Understanding The Trauma of 1947 India-Pakistan Partition – An Account of Toba Tek Singh

Abstract

The year 1947 saw the birth of India’s freedom and the death of its people’s joy, leaving behind slaves of religious chauvinism, communal barbarity and inhumane cruelty. The partition of 1947 was a gruesome and landmark incident in the history of both the nations. The ‘bloody’ line of partition that was drawn by Cyril Radcliffe has not stopped bleeding since 1947. This line, drawn by a man who never visited the nation before, had marked the fate of millions, causing an unceasing chaos which eversince has been the reason behind tension between the two nations today. The two nations that were one community; a community which lived in peace and harmony once. The high spirits of the nation after its victory in the struggle for freedom was supressed by the pain of partition. Author Moni Mohsin, in her literature piece, throws light on the way India won this freedom at the cost of happiness and lives of millions. In her words – “The creation of India and Pakistan in 1947 led to horrific sectarian violence and made millions refugees overnight” (Mohsin). The partition of India was nothing less than a heart cut into two pieces and though wounds will heal, memories will fade but the pain will always reside in the hearts of the families that were destroyed. This grotesque event led by greed for political powers had caused one of the largest massacres and migrations in the history of mankind. Although the partition was a landmark incident in the geopolitical history of India, “Toba Tek Singh” by Sadat Hassan