About Book
The story in Train To Pakistan begins at the time of the Partition. The country is being divided into India and Pakistan, and in many places along the border, bloody riots affect the proceedings.
The tiny village of Mano Majra remains isolated from these outside conflicts. The Sikhs and Muslims in this village live in peace, and the relationship between the two communities is good. The Muslims work as labourers in the village, while the Sikhs own the land.
The story centers around this little village, and how the peace in the community is shattered due to a series of events. When news of the riots reach the village, the different communities express their solidarity and support for each other.
But trouble arrives in the form of a train carrying the slaughtered bodies of Hindus and Sikhs from the region that is to be Pakistan. Refugees also arrive from these places, their hearts filled with hatred due to the violence that they have witnessed.
Slowly, the peaceful village becomes divided. Meanwhile, a money lender named Ram Lal is murdered in the village. In the wake of the new tense atmosphere, the inspector who has been sent down to keep peace fears that this might trigger angry reactions against all Muslims.
As the Muslims prepare to board a train leaving for Pakistan, the inspector tries to divert the others’ attention by arresting people who are not connected with the murder, like Juggut Singh, the never-do-well of the village, an uneducated and volatile young man who has always been in trouble with the law. He is however extremely loyal towards his own village. He knows the gang that committed the murder, but had refused to take part in killing a person from his own village. The other person arrested is an intellectual political activist, Iqbal Singh.
During all this, the tension between the communities heats up due to the influx of refugees. The Sikhs and Hindus of the village, who had once stated their willingness to defend their Muslim neighbors against the anger of the refugees, now turn against the Muslims. A violent mob plans to attack the train carrying Muslim refugees to Pakistan.
The inspector releases both Juggut and Iqbal, hoping that they would somehow be able to help him save the train.
This book does not focus on the major politics of the partition. Instead, it focuses on a tiny and peaceful community that is torn apart by external influences.
About Author
Khushwant Singh is an eminent Indian writer and journalist. He has been the editor of many Indian publications. His weekly column, With Malice Towards One and All, is one of the most widely read in the country.
He has written many other books apart from Train To Pakistan. Some of them are: The Voice of God And Other Stories, The Sikhs Today, A History of The Sikhs, Black Jasmine, Ranjit Singh: The Maharajah of the Punjab, and Delhi: A Novel.
Singh was born in 1915 in a part of Punjab that is now in Pakistan. He studied at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, and at King’s College in London. He has been the editor of Yojana, The National Herald, The Illustrated Weekly of India and The Hindustan Times. In 1974, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan , which he returned in 1984, protesting against the invasion of the Indian Army into the Golden Temple. He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1980 to 1986. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan Award in 2007