A Lifelong Commitment to Serving His Changing Country During Turbulent Times

Chaudhry is contributing the story of his father's and his father's cousin's experience of serving in World War Two as part of the British Indian Army in Malaya, where they fought against the Japanese.

His father, Abdul Majid (1924-2016), was born in 1924 in Jhelum, Punjab (then-India, now Pakistan). Both Abdul and his similarly aged cousin, Mohammad Anwar, worked in Jhelum as carpenters. One of their uncles eventually took them to an army recruitment office in Jhelum. As both teens were healthy and of impressive height (over 6 feet tall), they were recruited into the Baloch (Baluch) Regiment as part of the British Indian Army when they were about seventeen years old. After recruitment, they began their army period in Quetta, Balochistan, prior to World War Two. After their initial training, they were stationed in Roorkee, India.

In the early part of World War Two (around 1939-1940), Abdul and his cousin were sent to Malaya to fight the Japanese forces. They endured harsh conditions and combat amidst jungle warfare in Malaya. When his son Chaudhry would later express frustration during uneasy times he went through as an immigrant to the UK, Abdul would put things in perspective—remarking how during his war service, he was often forced to forego food for many days, leaving him and his peers desperate enough to eat the tree leaves they could get their hands on. Both Abdul and Mohammad served in Malaya throughout the war as soldiers. After the war's conclusion, they were sent back to India and continued to serve in the British Indian Army.

After the Partition of 1947, leading to India and Pakistan becoming independent states, Abdul and Mohammad joined the Pakistan Army; and in 1948, they fought the Indian Army in Kashmir. In 1962, Abdul's cousin Mohammad emigrated to Britain, having been granted entry on behalf of the British Army. He passed away in 2010 in High Wycombe.

Meanwhile, Abdul remained in Pakistan for the rest of his life due to his fervent patriotism. His son Chaudhry, this story's contributor, was born in 1959 in Pakistan (and would later follow in his uncle's footsteps by emigrating to Britain in 1999). Abdul fought against the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, including when Punjab's capital, Lahore, was attacked by the Indian Army as part of ongoing struggles.

Abdul was well-settled in Pakistan and remained a highly patriotic citizen, preferring to remain there rather than emigrate like his cousin, Mohammad. In Pakistan, he continued serving in their army before retiring in 1970. In retirement, he led a more tranquil life centered around farming. Abdul Majid ultimately passed away aged 92 in 2016 in Jhelum, the place of his birth, in his son Chaudhry's hands in hospital.