Quetta
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Quetta quake
Quetta quake 1935
The day Quetta shook
Marium El-Edroos writes about her mother whose life changed forever with the 1935 earthquake in Quetta
I felt a chill through my bones as the second anniversary of the October 8 earthquake drew near, taking a trip down memory lane. My heartfelt sympathies go out to people whose lives were physically and emotionally devastated.
My mother was a survivor of the Quetta earthquake in 1935, which has been recorded in the Time Concise Atlas of the World as the deadliest earthquake of the last century, in which 30,000 people died.
My mother had a generous, vivacious and charismatic personality. However, there was an inner sadness in her bubbly nature, which was the result of a childhood trauma. Often we would sit by the log fire as it drizzled outside and I would ask her about her childhood. Watching the logs burning rekindled memories of yore and she would often wonder aloud how life would have been different had her parents survived the earthquake.
Her father, Sarbilund Khan Afridi, served with the 19 Lancers in France, in 1917, and was awarded the ‘Indian Order of Merit’ for his gallantry and distinguished service in Flanders.
While in the Indian civil service, he was stationed in Lasbella. At the time his family was living in Quetta and he was chosen to be part of the Foreign Service in France. His wife persuaded him to come and spend a few days with the family before embarking on his long journey.
There must have been great preparations in his honour. The day he arrived, that very night, May 31, the earthquake struck. As fate would have it, my mother and her two sisters survived. Their parents and the household staff, including a Scottish Nanny perished. Three days later she and her sisters were rescued from the rubble.
The three little orphan girls were sent to their ancestral home in the village. Their late father was affectionately called "Halwa Dada" which means sweet daddy, as he always helped the underprivileged people. His greatest joy was to educate the poor children of the tribe. They were put in the care of their stepbrother and mother remembered her stepmother as being very kind to them.
In accordance with the wishes of their late father, they were given a formal education, which was unheard of in those days for girls of their tribe. Once at the railway station in Rawalpindi, while they were on their way to their convent in Murree, a British officer came up to their brother, who was standing by the platform with his little sisters dressed in their school uniforms, and asked him what he was doing with the British school girls. However, much to the surprise of the other people there, he replied that they were his sisters. The officer was shocked as he was quite older than the girls and dressed in the traditional clothes with a beard.
When Parents' Day was celebrated at school, my mother would stand by the railings looking down at the entrance of the school. Seeing girls receiving their parents, she would spend her time watching their mothers to see what style of shoes they were wearing, as she had a passion for shoes. Unfortunately for the sisters, they had no one to visit them.
When my mother was 16, a dashing young captain arrived on the scene. He was fascinated with the Pathans, after reading Kipling's stories about them in his school in Daradoun. He wanted to marry a Pathan girl because they were known for their beauty and fortitude.
The first thing he was told on arrival was that if he got any closer he would be shot as they didn’t allow their girls to marry outsiders. Yet, he took up the challenge, and soon, much to his surprise he was greeted with open arms because they discovered that he was a Syed and it was an honour for them. Thus, the marriage between my father and mother was solemnised which lasted 36 years.
Unfortunately in later years, my mother struggled bravely with cancer showing the courage her tribe was famous for. A day before her death, I kissed her hand lightly, and she gently told me not to touch her because her whole body ached with pain. She died on April 18, 1986. Thus ended the life of a person who was loved by all who knew her.
I believe that my father suffered the most. His mother died in childbirth, his younger brother died in a plane crash, he was separated from his father during the partition of India.
Following is a poem I wrote in memory of my parents and dedicated to all the young orphans of this world: Cobwebs
I am brought to my senses ,By the rustling of the leaves Inside the trees outside the window,As I lay asleep I dreamt of days long gone by,Of people and places .Who have left behind faint traces ,People who are screened by the veil of death I long to reach out To hold and be held.
Quetta quake II
The quake that destroyed Quetta
By Saleem-ul-Haq Khan
The major earthquake that created havoc in Quetta and its surrounding areas nearly 72 years ago was a calamity whose horrifying affects have lasted decades, and even today. This natural disaster was the worst and the last of its kind in the pre-partitioned India. And the earthquake that shook the Northern Areas in October 2005 brought back painful memories of the earlier disaster.
Quetta, which was a happy and cheerful city, turned into a valley of death within a short duration of 45 seconds as a result of the violent earthquake in the early and dark hours of May 31, 1935. The entire city, with a population of about fifty thousand people, was severely damaged within seconds of the first shock, claiming, according to official statistics, thirty-five to forty thousand lives.
