NAME- ARBAZ KHAN

ROLL NO- 74
B.A.LLB(HONS) REGULAR
ENGLISH PROJECT

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF TRAIN TO PAKISTAN

Khushwant Singh’s novel Train to Pakistan is all about the holocaust that took
place in 1947 when India was divided into two countries – Indian and Pakistan.
Partition has left many scars in the hearts of several Indians. The memories and
wounds of the tragic period still make people shiver. The book was first
published in 1956 when in the backdrop the horrendous memories of the
holocaust were still afresh. Khushwant Singh puts the microscope on the then
Indian society through his spokesman, Iqbal to criticise different evil customs
that were running rampant. The novel begins with a reference to the Hindu
Muslim riots that had torn the nation and set the fire of communalism and
terrorism.

The entire novel revolves around a small village named Mano Majra, half
miles away from the river Sutlej. Lala Ram Lal is the only Hindu family. He is
money- lenders by profession. The money-lenders indeed where fleecing the
poor and needy people; they were in line with the Zamindars in perpetrating
cruelties on the poor. The British government did nothing to save poor from
these wolves. But they were the targets of dacoits because dacoits could get
large booty from their houses- the ill-gotten money was taken away by the
doctors. In Mano Marja dacoity is committed in the house of Ram Lal and is
killed cruelly.

Singh speaks about the unhygienic condition of the Indian. They spit and
urinate everywhere. But the Indians keep sexual morality above everything else.
Meet Singh complains that the Christian men and women go freely with other
men and women, hinting at wife swapping. Iqbal snubs him for harping on the
stock opinions, saying that Christian don’t tell lies as the Indian do.

The police in India are indeed incorrigible lot making nuisance all the time. In
the name of giving common public a peace, they stand as a nightmare. Iqbal
complained, “There is a police system which, instead of safeguarding the
citizen, maltreats him and lives on corruption and bribery.” Iqbal himself
become a victim of police high-handedness. He is stripped to see whether he is
a Muslim, and arrested for no offence. Police is unjust in the case of Jugga too.
Without any real evidence they put Jugga behind the bar.

Lack of social injustice in India thrusts people into a world of crimes.

Unemployment is largely responsible for that. Nobody wants to know why a
man has to resort to thieving or robbing. A workless person has no option other
than stealing. When he does so, society labels him as criminal. He is not
brought back to the mainstream of the society. A large part of Indian population
is half-fed, half-clad. There is no surprise if people become Nexalites or Maoists
or even dacoits.

Indian Judicial system is violently criticised. Laws are violated by the law-
maker, lawyers. Hukum Chand, a Magistrate is a counterfeit who gets his
promotions and jobs of his relatives through foul means. But he is adored as a
man of virtue by Meet Singh and all. It is Indian tendency to oil a man who
holds high position irrespective of his character. Hukum Chand asks the
inspector to send singers, rather prostitutes, for his entertainment. Even at the
age of 50, he listens romantic music and flirts with the girls of his daughter’s
age. Wine and woman are his main obsession.

Interestingly the irony is that the Indians of lower strata didn’t even know what
independence is, the time when India was fighting for freedom. A Muslim
says“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of
the English, now will be the slaves of the educated Indians – or the
Pakistanis.”Speaking about freedom Lambardar asks Iqbal “Will we get more
lands or morebuffaloes?” What a travesty of independence!

Unlike Mahatma Gandhi’s opinion, Iqbal would always believe that

Independence is not the only remedy to receive social justice. Iqbal notices that
the Indians were uneducated, superstitious, backward living people. Disparity is
seen everywhere. Iqbal notices the youths of Punjab are all alike in their choice
of bride – “All wanted virgin”. Beauty, they recognised was skin-deep. Most
people wanted to correspond with horoscope. Since love is the strongest bond
between two souls, Indians have several considerations in choosing life
partners. They look for the dowry, qualification and the job prospects of
the bride.

Communal discords had a inglorious past in India. Sikhs didn’t have much faith
on Muslims as they had “executed two of their Gurus”. Muslims butchered their
infants, forced them to convert into Islam, tore their holy Granth and even raped
many Sikh women. Now a train load of Sikh’s massacred by the Muslims had
been cremated in Mano Majra. Two Sikh young men are determined to
take avenge to give lesson to the Pak.

The novelist has established a criticism of Indian culture, attitude, customs, and
philosophy through Iqbal. But he is not fully upright in his philosophy all time.
As a stern communist he can’t think beyond “roti, kapra, and makan” (fooding,
clothing and lodging). But he is right to say that Indians depends on faith more
than logic and argument: “We are mysterious East. No proof, just faith. No
reason, just faith.”