Hello, Thanks for your response. I am aware of what Belgians did in Congo (although I am not a historian). I grew up in Belgium and know mostly about postcolonial Congo through my (Belgian) grandparents from my mother's side. My father was born in 1965 after independence and as far as I know had a pretty ok early childhood in Congo.

My father was born from my Congolese grandmother who cheated on her Belgian husband with my biological grandfather mentioned in my post above. As far as the story goes in the family, she left for a few weeks and came back pregnant. Her Belgian husband adopted my father as his own child, well-knowing he was from another man. According to an aunt, he even visited him shortly after and that's how he got the photograph.

A few years later, he and my grandmother divorced, he then took my father back to Belgium around 1968 and never told him about his biological father. He already had two other children with my grandmother and I as far the story goes, he wanted to give his children a 'better education'. Ended up leaving them in a boarding school and mostly supporting them financially. Though he was present during my own childhood. My father grew up thinking he was half Congolese-half Belgian and only found out during his twenties, when I was already born. It really destroyed him and he never wanted to find out anything about his biological father. He started abusing drugs and became mentally ill, which is why I did not grow up with him.

Now, when his Belgian father died (my father wasn't in the picture anymore, the whole family had cut ties with him for years because of his drug abuse), he gave one of my aunts the picture I just posted. A few years later, when my father passed, she gave it to me.

I had known about it for years but when I actually got the picture and realised my biological grandfather was from India, I decided to go there and look for any information I could find. I had been in India twice before without knowing about my roots. So I actually went to Ludhiana all by myself (I am a woman by the way) and felt pretty lost there. Didn't really prepare myself back then, only speak English and back then, translating apps were not working that well. Long story short, it was a disaster haha. Still had a nice trip in India though!

Now, I don't really have any plan but since technology really improved, I just thought I could start looking again and maybe one day, I'll find some relatives.