A Christian family from Bhera
When I was serving in the ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) Directorate in 1995, I met Mr Sarfraz Alexander who was then serving in the Press Information Department, Islamabad (he also served in PTV). He told me he belonged to Bhera, and his elder brother, Iven Anwar lived there for a much longer period … presently residing in Rawalpindi. I became inquisitive to meet Mr Iven and to know more from him about Bhera and his family. lven was an engineer by profession, retired from the Agriculture Department.
Iven Anwar (late) told me briefly about his family. His father, Alexander Hussain Bux’s parents converted to Christianity around 1884, when the Mission was established in Bhera. In the epidemic of 1903, his parents died. He was then a young boy. His parental uncle wanted to kill him so that he could acquire the property. He was given shelter by the wife of Pastor Sundar Das Jessue (known as Papa Jee in Bhera), who was a good friend of Alexander’s mother, and thereafter he was raised and educated by Papa Jee and his wife. She was a qualified midwife in the 1930s in Bhera, well known, as she handled the delivery cases of noble and elite families of Bhera. After having his initial education till middle in Bhera, Hussain Bux went to Lahore, finished his education and joined the railways. After completion of training, he was posted in Bhera.
He got married to Raj Alexander and raised his family of four sons and three daughters in Bhera. All children were born and raised in Bhera. Amongst the siblings, Iven Anwar had spent more time in Bhera and later continued to maintain connections. Others were relatively young when they moved to Lahore … they have only vague memories of Bhera.
One of Iven Anwar’s aunts, Miss Katharine was a teacher at Arya Girls School in Mohalla Sahnianwala, later she became its principal. The family lived behind and north of Bhera Police Station (1870) and the Boys’ Hostel of the Government High School (GHS), Bhera. ( The school was established in the early 1880s, when the new building was constructed in 1927, near Bhera Railway Station in 1881, the old building became the Boys’ Hostel). Their community looked after the Civil Dispensary Bhera, next to their house, where people from all castes and creeds were taken care of. There was a small chapel between the civil dispensary and their house and a one-room library nearby. In Bhera they had their graveyard.
Iven told me that till Class IV he studied in Arya Primary School, Sahnia da Mohallah, from Class V to Class VIII in Arya High School, and Class IX & X in Government High School Bhera, did matric from there in 1950. He remembered that when he joined GHS, Choudhry Sahib was the headmaster, later Qazi Saddique took over from him. The teachers he recalled of his time were Farman Ali Shah, Sheikh Muhammad Mumtaz and Malik Fazal Ellahi. Amongst friends, he remembered the names of Ghaffar Piracha, Ata ur Rehman, Khawaja Asmat, Jamil and Jalil of Mohalla Khawjagon, and his class fellow and fast friend Iqbal Khari. When the complete family finally left Bhera is not confirmed.
In the 70s, Alexander Hussain Bux was posted to Lahore. He retired from there and settled in Gulberg, Lahore. His sister, Mrs Katharine Zafar, also left the school in Bhera and went to Lahore with him. Alexander Hussain Bux passed away on 18 Sep1979, in Lahore.
*Notes:*
1. According to the Gazetteer on District Shahpur -1905, “The American United Presbyterian Mission has a station at Bhera, where work was started in 1884 “.
2. Mr Iven Anwar, was the elder brother of film actress Neelo (Mrs Abida Riaz, mother of renowned film actor Shaan Shahid ). She was born Cynthia Alexander Fernandes on 30 June 1940, in Bhera (for details see Wikipedia). Mr Alexander Hussain Bux (passed away on 18 Sep 1979), had four sons and three daughters. Two of his sons – Iven Anwar, who passed away on 24 Jul 2011 and Safraz Alexander in 2014, were my friends. His other children are either settled in Pakistan or the USA.
3. *Kirpa Ram Arya Primary School* Kirpa Ram Primary School was known as Arya Primary School (Grade 1 to 4). It was in Mian da mohalla (near mohalla Sahniawala) . Iven Anwar studied in this school till Grade IV.
4. *Girls Middle School (Putri Patshalla – School for Daughters, before Partition)*. It was Girls Middle School (Grade I to VIII), before the partition near Ganj Mandi and Sahnia da Mohalla. In 1950 it became Government Girls Middle School and in 1952 was upgraded to Government Girls High School. Before partition, there was also a Girl’s Primary School, run by Municipal Committee Bhera, in the nearby vicinity. Around 1969 the the Government Girls High School was shifted to Arya High School. In the building vacated by Government Girls High School, Government Elementary School was established (Grades I to VIII). It has now been upgraded to Government Elementary High School.
5. *Girls in Senior Classes in Arya High School and Government Boys High School, Bhera*. Before the Government Girls High School was established in Bhera, the desirous girls from Bhera and surrounding areas took admission in Class IX & X in Arya High School and Government High School for Boys, Bhera.
6. *Kirpa Ram Anglo – Sanskrit High School*. Kirpa Ram Anglo-Sanskrit High School was an unaided High School, established at the start of the 20th century (known as Arya School). It was founded by Kirpa Ram Sahin’s family. (Reference: The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol III – 1908 Edition). Even Anwar studied in this school till Class VIII. After the partition in 1947, the junior classes of Government High School, Bhera were held in Aray High School. Later, Government Girls High School, near Ganj Mandi and Sahnia da Mohalla was shifted to Arya School, and junior classes were sent back to Government High School, Bhera. Lately, Government Girls School has been upgraded to Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Bhera.
7. *Government High School Bhera*. According to District Shahpur Gazetteer (1905), in the whole of district Shahpur, there were only two high schools, both in Bhera. The municipality of Bhera was created in 1867. Municipal Committee Primary School No 2, up to Class lV, was founded in the same year, known as Chirri Chong Primary School, mohallah Sheikhanwala. Anglo Vernacular High School, Bhera was founded around 1882 (the exact year being confirmed). It was maintained by the Education Department & Municipal Committee of the town. Its building was between the old Police Station Bhera (1870) and the Civil Dispensary, Kachery Bazaar. Iven’s family lived north of Bhera Police Station. The family had a chapel on the northern side between the Civil Dispensary and the old Government High School Bhera. Government High School went through several phases after its establishment around 1882. In 1905, it was named Government High School, in 1918, it became District Board High School, and in 1923, King George’s High School. In 1927, it was shifted to the new building near Railway Station Bhera (1881) and was again named as Government High School, Bhera. The old building of the school became the boys’ hostel. Iven studied Class IX & X from this school and did matric in 1950.
8. Mr Iven Anwar’s son-in-law is a retired major general from the Pakistan Army – Noel Israel Khokar. Retired in 2016. He was appointed ambassador for Ukraine in Dec 2020. Now he is back.
9. Prof Allama Nazir Ahmed has details about Iven’s family as he had intimate contact with them till the time they lived in Bhera. Somebody should get the details about the family from Allama Sahib, presently living in Bhera, as part of the history of Bhera, before his memories fade away. A few pictures are shared below:
To be continued…
Zahid Mumtaz
