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Literature of Partition: An Analysis with Special Reference to the

Trauma in the Writings of Bapsi Sidhwa and Khushwant Singh

Dr. Mallika Tripathi

Assoc. Professor & Head, Deptt. Of Humanities,

Feroze Gandhi Institute of Engg. & Technology, Raebareli

&

Atraiya Mishra

Essayist

India

Abstract

India, the ancient land known as the torchbearer of peace, spirituality and humanism became

testimony to one of the ghastliest and flabbergasting acts ever committed in the history of

mankind. Her own offspring who had lived as a single unit were suddenly bifurcated on

communal lines due to political vendetta. Many authors have incorporated the trauma and

sufferings during the partition. Khushwant Singh and Bapsi Sidhwa are distinguished

signatures in the arena of English literature who have published novels based on the theme of

partition. They have portrayed the traumatic picture of that time making us to feel the pain of

humanity. Thus the present paper focuses upon the literature of partition with special

reference to the trauma in the writings of Khushwant Singh and Bapsi Sidhwa.

Keywords: Humanity, Literature, Partition, Trauma

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India drank the sweet nectar of freedom from the foreign yoke of British Raj but with a heavy

price. The ancient land whose civilisation had stood against the test of time was bifurcated

into two parts- India and Pakistan. The biggest exodus of people ever in the history of

humankind took place from one part to another. A state of religious frenzy and bigotry spread

in the entire Indian subcontinent. People became worse than beasts ever ready to slaughter

fellow beings in the name of religion. The single most affected victim was humanity which

was torn into pieces by its own children. All hell broke loose when people in both nations

were killed just due to their religious affiliations. A plethora of literature is produced on this

subject particularly from the authors of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The trauma and

agony experienced by people has found its voice in the literature of partition by many notable

and distinguished authors. Poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz lamented, „This stain covered daybreak,

this night bitten dawn. This dawn is not that dawn we craved for‘. Muslims migrated to

Pakistan and Hindus to India leaving back their ancestral homes, tradition and culture to

become refugees in a distant land just in the name of fanaticism. Bigotry spew its venom

particularly on women who were assaulted, sexually abused and tortured if they were found

to be of different religion.

The tragedy of partition has given way to literature in almost all languages of the Indian sub-

continent particularly Hindi, English, Urdu, Bengali and other vernacular languages. A

common element in all these pieces of literature is pathos. It is different from historical

account as it embodies the human suffering and pain due to partition. Authors such as

Krishna Chander, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Amrita Pritam, Saddat Hasan Manto, K.S. Duggal,

Nanak Singh and others have revolved their prose on the subject of partition. Khushwant

Singh‟s ‗ Train to Pakistan „, Bapsi Sidhwa‟s ‗Ice Candy Man‘ and ‗Bride‘, Salman

Rushdie‟s ‗Midnight‘s Children‘, K.A. Abbas‟ ‗Inquilab‘ in English, Bhishma Sahani‟s

„Tamas‘ and Yashpal‟s „Jhoota Sach‘ in Hindi give a insight into the hardships that common

people had to endure in this nasty battle of power and politics.

An author while dealing with a formidable historical event such as the partition has to

maintain isolation from historical facts and not adhere to any perspective. Instead the author

provides an amalgam of human emotions, fantasies, tale of hope and sorrows with a message

to the world. This common characteristic is evident in almost all the literary writings of the

partition. Thus history loses its sense of time and facts and in its place hovers around the

author‟s flight of fantasies.

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Almost every literary piece related to the partition depicts hooliganism, rape, murder,

treachery, barbarism and a common thirst of blood amongst people. They were ready to

slaughter their neighbours who had lived arm in arm for centuries just because they practised

different religion. Few authors have depicted the restoration of human rationality and

prudence after the holocaust. However, many disillusioned authors have given tragic account

of the events without taking any sides. They accuse both the sides for their mud sledging and

dog fight for power.

