan Lashari’s YouTube channel, ‘Sanjhe Wele,’ where he had interviewed Shafi’s family in Pakistan. Their accounts matched perfectly,” Datta said.
In Lashari’s interview, Gill’s brother had shared that his brother, Shafi, had been lost during the Partition – echoing the same story that Datta had heard from Gill. She contacted Lashari to confirm that it was indeed the same family. Together, they arranged a Zoom call to reunite Shafi, now known as Mahinder Singh Gill, with his family in Nankana Sahib. Datta traveled to Ferozepur for the reunion, while Lashari informed the Pakistani family of the news. The online reunion took place, and Gill was able to meet his brothers and nephews after nearly eight decades. He asked about his parents and uncle during the emotional encounter.
“It was unbelievable how a ten-year-old could remember everything that happened in 1947,” Datta remarked. “Gill, who now calls himself Mahinder Shafi, is eagerly waiting to meet his family in person, either at the Kartarpur Corridor or in Nankana Sahib. Though he is very old and has poor eyesight, the Zoom call transformed him. In just three days, he became a different person – his eyes sparkled with new life. There was hope, longing, and love on both sides. It was a celebration of shared love, healing, and unity across the border.”
Muhammad Shafi’s reunion with his family in Pakistan after 77 years is a remarkable moment, highlighting the enduring power of love, memory, and humanity across divided borders.
