Opinion | Major General Syed Mahdi Hasnain: The Muslim Officer Who Chose India When Partition Tore The Subcontinent Apart

On Infantry Day, the story of a young Muslim officer who remained with his battalion, helped protect refugees fleeing communal violence and went on to become a Major General

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History often remembers wars through the battles fought, the territories defended and the soldiers who laid down their lives. But sometimes, a story about a soldier’s choice tells us as much about a nation’s character as the outcome of a battle.

As India observes Infantry Day on October 27, commemorating the landing of Indian Army troops in Srinagar in 1947, the story of Major General Syed Mahdi Hasnain deserves to be revisited. Long before he attained the rank of Major General, he was a young officer confronted with one of the most consequential personal decisions of Partition: whether to serve India or Pakistan.

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His decision was made in a period when the subcontinent was being divided along religious lines, communities were being uprooted, and the loyalties of soldiers serving in the British Indian Army were being tested by the creation of two independent countries.

Hasnain’s story is significant not simply because of the choice he made, but because of what he did next.

A soldier’s choice during Partition

In August 1947, Captain Syed Mahdi Hasnain was serving as adjutant of the 1st Battalion, the Garhwal Rifles, stationed at Peshawar. Following Partition, the battalion was ordered to move to Saharanpur in India. The journey took place amid widespread communal violence and the mass movement of refugees across the newly created international boundary.

The train carrying the battalion also had the responsibility of protecting Hindu and Sikh refugees travelling towards safety.

According to Brigadier Advitya Madan (retd), Hasnain’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel McLean, spoke to him during a halt at Lahore. He asked the young Muslim officer whether he intended to remain with India or move........

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