A part of Quetta Cantonment was also damaged but the loss of life and property there was comparatively less. Similarly, the violent tremor was felt strongly in the villages around Quetta and the neighbouring district of Kalat. The death tool as reported was 3500 in the rural areas of the Quetta District and almost an equal number in the district of Kalat. The Quetta earthquake of 1935 was in its affect quite different from the Bihar earthquake of 1934. In Quetta quake, the shock, except in Quetta town itself, was over a much smaller and less thickly populated area. There were, however, no instance of sand geysers or fissures as were the case in Bihar earthquake which caused considerable damage to the agricultural lands there.
The communication between Quetta and other parts of the country was confined to only one railway line through Bolan Pass which made the evacuation and supply work extremely difficult. The presence in Quetta of a large army garrison proved to be advantageous because the entire military resources there were immediately mobilized to assist in rescue work, as well as other relief measures after the great earthquake.
The earth tremor occurred at 3.03am and some people who survived the earthquake were reported to have felt slight shocks on various dates before the main shock. This phenomenon was not unusual in Quetta where slight shocks were frequently felt throughout the year because of it being in the seismic zone, and, therefore, no particular notice was taken of the shocks which preceded the earthquake.
Some of the residents of Quetta town had reportedly noticed the birds and animals being in state of unusual excitement before the earthquake, which served as prior warning about something unusual about to happen. Being an unusually cold night, majority of the people were sleeping inside their houses and this was one of the main reasons for a great loss to human life.
The epicentre of the earthquake extended over an area about 68 miles long by 16 miles broad, passing Baleli, just northwest of Quetta, through Sariab valley at the end of which Quetta itself lies, through Dingar and Mastung up to Mandi Haji to the west of Mastung-Kalat Road. The shock was felt over a much greater area which included Kalat, the Pashin sub-division, Nushki and Bolan Pass, but no great damage occurred in any of these places.
Practically the entire damage caused to life and property occurred within 45 seconds of the first shock. According to investigations conducted after the catastrophe, it appeared that almost all buildings in Quetta city and the civil lines collapsed in this shot period. This resulted in enormous pall of dust which lay over the whole area for considerable time and made rescue operation extremely difficult.
The electric supply in Quetta was cut off because of the power station having been damaged by the earthquake, with the result that nothing could be visible in the night. A number of aftershocks jolted the city within few hours of the main shock and on subsequent days, but no further damage was caused probably because of the fact that no building was intact and left standing in Quetta town.
As mentioned earlier, there was comparatively less damage caused in the Quetta cantonment area, with only a few military bungalows being affected. This immunity from severity of the shock, however, did not extend to the then Royal Air Force lines which were in low lying ground along the Samungly Road, north of Quetta. These lines suffered as severely as the city and according to official figures over 50 percent of their effective strength either perished or was injured.
Units of the army moved into city immediately after the earthquake and areas were allocated to various groups to conduct rescue operations under the direct supervision of the then General Officer Commanding of Quetta Garrison, General Karlsake. The relief headquarters were setup in the lawns of the ruined Quetta Club. The G.O.C kept in close touch with the then Agent to Governor, General Sir Norman Cater for the carrying on of relief operations.
The only thing which remained intact and undamaged was the 14-mile line through which water was being supplied to Quetta city and the cantonment. The army authorities immediately assumed control of this vital line and every effort were taken to see that water supply was not stopped throughout the critical period. According to official statistics, medical treatment was provided to twenty thousand to twenty five thousand people by June 14, 1935, in various civil and military hospitals and dispensaries. It may be mentioned that the subordinate civil officials and Quetta police force had practically been wiped out and were not available for any of their usual functions. The most pressing need was to rescue people from under the debris and give them proper medical assistance and make available to the survivors food and shelter.
One of the major steps that were taken to cope with the situation was to restrict the entry of the people from outside into Quetta. This was necessitated because of the shortage of food supplies in the city. The ration at the disposal of the military was limited. The survivors were shifted to various camps setup in the city to provide them with shelter. The total population of the town shifted to these camps numbered 15,621 by the end of the year 1935.
The Viceroy’s Quetta Relief Fund started on June 3, 1935, and contributions continued to pour in until a total of five million rupees were collected. The actual work of distribution of relief was mainly carried out by the local organisations. There was hardly any family in Quetta which had not lost one or more of their members in the great earthquake. Every year May 31, 1935, comes and passes just as a day of remembrance for those who perished in the earthquake in a twinkling of an eye.
