Agony of Partition in Khuswant Singh’s Novel Train to Pakistan

Pages:176-177
Rashmi (Independent Scholar, English, Rohtak, Haryana)

The partition of India was the procedure of dividing the sub-continent along sectarian lines, which took place in1947 as India gained its independence from British Empire. The northern part predominantly Muslim, became nation ofPakistan and the southern predominantly Hindu became the republic of India, the partition however shocked both Indiaand Pakistan as the process claimed many lives in riots, rapes, murders and looting. The two countries inaugurated theirindependence with crumbling economies and lands without an established, experienced system of government, not only thisbut also about 15 million people were moved from their homes.The partition of India was ansignificant event not only in the history of the Indian subcontinent but inworldhistory. Its foremost reason was the communal thinking of both hindus and muslims; but the situations under which ithappened made it one of the gloomiest event of the history of India. No doubt, the Hindus and the Muslims were livingtogether since long but they fueled to inculcate the feelings of harmony and unity among themselves. The obsessive leadersof both communities played an important role in fuelling the fire of communalism. The partition was extremely brutaland large in scale and unleashed misery and loss of lives and property as millions of refugees fled either Pakistan or IndiaKushwant Singh’s name is bound to go down in Indian literary history as one of the finest historian and novelist, a forthwright political commentator and an out standing observer and social critic.