Semester
III Paper IV
Train
to Pakistan
by
Khushwant Singh
Published
in 1956
About
Khushwant Singh
Ø Born
in 1915 in Haladi, (now in Pakistan).
Ø Educated
in Delhi & Lahore. (B.A, LLB)
Ø Best
known writer and columnist
Ø Founder-editor
of Yojana
Ø Editor,
Illustrated Weekly of India, Hindustan Times, National Herald
Ø Author
of several books: Delhi (1990), Sex, Scotch
& Scholarship (1992), Men & Women in My Life (1995), The
Company of Woman (1999), Death at My Doorstep (2005),
His autobiography: Truth, Love & a
Little Malice (2002)
A
History of the Sikhs (two volumes) 1963,1966
Well
known translator
Ø A
Member of Parliament (1980-1986)
Ø Awarded
the Padma Bhushan in 1974
Ø Awarded
the Padma Vibhushan in 2007
Ø Honoured
with the ‘Honest Man of the Year’ in 2000.
Ø Awarded
‘Panjab Rattan’ in 2006
Ø Sahitya
Akademi Fellowship in 2010
Ø Fellow
of King’s College London in 2014
Ø Died
on 20th March, 2014 in New Delhi.
THE NOVEL
Published in 1956.
Divided into FOUR sections/parts/chapters:
Section I:
Dacoity: (1-80):
i. Mano Majra ii. Trains iii.
Moneylender looted & murdered
iv. Jugga & Nooran v. Communal situation
vi. Hukum Chand & Haseena vii. Arrival of Iqbal
viii. Punjabi code of Morals ix. The Gurdwara meeting
x. Arrest to Iqbal & Jugga
xi. At the police station
Section II: Kalyug: (81-123):
i. The ghost train ii. Images of death & violence
iii. The ultimate truth iv. Hukum Chand &
Haseena
v. Plans for Mano Majra vi. Iqbal & Jugga
vii. Jugga & Malli
Section III: Mano Majra: (124-145):
i. Malli & gang in Mano Majra
ii. Sikha versus Muslims
iii. Nooran’s visit to Jugga’s mother
iv. Leaving Mano Majra
Section IV:
Karma: (146-190):
i. The face of death
ii. The provocation
iii. Helpless & resigned
iv. Jugga, Iqbal released
v. Jugga’s resolve
vi. Tryst with destiny
vii. The real hero
PLACES
Ø Mano
Majra: a small fictional village on the India-Pakistan
border, a few miles from Lahore, locale of the novel, located on the banks of
Sutlej, the largest river in the Punjab, on north railway bridge, officers’
rest house, population: half Sikh & half Muslim, seventy families,
only three brick buildings –the home of
the moneylender Lala Ram Lal; Gurdwara- a Sikh temple (people gather in times
of trouble) & the mosque
Ø Railway
station: a small colony of shopkeepers & hawkers, No
express trains stop, only passenger trains, 10.30 morning passenger from Delhi,
Evening passenger from Lahore
Ø Railway
bridge: a mile north of Mano Majra,
Ø Backdrop:
partition 1947
Juggut Singh
Ø Son
of dacoit Alam Singh,
Ø Jugga
or Juggia to his fellow-villagers,
Ø ‘badmash
number ten of the village’
Ø Tallest
& most violent person
Ø Six-foot-four
lusty Sikh peasant
Ø In
& out of jail
Ø No
ill-will towards policemen
Ø Cracks
vulgar jokes with police
Ø View
that M K Gandhi’s govt in Delhi after India’s partition
Ø Truly
in love with Nooran, daughter of Imam Baksh
Ø Once
a member of Malli’s gang
Ø While
in jail shares a cell with Iqbal Singh
Ø His
DEATH: the supreme sacrifice he made in order to redeem himself
Hukum Chand
Ø Magistrate
& Deputy Commissioner
Ø His
DUTY: to maintain law & order of the area
Ø ‘a
nar adami’ – a real man – corpulent (fat) and married
