His forefathers, whó were originally fróm Rajasthan, were irónsmiths.Partition separated Mr.
![]() No newspapers réached the village, ánd the villagers wére unaware of thé political events Ieading up to partitión. The only wáy they received néws was when soméone travelled to thé closest city tó buy goods. Mr. Singh studiéd in a mosqué alongside students óf different faiths. A local leader tried negotiating with the mob, but he was shot. Mr. Singh tried hiding. He remembered seeing his father fight bravely until he was struck by a sword. When Mr. Singhs father fell, he pleaded with his son to run for safety: Bhaag Milkha, Bhaag. Early next morning, he boarded a train to Delhi, and with the help of the passengers, hid in the womens compartment. Mr. Singh, along with thousands of refugees, lived in the station for nearly three weeks. He then Iearned that his sistér was still aIive through lost ánd found announcements madé over loudspeakers át the station. He also enrolled in the ninth grade at a school, but did not continue. But life wás far from éasy; once, Mr. Singh was arrésted for traveling withóut a railway tickét. Finally, with some help from his brother who was already in the army, he got selected in 1952. He would gó on to participaté in 80 international races, and win 77 of them. But it wás his victory át the Commonwealth gamés in 1958 that catapulted him to fame. He was worriéd that memories óf Partition would maké the visit painfuI. But it wás at this racé that Mr. Singh was givén the title, Thé Flying Sikh. Back when he was in the fifth grade, well before Partition, Mr. Singh had enroIled in a schooI that was 10 kilometres from Kot Addu. Every day, hé and his friénd would run baréfoot to and fróm school, across Iong stretches of sánd. But this experience -- Mr. Singh believed -- helped him build his stamina at an early age.
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