‘Train to Pakistan’ a novel that depicts
the horror of Partition.
India could
achieve freedom from the British only after a hundred year long struggle and
sacrifice. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians and all other sections of
people joined together in the great struggle for freedom. But this pride was
lost soon after independence because of the bloodshed that took place at the
time of Partition of India. 12 million people crossed the border between India
and Pakistan. While the Hindus and Sikhs moved eastward to enter India the
Muslims moved westward to leave India. More than one million people lost their
precious lives. Millions of women and children were abducted, ravaged and
raped. Why did the tall leaders on both sides fail to predict this mayhem? How
could the British rulers who ruled and robbed India for more than two hundred years
fail to foresee this pogrom? Alas! History has no answers to such questions.
The terror
that took place during partition has been recorded in history by eminent
historians and in various government documents. The sad stories of men and
women who underwent untold miseries during partition are to be found in the literary
works of various languages by great writers in the form of poems, plays, short
stories, and novels. ‘Train to Pakistan’ by Kushwant Singh is one such
rendering of this poignant tragedy in the form of a novel. ‘The Other Side of
Silence’ by Urvashi Butalia, ‘The Great Partition’ by Yasmin Khan, ‘Azadi’ by
Chaman Nahal, ‘Ice-Candy Man’ by Bapsi Sidhwa, ‘This is not That Dawn’ by
Yashpal, ‘In Freedom’s Shade’ by Anis Kidwai, ‘Midnight’s Children’ by Salman
Rusdie, ‘A Bend in the Ganges’ by Manohar Malgonkar, are some of the other
works that have recorded this holocaust. The films ‘Tamas’ and “ Garam Hawa’ by
Bishma Sahani also depict this great tragedy. We can have the glimpses of this
sorrowful event in the biographies of Mahatma Gandhi, Vallaba Bhai Patel,
Mohmed Ali Jinna and many other freedom fighters as well.
Kushwant
Singh shined brilliantly in the political, cultural, and literary horizon of
India. He lived to be a nonagenarian making his marks as a writer, historian,
journalist, and bureaucrat. He had been the editor of magazines like The
Illustrated Weekly of India, National Harold, and Hindustan Times. Kushwant
Singh, the atheist strongly believed that religions promote only hatred and
ill-will among men. The History of Sikhs written in two volumes is a monumental
work of Kushwant Singh. His novel Train to Pakistan is a heart rending
depiction of the pathetic story of partition.
The story of
Train to Pakistan takes place in a small peaceful village called Mano Mejra in
the border between India and Pakistan. The river Sutlej is winding its way
through this village of Punjab making the land fertile and the scenery
beautiful. There is a railway station in the village and many trains to
Pakistan pass through the village but only a passenger train stops at the
village that too in the wee hours of the day. The Sikhs own the lands in the
village and the Muslims work in their fields and they live together in perfect
harmony. The big temple for the Sikhs is taken care of by a humble priest Meet
Singh and the small mosque in the village is taken care of by an innocent mullah
who is a poor weaver and a widower. His only daughter Noori and Juggah Singh a Sikh
youth of the village love each other. Juggah Singh is known for his
recalcitrant attitude. He is nabbed by police very often for any unlawful
activity that takes place in that area. The village chief is yet another good
man who is loved and respected by the people of the village and they listen to
his words in times of crisis. The magistrate of this area who has a weakness
for wine and women visits this village often and stays in the government guest
house on the outskirts of the village. The police inspector of the nearby
police station caters to the needs of the magistrate and keeps him in good
humour.
The villagers
are totally ignorant of the news of the partition of India and lead a blissful
life. The peace of the village is shattered by the arrival of a train to
Pakistan fully loaded with the corpses of the Muslim migrants. The train is
stopped at the dead of night and the corpses are unloaded and burnt by the side
of the railway station. The people of the village give away whatever fuel they
have for the cremation of the dead bodies. It rains heavily and the village
chief with a couple of volunteers is keeping watch on the banks of the river as
the river is swollen with flood waters. In the early morning they are shocked
to see a large number of dead bodies washed ashore. The next day also the
villagers are stunned to see the train to Pakistan stopped at the village
station. The magistrate and the police inspector this time can’t get the fuel
to burn the bodies and so they dig huge pits and bury the dead. After a night
long burial the inspector returns to the room tired and reports to the
magistrate that the number of corpses buried would be more than ten thousand.
Mean while
the magistrate decides to evacuate the Muslims of Mano Mejra village and takes
steps to send them to Pakistan. An army officer from Pakistan comes to the
village with a truck to evacuate the Muslims of the village. The villagers
assemble at the Sikh temple to discuss the issue. The Muslims of the village
tell their village chief that they will not leave the village as they don’t
have any problem living with the Sikh community of the village. The Sikh
community also assures the village chief that they will protect the Muslims of
their village under any circumstance. But the higher officials are not ready to
take risks and they forcefully evacuate the Muslims. Noori is in all tears and
is not ready to leave the village and her lover Juggah. She requests Juggah
Singh’s mother to accept her as her daughter-in-law and allow her to stay in the
house. Juggah is not at home as he has been taken to the police-station for
some enquiry. His mother is helpless and expresses her inability to accept
Noori. Noori tells her father that she is not ready to board the truck with
him. He has no words to console his daughter and takes her with him forcibly.
They all have a tearful farewell from the Sikh fraternity. They have always
lived together in peace and even now they are ready to live in harmony but the
circumstances force them to part with each other.
Juggah Singh
is set free by the police and comes home to know about the great tragedy. He is
shocked to hear that his beloved love Noori has been taken away. He finds out
that there is a conspiracy by a few Sikhs from outside his village infuriated
by religious hatred to kill the Muslims fleeing India. They plan to stop the
train near the bridge in Mano Mejra and massacre the Muslims migrating to
Pakistan. Juggah decides to thwart this attempt to stop the train and kill the
Muslim passengers. No one in the village is ready to join Juggah in this risky
job. In the darkness of night and amidst heavy rains, Juggah walks along the
bridge and cuts the ropes for the safe passage of the train. Thereby he averts
the tragedy and saves the Muslims in the train from the jaws of death. Juggah succeeds
in his attempt and the train to Pakistan moves safely and speedily and all the
passengers are saved by the great work of Juggah. But alas! Juggah falls down
from the bridge and the waters of the river Sutlej takes away his body. The
villagers of Mano Mejra remember Juggah, the martyr forever.
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