The first novel which brought partition into limelight was Khushwant Singh‟s ‗Train to

Pakistan‟ in 1956 (originally under the title of Mano Majra). Since then many have penned

the horror of partition and unequivocally criticised barbarism and hooliganism so commonly

practised by the multitude. A despairing and heart-renting tale is provided in “Open It” by

Manto. A girl Sakina was abducted and molested so many times that when she was

hospitalised and doctor asks her father to open the window, she involuntarily opens her

trouser strings. Her father exults with joy,‖ She is alive.‖ This is ironical as well as a tight

slap on the face of human race which boasts itself to be civilised and cultured.

Women authors have also given their contribution to literature of partition. Bapsi Sidhwa,

Attia Hosan,Krishna Sobti have given their narrative of the partition. Almost every literary

work is full of fury, crime, murder, rape and it seems that the fabric of civil order has been

torn into pieces and man has turned into savage. Suvir Kaul rightly says,” Partition issues

need to be explored because they define not only our past in crucial ways but also our

collective future.” It is very true as the county is still affected by draconian problem of

communalism and futile fights in the name of religion. Hollow ideals and chauvinism lead a

person to shun his prudence and follow barbarism. Both nations flex their muscles on the

issue of Kashmir till date. The valley has been rightly described by noted historian Ram

Chandra Guha as a valley ‗bloody and beautiful‘. Representation of violence is depicted in

partition literature so as to invoke a sense of disgust to violence in the minds of the reader and

the conscience of readers contemplate over the futility of such heinous deeds in the name of

religion and identity politics. Train is a symbol, so vividly used by authors. Running trains

with ‗sacks of breasts‘ in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice Candy Man has a nauseating effect on readers.

Khushwant Singh has also used train in his novel „Train to Pakistan‟ in which corpses of dead

come to the village. The tragedy of partition was such that its scars remain even today and its

aftermath has been a saga of pain and suffering. Exodus of people on such a large scale

caused loss of culture, customs and often affected people felt meaninglessness and void in

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their life. The joy of freedom was marred by the sting of partition which was inflicted by

imperialist British and supported by power hungry people. A common string which connects

the literature of partition is that it deals with common people, their sufferings and trauma

instead of traversing their literature into the arena of power politics.

Contribution of Bapsi Sidhwa and Khushwant Singh to the World of Literature and the

different facets of their Traumatic Writing

Bapsi Sidhwa is a novelist of international repute from Pakistan. She witnessed the trauma of

partition as an eight-year child and vividly describes sufferings from a child‟s perspective.

Her novel „Ice Candy Man is a profound attempt by the author to unravel the trauma of

partition through a girl Lenny growing up in Lahore. Bapsi Sidhwa is a Sitara-i-Imtiaz

awardee (Pakistan‟s highest national honour in arts) and currently resident in the USA. She

is considered an authoritative signature in the field of English literature worldwide.

Literature is a potent tool in the hands of craftsperson who can bring about a sea change in

the society. Bapsi Sidhwa uses her literature to give a voice to sufferings of women and

restructuring social norms regarding them. She portrays a determined woman capable to

bring about a positive change in society.

Khushwant Singh was an Indian novelist and journalist who was best known for his

secularism, humour, sarcasm and free thinking. He was decorated with Padma Vibhusan,

India‟s second highest civilian award. His column ‗With Malice Towards One and all‘ was

widely read. He is described as a „fearless intellectual‘ who opined without any hesitation.

He brought the trauma of Partition before the nation with his book „Train to Pakistan‘ and

made people to ponder over the hollowness of such mass fratricide. He was awarded “Grove

Press India Fiction Prize” for the year 1956. A dark and tragic romance pervades in his novel

which eventually brings out the futility of bloodshed. Singh‟s great artistic possession is his

wit which he uses so often to condemn the Partition. It was a common practise during the

partition to strip a man naked to check whether he was a Hindu or a Muslim.

In Singh‟s „Train to Pakistan‘, one of the characters who was circumcised sarcastically

remarks, ―Where on earth except in India would a man‘s life depend on whether or not his

foreskin had been removed? I would be laughable if it were not tragic.” Thus a state of

madness is depicted in which useless and trivial affiliations and practices determined whether

a person was fit to live or not. Man can be insane and lunatic if he drinks the poison of

communalism and hatred.

