Kaur, Davinder

Davinder Kaur was born in 1928, though the actual date from that year is unclear; the date her family celebrates her birthday is July 7 (1935). She is from Gujranwala, which at the time was part of India; she grew up there with five siblings, attending school and joining her four brothers in field hockey where she could.  Her father was in the Congress Party and was politically active in India’s independence movement during Davinder’s childhood years, and that led the family to relocate to Lahore.  Davinder’s older brothers were politically involved too, pulled in the direction of socialism. Her father’s convictions led to his insistence that his daughters attend school; that process would be interrupted by the chaos and violence of Partition, when Davinder’s family was forced to flee Pakistan for India. They walked to Amritsar, hoping to find an older brother who had recently moved to the eastern part of the Punjab. Davinder vividly recalls the devastating and confusing atmosphere as they tried to situate themselves in their new land, finding ways to cope with the loss of family and community.  They were often on the move at that time, living in a succession of cities where they felt unwanted. Davinder was able to continue her education during this time, though it was interrupted; she was also married to Hari Jaswant Singh in February 1953 (his story can be found in the Military Veterans section of this project).  They started to find stability – and a home – during those years.  They began their family while Hari continued his air force career, later making the decision to emigrate to Canada, where they settled in Toronto.  And that is where Scott Masters had the chance to meet and interview Davinder, with the help of her daughter Palvinder, whose translations can be heard at the end of each of Davinder’s thoughts.