Partition and Train to Pakistan

Abstract

The independence of India and Pakistan paved the way for the biggest migration history of human civilizations. It carried with itself the bloody legacy of partition which made thousands of people homeless and ruined their destinations. The marked the communal violence and thereafter gave way to numbers of riots in India where, in the name of religion people became assassinators of each other. The harmony of fraternity that the country was preserving was kept at a stake and humanity got murdered. Khuswant Singh’s novel “Train to Pakistan” gives the glimpses of the horror keeping the partition scenes at the backdrop. It is a multilayered novel, depicting religious perspectives, violence, communal hatred, corruption and women’s position. It has a sense of post-colonialism anxiety and through the characters Singh has also mapped out the sense of subalternity that the Indian felt. From the feminist approach it deals with the condition of women and how their body became the matter of subjugation under patriarchal domination. It also deals with the psychological perspective of the colonized class as a victim of “false ideology”. Being a realistic piece of work, the issues that Singh dealt with are still in practice. Though the Constitution of India promotes equality, certain still the riots that India faced bears the example of the genocide and legacy of partition. Keeping with all these, Singh has tried to paint the true spirit of religion and love through some of the characters and holds high the concept of brotherhood and humanity as Jugga, helps to pass the train to Pakistan.