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Plot Construction in Ice Candy Man

The story revolved around a young and lame Parsee girl Lenny who witnessed the horrors

and stigma of partition. A maid Shanta worked in her house and was wooed by a string of

lovers. Of these the Massuer and Dilnawaz(Ice Candy Man) had strong rivalry against each

other to win her favours. The Ayah took care of her with innate love and affection. There was

concord and harmony in the city of Lahore until the news of Partition breaks. This brought

tension and turmoil in the city. The ice candy man killed the masseur out of sheer hatred and

jealousy. Then , one day a train from India arrived at Lahore platform with dead bodies and

sacks full of breasts. Dilnawaz‟s sister also was murdered in the incident. This caused disgust

and hatred towards all Hindus in his mind. He joined the rioters and became a party to the

frenzied mob. He also abducted the Ayah whom he loved so much but forced her into the

brothels of Lahore just because she was a Hindu. Later, he married her but she was rescued

from prostitution by the help of Lenny‟s relatives and shifted to refugee camps in Amritsar.

Plot Construction in Train to Pakistan

The hinge around which the entire story rotated is the fictional village of Mano Majra located

on the banks of river Sutlej near the Indo-Pak border. Citizens of Sikh,Hindu and Muslim

community lived with peace and harmony for years. The entire activities of the village was

centred on trains. The morning trains signalled the Sikh priest and the Mullah for morning

prayers. The midday train signalled them to eat and have a short afternoon sleep; the goods

train at night signalled them to sleep. Thus, the entire humdrum of the village relied upon

trains. Hence, the author has given title „Train to Pakistan‟ which was earlier titled as Mano

Majra. The element of train in the novel gives a sense of movement and dynamism which is

an epitome of movement of lakhs of people but which is gory and brutal. An insipid

atmosphere is itself created which is contagious with germs of communalism and hatred. One

day a train from Pakistan carried dead bodies of Hindus. This created distrust and suspicion

amongst each other in the village. “People barricaded their doors and many stayed up all

night talking in whispers. Everyone felt his neighbour‘s hand against him, and thought of

finding friends and allies.” Juggat , a local goon was in prison at that time. He was in deep

love with Nooran who was with Juggat‟s child prayed for his rescue as did not want to go to

refugee camps in Pakistan as her son would not be accepted there due to his Sikh lineage. The

village was peaceful and quiet until one day few youths came in the Gurdwara and gave fiery

speeches to revenge the killings, loot, murder and rape. All hell broke loose with this and

villagers hatched out a plan to stretch out a rope across the first span of the bridge through

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which the train carrying Muslim refugees would pass. Then they planned to kill passengers

and set the train on fire. Hukum Singh got Jugga freed from the jail as his lover Haseena was

also in the same train. Jugga cuts the rope despite being fired and thus saves his beloved

Nooran. Thus, the eternal love between man and woman is kept alive in the story despite all

odds. Jugga who was a self-proclaimed ruffian managed to save his beloved without caring

for his life. Love wins in the end.

Fratricide

The most disturbing aspect of the partition is that people who lived with peace as brothers

became enemies and even molested women of each other‟s communities. This is a blot on the

face of civilised society which is depicted in both the novels. Lenny in ‗Ice Candy Man‘

laments, ―The whole world is burning. The air on my face is so hot. I think my flesh and

clothes will catch fire. I start screaming: hysterically sobbing -- how long does Lahore burn?

Weeks? Months? ―(p 139). Thus, the entire world seems to be burning to the little child.