Ø Started
career as a foot constable, promotion upto Deputy
Ø A
clever person, a Hindu of ‘lower-middle-class origin’
Ø True
to his friends, in his fifties
Ø Cordial
but firm in his business/doings
Ø Relationship
with Haseena, the child prostitute, young as his own daughter, he fondles &
pampers her
Ø Lived
with an ‘unattractive’ wife
Ø Spent
nights in crematoriums to calm his nerves
Ø The
young educated communist (a political worker)
Ø Wearing
a long white shirt, brown waistcoat of coarse cotton, & loose pyjamas
Ø At
the gurdwara, the priest Meet Singh greeted him & stayed in guestroom
Ø Politely
refused food from the gurdwara – as he had his own food
Ø A
social worker (from Jhelum district)
Ø Twenty-seven,
unmarried
Ø Does
not believe in religion
Ø Eat
fish ‘complete with head, eyes and tail’
Ø Lecture
to Meet Singh: ‘how the police system in the country is corrupt to the core’
Ø Everyone
praised: ‘the British officers are considerate of their Indian subordinate’
Ø Iqbal called the British: ‘a race of
four-twenties’
Ø Lacks
the qualifications for leadership: not fasted nor made any ‘sacrifice’ for the
party
Ø Wants
a safe passage to leadership
Ø Has
been arrested as a Muslim (Mohamad Iqbal) [Iqbal Chand=Hindu, Iqbal Singh=
Sikh]
Ø An
armchair philosopher
Nooran
Ø Daughter
of the blind weaver Imam Baksh
Ø The
sweetheart of Jugga
Ø Meet
at night on the river bank
Ø Ready
to leave Mano Majra along with other Muslims
Ø Her
only hope in violence: Jugga
Haseena
Ø A
young prostitute (16-18)
Ø Wears
a black, sequined sari
Ø identifies
herself as a singer and dancer
Ø Used
for entertainment & sexual gratification of Hukum Chand
Ø Left
Chundunnugger with all the other Muslims & to cross over to Pakistan in the
train (with Nooran)
Nooran
Ø Daughter
of the blind weaver Imam Baksh
Ø The
sweetheart of Jugga
Ø Meet
at night on the river bank
Ø Ready
to leave Mano Majra along with other Muslims
Ø Her
only hope in violence: Jugga
Haseena
Ø A
young prostitute (16-18)
Ø Wears
a black, sequined sari
Ø identifies
herself as a singer and dancer
Ø Used
for entertainment & sexual gratification of Hukum Chand
Ø Left
Chundunnugger with all the other Muslims & to cross over to Pakistan in the
train (with Nooran)
Nooran
Ø Daughter
of the blind weaver Imam Baksh
Ø The
sweetheart of Jugga
Ø Meet
at night on the river bank
Ø Ready
to leave Mano Majra along with other Muslims
Ø Her
only hope in violence: Jugga
Haseena
Ø A
young prostitute (16-18)
Ø Wears
a black, sequined sari
Ø identifies
herself as a singer and dancer
Ø Used
for entertainment & sexual gratification of Hukum Chand
Ø Left
Chundunnugger with all the other Muslims & to cross over to Pakistan in the
train (with Nooran)
Ø No
name is given
Ø lives
with her son
Ø disapproves
of his relationship with Nooran
Ø Nooran
goes to Juggut’s mother for help
Malli
Ø The
leader of the dacoity against Lala Ram Lal
Ø Arrested
and placed in a cell next to Juggut and Iqbal Singh
Ø After
Muslims leave Mano Majra, Malli is appointed by Sikh officers to be a custodian
of the departed Muslims’ property
Ø Participates
in the plot to kill Muslim refugees going to Pakistan.
