The Samjhauta Express
Documentary series. A look at the cross-border train known as the Samjhauta Express, which travels from Lahore to Delhi, and some of its passengers.
Freedom came to the subcontinent in August 1947. The British hastily partitioned British India before they left. Independence was attended by a million deaths and 14 million people were displaced.
Yet despite three wars, Pakistan and Indian railways have established a cross-border train, known as the Samjhauta Express - Samjhauta meaning agreement.
Amongst the passengers on the Samjhauta Express from Lahore to Delhi are Bilal and his father Abiz. Seventeen-year-old Bilal was the victim of an accident which damaged his eye. Unable to source the right treatment in Pakistan, father and son trawled the internet and finally found a suitable clinic. But it was in India. They have never stepped outside Pakistan, so they are a little nervous. Will they be successful in getting Bilal's eye treated?
Also on the train is Rahat Khan, the hockey queen. She's a Pakistan international and a railway hockey champion. She is travelling with her Pakistan girls' hockey team to play a match in India. But not everything goes to plan.
For the Sikh community, the Punjab is home. The golden temple of Amritsar is the holy of holies. But each year, on Guru Nanak's birthday, the railway runs special trains across the border to the guru's birthplace in Pakistan, despite the security concerns.
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Pakistan-India
Duration: 03:09
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Narrator | Bernard Hill |
Director | Gerry Troyna |
Series Producer | Gerry Troyna |
Executive Producer | Grant McKee |
Production Company | 3Di TV Software Programs Ltd |
Broadcasts
- Thu 26 Mar 2015 21:00
- Mon 30 Mar 2015 20:00
- Wed 16 Sep 2015 22:00
- Sat 19 Sep 2015 19:00
- Thu 21 Jan 2016 22:30
- Sun 24 Jan 2016 19:00
- Tue 22 Nov 2016 23:00
- Sat 26 Nov 2016 19:00
- Tue 12 Sep 2017 20:00
- Wed 13 Sep 2017 02:50
- Tue 4 Jun 2019 20:00
- Wed 5 Jun 2019 02:30
- Tue 1 Feb 2022 23:00
- Thu 11 Apr 2024 19:30
- Fri 12 Apr 2024 02:10