Bigotry gains currency in this frenzied state of affairs. Mob lynching and vandalism became a

daily sight in the streets. All these has been painfully depicted in both the novels. Dilnawaz,

the Ice Candy Man became insane after her sister was murdered and decides to take revenge

on all Hindus. He says,‖ I want to kill someone for each of the breasts they cut off from the

Muslim women. He becomes so thirsty of gore that he abducts the same girl Ayah whom he

once wooed. Thus, fratricide is vividly depicted in the literature of partition and this also

creates an eerie sensation in the minds of readers who are aghast by the horrid and painful

descriptions of violence. Hukumchand in ‗Train to Pakistan‘ is unhappy over the state of

affairs and blame the Indian Government for this massacre by takin a jibe at the word ‗tryst‘.”

Where was the power? What were the people in Delhi doing? Making fine speeches in the

assembly? Loud speakers magnifying their egos; lovely-looking foreign women in the

visitor‘s galleries in breathless admiration. He is great man, this Mr. Nehru of yours. I do

think he is the greatest man in the world today. And how handsome! Wasn‘t that a wonderful

thing to say? Long ago we made a tryst with destiny and now the time comes when we shall

redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure but very substantially. Yes, Mr. Prime

Minister, you made your tryst. So did many on the 15th August Independence Day‖ (p. 176).

The author brings out the hollowness of power corridor and makes it clear that it is the

multitude that suffers the most in their petty game of power hunt. Lakhs were displaced,

thousands of women raped, and countless number of people were murdered due to political

vendetta. It is disheartening to learn in ‗Train to Pakistan‘ that one community hatches

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conspiracy against another with whom they had lived with mutual cooperation. The officer in

‗Ice Candy Man‘ shrieks that these British are throwing cities like pack of cards at random. It

is highly ironical that freedom which meant a rebirth just as a Phoenix emerges from its own

ashes gives a by-product as nasty as hooliganism, murder and vandalism. The reminiscence

of partition is still today which emerges as cross border terrorism, hate speeches against each

other time and again. “Liberty, Equality and fraternity‖ which has been the war cry of

freedom fighters since the glorious French Revolution was lost somewhere when India

achieved its Independences. Both the authors have invoked disgust and condemnation in the

minds of readers against such ghastly acts committed during partition.

Love

Love is the most sublime human emotion which transcends all narrow boundaries of caste,

creed, religion or ethnicity. It emerges from a pure heart and can be felt only by a pure heart.

Different facets of love are depicted in the works of Sidhwa and Singh. The love of Jugga for

Nooran is tender and sublime which sprouts from his deepest trenches of heart who otherwise

is a self-proclaimed ruffian. Jugga doesn‟t care for his own life and decides to stand against

all odds in order to save her beloved. Thus, Khushwant Singh brings out the notion of innate

goodness in man. The Ice candy man‟s love towards Ayah turns into poison when he learns

of molestation of his sister. Love turned sour results into deadly poison potentially able to

rupture the faculty of reasoning. He in his insane thirst of revenge abducts Ayah whom he

once wooed and cared so much. There are other profound facets of tender and deep love

depicted in the story. The warm love between Lenny and the Godmother; Lenny and Ayah

and between Lenny and mother. Thus one form of love is cruel, pitiless and despicable

whereas the other form of love is sweet, tender and innocent.

Atrocities against women

The worst sufferers of partition were women. They had to endure all sorts of humiliation,

torture and barbarism. The patriarchal society victimised women and this is depicted in both

the novels which invoke disgust in the minds of readers. ‗Mutilated breasts‘ of women come

in trains along with dead bodies. This causes a nauseating effect on the readers and sinews

chill with despair and disgust when reading such accounts. Women and girls, if found to be of

different community were brutally raped and molested. They could not even go back to their

original relatives as she had apparently lost her purity. All these show the hollowness of

societal norms and absurd customs. In Train to Pakistan, Kushwant Singh shows atrocity

upon women through Sundari. She was going to Gujranwala with her husband on the fourth

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day of her marriage. Her arms still covered with red lacquer bangles and her palms bright

with henna, she is happily day-dreaming on her way to her new home when the bus on which

they are riding is attacked by Muslims. Her husband is stripped naked and she is sexually

molested by the mob. “The mob made love to her. She did not have to take off any one of her

bangles. They were all smashed as she lay in the road, being taken by one man and another

and another. That should have brought her a lot of good luck.” (p. 147) This causes a sense

of frustration and agony in readers which sets a morbid sensation. Voracious manly sexual

appetite is a rough sauce to hooliganism and makes man to stand in the line of beasts and

savages.