Malli
& his gang looted and murdered Lala Ram Lal
The Subinspector / Inspector Sahib
Ø A
Hindu official who works for the police and under Hukum Chand
Ø Falsely
imprisons Iqbal and Juggut Singh for the murder of Lala Ram Lal under
orders from Hukum Chand
Ø plots
against Iqbal and threatens Juggut to get the names who committed the robbery
Prem Singh
Ø Hukum
Chand’s Sikh colleague
Ø takes
trips to Lahore, Pakistan to buy his wife jewelry
Ø spends
a lot of time at Faletti’s Hotel
Ø The
Englishmen describe him as “a nice old Wog”
Ø The English do not
respect him as an equal
Sundari
Ø The
daughter of Hukum Chand’s orderly
Ø Married
to Mansa Ram for four days when a group of Muslims surround their bus on
the way to Gujranwala
Ø They
strip her husband naked and cut off his penis
Ø The mob then rape her
Ø Smash
the red lacquer (polish) bangles that she had been given for good luck
after their marriage.
Sunder Singh
Ø A
Sikh soldier
Ø The
government gives him land in Sindh, Pakistan
Ø He
kills his wife and three children to relieve them of their severe hunger and
thirst
Makes
his way to Pakistan
Boy Leader
Ø a
“lad” (young man)
Ø somewhat
“effeminate” (womanish) in his youthful appearance
Ø an
aggressive teenage soldier
Ø encourages
the Sikhs of Mano Majra to murder Muslims
Ø persuades
a crowd with a speech
Ø says
that the male villagers should kill “two Musulmans” for every Sikh and Hindu
that the Muslims kill.
Let us begin with the story
…
Title
Ø Initially
named as Mano Majra
Ø Renamed
as Train to Pakistan
Ø Refers
to the partition took place in 1947
Ø Both
are significant
I. Mano Majra
Ø A
small village, 70 families, Hindu & Muslim equal
Ø Mano
Majrans lived happily – no wind of freedom movement
Ø Iqbal:
‘Why the British left India?’
Ø Mano
Majrans: ‘They were better persons & better rulers’
Ø Mano
Majrans – blessed with ignorance
Ø Needed
more land & more buffaloes
I. Mano Majra
Ø The
idea of freedom: peace & harmony
(Ganadhi’s concept of freedom – freedom from
poverty, untouchability, illiteracy, etc.)
Ø whereas country is torn vertically by communal
hatred
Ø Free
from evils of hatred, communal prejudices, revenge etc.
Ø Mano
Majra: example of communal harmony
Ø Never
think of raping women or grabbing the
properties of people in disaster
Ø No
need of philosopher to tell that one should not
punish the innocent; to teach the principles
of morality
Ø Spirit
of good will & communal harmony
Ø So the full chapter on Mano Majra
Ø Mano
Majrans: models of love & humanity
II. Train to Pakistan
Ø Strong
reaction against Pakistan’s barbarity
Ø What
the novel is about
Ø Idea
of the time of action, The great turmoil
Ø A
better choice & accepted by all
Ø Two
sovereign states - secular India &
Islamic Pakistan
Ø Khushwant
Singh as a journalist: process of partition –
“riots
broke out at several places starting from Calcutta, riots spread like wild fire
to Bihar & UP. Trains full
of dead bodies coming from & going to Pakistan. The Muslims blamed the Hindus & vice versa.”
“Both
the communities were equally to blame. Both shot & stabbed, speared & clubbed. Both tortured, both raped.”
Ø Conflict
between non-violence & violence
Satirical Aspects
Ø Bribe:
Critical notion in Indian
Ø e.g.
The subinspector sent singers to Hukum Chand Hukum Chand:
“I don’t mind your taking whatever you do,
within reason of course, - everyone does that only be careful.”
Ø WELCOME: Chundunnuger Police Station:
Ø Nobody
would like to be welcomed at the police station
Ø Picture
of King George VI: ‘Bribery is crime’
Ø Gandhiji’s
portrait: ‘Honesty is the best policy’
Satirical Aspects
Ø Indians: 1. uneducated: Imam Baksh, Jugga, Meet Singh
2.
