We wanted Abdul Khaliq to go to school . We wanted him to go the the same school I had gone to. To the government high school that was taught in English. But the headmaster said no. He said there was no room.
We decided to take our case to the Secretary of Education, because you see the headmaster was Hindu. So I got a train ticket to Bareilly. A first class ticket to try to set things right.
When I got to the train, there were two British soldiers in the first class car. They saw me and told me to get out. I showed them my ticket, but it didn’t matter to them. I tried to insist, and one of the soldiers hit me. So I left the car.
The trainmaster at the station said that there was nothing he could do. He gave me a second class ticket. And I got on one of the second class cars.
You see all these things were going on in the country then. Such hatred. Such prejudice. But now, the Secretary of Education was a Christian.
I explained our request, and he approved. He signed a paper and gave it to me.
So I returned from Bareilly. And I showed the headmaster the paper admitting Abdul Khaliq. There was nothing he could do. He had to admit him.
My father looked up at me. His story was done.
Khadija spoke from dining room. “Is this the same Abdul Khaliq? The same one who calls us all the time?”
“The same one,” my father said.