Feminism

Feminism is a movement which aims at deriving equal rights for women in social, political

and economic fields. Bapsi Sidhwa in her ‗Ice Candy Man has given voice to feminism and

pitches for just treatment of women and their rightful place in social hierarchal order. The

protagonist is a female and many strong characters such as the mother and Ayah epitomise an

assertive role. The novel has strong feminine characters who have a soul of their own. The

author has depicted insight into the thought process of a woman‟s mind with great sensitivity.

Each female character represents a way of life be it Lenny, mother or Ayah. The novel hits

hard at patriarchy and oppression of women by depicting victimisation of women in a most

horrid and dreadful manner. This invokes a sense of individuality in female minds and an

urge to raise voice against oppression. Lenny is surprised by the patriarchal norm wherein

purity of a woman vanishes if touched by a man. Lenny and her grandmother talk about the

deteriorating situation of women in these lines:

―What a fallen woman?‖ I ask godmother…

―Hamida (the second Ayah) was kidnapped by the Sikhs‖,

Says godmother seriously… When that happens sometimes,

The husband – or his family won‘t take her back.‖

―Why? It isn‘t her fault she was kidnapped.‖

―Some folk feel that way—they can‘t stand their woman

being touched by other men.” (Page, 215).

Ayah epitomises womanhood who invokes love, affection and freedom in Lenny. However,

she becomes prey to hounds who are madly driven into bigotry and fanaticism. Bapsi Sidhwa

has produced a master piece novel „Ice Candy Man‘ with elements of female psyche so

beautifully that only a person with such sheer brilliance can manifest.

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Use of violence to invoke Humanism

Kushwant Singh and Bapsi Sidhwa have used barbarism and vandalism to such an extent that

it invokes a sense of pity and remorse. ‗The sack full of breasts‘ is such a phrase which fills a

human mind with disgust and one‟s soul also shivers with pain and horror. The literature of

partition is filled with sagas of human oppression and madness without any reason. Lunacy

can never be justified in the name of religion and this holds true for partition also. Extensive

violence and human sufferings makes one to feel the pain. Readers are bound to bring out the

futility of communalism and fanaticism which not only cause havoc in the society but also is

a tight slap on the face of entire human civilisation which claim itself to be modern and

sophisticated. Thus, the elements of violence in these masterpieces are actually a way to bring

out the message of peace, love, fraternity and mutual cooperation in society.

Child’s Psyche

The trauma of partition was not only on adults but also inflicted upon children. Many were

lost, murdered and lynched by the mob. Lenny, a sweet eight-year-old child is aghast and

flabbergasted when she sees a man being killed in the streets. Her body is filled with pain

and she tarts to rip off her doll so as to seek solace.‖ Lenny selects a large lifelike doll and

begins to fiercely tear it apart until the cloth skin is ripped right up to the armpits spilling

chunks of greyish cotton and coiled brown coir.” (p148). The introduction of a little child to

the ghastly world of violence is disturbing and painful. Ayah is abducted and forced into

prostitution before her eyes. She blames herself for the whole mishap. Thus, innocence in

children is chopped into pieces by disdainful acts of violence.

Film Adaptations

The trauma of partition made many filmmakers to ponder upon the idea of making a film

upon this subject. Earth 1947 (1999) and Train to Pakistan (1998) are the film adaptations of

the Ice Candy Man and Train to Pakistan respectively. Both the films succeeded in winning

accolades from critics and audience. Train to Pakistan was directed by Pamela Rooks and the

movie was nominated in Cinequest San Jose Film Festival 1999 in the best feature film

category. Earth 1947„was directed by Deepa Mehta and leading role of Ice Candy Man was

played by leading actor Aamir Khan.

