Were there any Muslims left in the Indian side of the Punjab after the 1947 riots?

Question

As is well-known to those acquainted with the history of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, there were large-scale riots in Punjab in 1947 when the province of the British Indian colony was partitioned along religious lines between the newly formed countries of Pakistan and India. The Hindus and Sikhs were victimised on the Pakistani side of the Punjab, whereas the Muslims had to suffer ethnic cleansing on the Indian side. The result was that the Hindus and Sikhs from the Pakistani Punjab migrated to India, and the Muslims from the Indian Punjab migrated to Pakistan.

There were religiously motivated riots in other parts of the subcontinent as well, but the Punjab riots were the most deadly.

Am I right?

Now my question is as follows:

Were there any Muslims in East Punjab who didn't migrate to Pakistan and managed to stay in their homes just as before? And if so, how were they able to do so in the face of death and plunder and kidnapping and rape of the womensfolks? What sort of trials and tribulations did those people had to go through in the period from July-August 1947 onward?

In particular, are the adherents of the Ahmedi version of Islam who are now living in Qaadian, District Gordaspur, in East Punjab the descendants of those Punjabis who stayed back? Didn't the rioting hordes of the Hindus and Sikhs didn't try to kill them, loot their belongings, and force them to flee? Did the rioters not try to vandalise Qaadian and all the institutions of the Jamaat-e-Ahmediyah in that town?

I would appreciate some authentic references on ths subjects also being included in the answers!

Answer 1

Malerkotla, a Muslim majority Princely State, is the best example. It is said that the Ruler had sided with the Sikhs in condemning atrocities by the Moghul Emperor. The Ruler acceded to India and lived there peacefully as did the Muslims of the area.

The community you mention migrated to Pakistan under the leadership of their second 'Kalipha'. However, a chosen few remained to tend their Religious shrines and this remains true to this day. It should be remembered that Ahmadis were fully accepted in Pakistan in the Fifties and Sixties. Many of them performed great service to the new Nation. Thus, there would have been no reason for people of this community to prefer to stay in India. Thus it was only to preserve their holy places that a chosen few stayed behind.