Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh - Reviewed by Ankana Sadhukhan (Independence day Special)
- Nonchalant Nine
- Aug 15, 2020
- 1 min read
Train to Pakistan—published in 1956—is the story of a small, remote village called Mano Majra, situated in the border of Pakistan and Punjab, and how it is affected by the partition of India after independence. The story is set in 1947, shortly after independence. Mano Majra's population is mostly Sikh and Muslims with Hindus, who live together without any vengeful religious issues. The small village suffered due to the partition, further leading to religious intolerance.
The issues dealt with in this book are relevant even today. Excluding the religious partiality, one more present day issue that is described in this book is cops misusing their authority. A cop abuses his power to arrest a Sikh man for a crime he didn’t commit and identifying him as a Muslim, which made the false charges against him stronger than ever. Both the countries—India and Pakistan—suffered greatly, with hundreds and thousands deaths due to religious issues. Before the British arrived in India, people of all religions lived in harmony and peace without any qualms. It’s very sad to see that we are fighting over a meaningless issue that outsiders created more than a century ago.
This is a very, very tragic and sad story. It’s so heartbreaking that I’m not sure if I’d be able to pick the book up again. Personally I won’t recommend this book, not because it’s not a good one—it’s really great—but because it’s extremely tragic. But if you can handle your books, go ahead and give this book a read, you won’t regret.
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