Conclusion

The partition of India into two dominions was an event of dramatic upheaval which resulted

in the biggest exodus of people ever in the history of mankind. Compassion and fraternity

were forgotten words in those days and man became thirsty of each other‟s blood. Ghastly

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acts of murder, rape and vandalism were committed which shames the entire human

civilisation. It is despicable to learn the amount of hatred that was spread during those days.

Partition has had its violent aftermath even today in the form of communal riots. Many

literary figures in the Indian subcontinent have dealt with the topic with fair amount of

sensitivity and pain. Khushwant Singh and Bapsi Sidhwa have painted the horrors of partition

and its repercussions. Such mass killings would have been avoided if the situation was dealt

with prudence at the macro (government) and the micro (citizenry) levels. It is fraternity and

mutual love that separates humans from savage.

The literature of partition has a common chord that connects all literary pieces produced on

this theme. It is the theme of violence and human trauma. The partition is not just a historical

event but also a saga of untold miseries and human sufferings which when penned down

invokes a despise towards the political gamblers and fanatics who in order to fulfil their

political vendetta made the general public as a sacrificial lamb. Khushwant Singh has made

an attempt to unravel the bigotry in partition days through a fictional village Mano Majra. His

novel ‗Train to Pakistan‘ also expounds the universal theme of eternal man-woman love

which transcends all boundaries of religion, caste and creed. He has proved in the novel that

man possesses innate goodness in his heart which though suppressed may find its utterance in

course of time. Bapsi Sidhwa in her novel portrays the horrid images of partition through the

eyes of a young girl Lenny. It is painful to read that an eight year child witnesses ghastly acts

of abduction and molestation. Bapsi Sidhwa has made an attempt to unravel child‟s psyche

which is tender and innocent. However, the images of murder and abduction have an effect

over Lenny that she tears her own little lifeless doll so as to seek solace. It is heart renting as

a child, who carries the seeds of human kindness and innocence has got its purpose

misplaced. A lover like Ice Candy Man turns into a hound due to fanaticism. He abducts the

Ayah and forces her into a brothel. Love turned sour results into venomous poison potentially

able to turn rancid everybody. The city of Lahore is ablaze with fire of fanaticism and

bigotry. Man should understand that he is just a part in the progress journey of human race

with specific roles to play. Man is not born to fight with his brethren.

Human sufferings and pain during the days of partition have a far reaching effect even to this

date. The Indian Subcontinent witnesses terrorism, riots, plane hijacking all in the name of

religion. No religion teaches bloodshed or violence. Different religions are like flowers of

different colours which make the bouquet of life colourful and lively. The greatest wealth of

this world is vividness. Homogeneity is dull and monotonous. People should respect

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conflicting ideas as they help to bring the bigger picture of truth. It is the benign face of

humanity which allows conflicting ideas to grow as no one can be completely right.

Tolerance is a virtue which is required for organic growth of any civilisation. The biggest

exodus of people in the history of mankind proved to be a serious blot on the face of entire

humanity as it showed that man reach to such a nadir that he can “mutilate breasts‖ and

―sacks full of breasts‖ has a sinew chilling effect upon reader. The reader is forced but to

pray that such mishap never occur again. The partition mishap proves that people turn to

fanaticism in no time throwing away all their sanity. There will be no difference between

human and savage if people kill each other. People should have faith in justice and rule of

law. “The arc of moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” The world has to be

made a better place to live in.

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Works Cited

Singh, K. (1956) Train to Pakistan, New York: Grove Weidenfeld.

Sidhwa, B. (1991) Cracking India, Minneapolis: Milkweed Publication

Hassan, M. (1993) India‘s Partition: Process, Strategy, Mobilization. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.

Guha,R. (1999) India after Gandhi: Picador publication

Butler, J.(1999) Gender Trouble Feminism and the Subversion of identity. London: Routlege,

<http://www.wikipedia.org/si/train to Pakistan/sagan.html>.

<http://www.wikipedia.org/si/Cracking India/sagan.html>.

Government of India. Millions on the Move: The Aftermath of Partition. Delhi: Ministry of

Information and Broadcasting, 1948. Print.