Superstitious: Almighty will punish the
wrong doers:
Truck
carrying Baluch soldiers crushed into a tree to avoid a dog, Many innocent passers-by were killed by them,
Who
crushed the truck? DOG or GOD.
3.
Reactionary: Nooran, Imam Baksha, Lambardar etc.
Society:
sections & classes
Ø BUT:
Meet Singh & Lambardar – not backward looking persons, Preach &
practices high values: brotherhood, forgiveness, etc.
Ø Lambardar:
“to go the refugee camp while the trouble is on. You lock your houses with your
belongings”
“we
will look after your cattle till you come back”
Indian
philosophy & yoga: Indians gift to the world BUT
Ø Iqbal: 1. “Yoga, that excellent earner of dollars!
Stand on your head. Sit across and tickle your novel with your nose”
2. No respect for any religion: modern tendency:
Foolishly criticized all the religions:
i.
Hindu: caste & cow protection
ii.
Islam: circumcision & kosher meat
iii.
Sikh: long hair & hatred of the
Muslims
iv.
Christianity: Hinduism with a sola topee
Came to stop incurrence of violence: BUT
does nothing at any stage
Thinks:
“When people go about with guns & spears you can only
Effects of partition & portrayal of
it in literature
Ø Affected
the normal lives of millions of people across the
Indian subcontinent
Ø Communal
riots: post partition period
Ø Affected
writers: different religions, castes, sects, etc.
Ø Politics
of communal leaders
Ø Politics
of partition
Ø End
of the British colonialism
Ø Migration
– mass scale
Ø CRIMES:
murders, rapes, brutality
Ø Horror/
Horrible incidents – disturbed the peace of the region, homes were burnt,
villages abandoned, sexual humiliation, suicides
Effects of partition & portrayal of
it in literature
Ø Vividly
reflected in literature
Ø Actual
scenes of partition days
Ø The
grief of partition at first hand
Ø Brutal
tragedy of the partition
Ø GIVES
rise to fictional exploration: A. Inner turmoil & B. Social complexes
Ø Faithfully
recorded the Partition as a REALITY
Ø MAJOR
THEMES:
Ø i. Incredible
anguish/suffering
ii.
Bewilderment (of the people of the subcontinent)
iii.
Refugee migrations: their difficulties
Effects of partition & portrayal of
it in literature
Ø Wrought
havoc in the sub-continent
Ø Everybody
in a traumatic state
Ø The
worst victims: WOMEN: sexually assaulted, abducted,
raped, disfigured, forced into marriage, etc.
Ø Families
torn apart, * Cities were changed
forever
Ø Lot
of zulum
Ø Pakistani
Magistrates: millionaires overnight
Ø Pakistani
police & army: took sides in communal violence
Ø The
ghost train: corpses of Sikhs & Hindus from Pakistan
Ø Darkness of violence:
“There
was a man holding his intestine, with an expression in his eyes which said: ‘Look what I have got!’ There were
women & children huddled in a corner, their eyes dilated with horror, ……”
Effects of partition & portrayal of
it in literature
Ø Wrought
havoc in the sub-continent
Ø Everybody
in a traumatic state
Ø The
worst victims: WOMEN: sexually assaulted, abducted,
raped, disfigured, forced into marriage, etc.
Ø Families
torn apart, * Cities were changed
forever
Ø Lot
of zulum
Ø Pakistani
Magistrates: millionaires overnight
Ø Pakistani
police & army: took sides in communal violence
Ø The
ghost train: corpses of Sikhs & Hindus from Pakistan
Ø Darkness of violence:
“There was a man holding his intestine,
with an expression in his eyes which said: ‘Look what I have got!’ There were
women & children huddled in a corner, their eyes dilated with horror, ……”
Collected
by: Sheetal C. Pawar
Source:
PPT by Prof Dadas V.A.
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