The story outline of The Train to Pakistan. It will be useful for a quick revision.
Khuswant Singh’s train to Pakistan revolves around the
village of Mano Majra which has only three brick buildings. The three brick buildings are a Mosque and a
Sikh temple and a the house of Lala Ram Lal. The Prominent ones and the ones
who own land are the Sikhs and the Muslims are tenants who share the tilling of
the owner. Mano Majra is just situated half a mile from the banks of Sutlej
river. Mano Majra is famous for its railway station. There are many passenger
trains that pass through it out of which only two stop, one from Delhi to
Lahore and the other from Lahore to Delhi.
In the summer of 1947 there was a dacoity and murder of Lala Ram Lal the money
lender. It was done by Malli and his gang. Hukum Chand a magistrate and deputy
commissioner of the district, made appeals to arrest Juggut Singh, the well
known badmash of the village. He was making love with Nooren a muslim weaver girl at night. He was
not at his house so Malli and his men threw broken glass bangles at Juggut
Singh’s courtyard. Juggut Singh was the son of dacoit Alam Singh who was hanged two years ago. On the day following the night of murder of
Lala Ram Lal police arrived in Mano
Majra Station along with them arrived Iqbal a political worker. He went to the
Sikh temple where everyone is allowed to stay with some conditions like no
usage of tobacoo and having one’s head covered. He makes himself comfortable in
the gurudwara and he becomes friends with Meet Singh. Iqbal was just twenty
seven years old and he was also arrested for the murder. Iqbal protested with
the constables. Banta Singh is the Lambardar . Iqbal told that he was from
People’s party but they charge sheeted him as belonging to muslim league
because he was circumcised. Iqbal and Jugga were taken to Chundunnugger police
station in a tonga.
Banta Singh was the village headman, was really a collector
of revenue- a lambardar. The post had been in his family for several
generations. He did not own any more land than the others. Since the government
officials and the policeman deal with him, he had an official status. Imam
Baksh, the mullah of the mosque, his wife and his only son had died within few
months of each other. He was reduced to beggary with a baby girl Nooran, he
began living in the mosque and teaching the Quran to the children. One morning a train from Pakistan
arrived, at first glance it had the look of the trains in the days of peace,
but it was full of ghosts. Everyone was
told to get the wood there in his house and bring the kerosene oil. After
dumping their bundles of wood on the truck and emptying bottles of kerosene
into the petrol cans the villagers moved away. The bodies were burnt
The nieghbouring villages of Kapoora and Gujjoo Matta were evacuated. Imam Baksh went and asked the Lambardar about the decision of their village. The Lambardar told that they were so few and the strangers (the hindus) coming from Pakistan are in thousands. So he asked them, Imam and his daughter Nooran and all other Muslims to stay in the camp for few days and return to the village of Mano Majra after that.. Nooran went to Jugga’s house, and met Jugga’s mother. She has Jugga’s child , it is the second month of her pregnancy. People cried and hugged and everyone was either packing or helping someone who is packing. Jugga and Iqbal are about to be released. Lambardar was thinking that the refugees will stay in the camp for one or two days and return, but the muslim officer assured that they will be taken to Pakistan. Malli was appointed the custodian of the muslim property . As the water of the river rises there were bodies of both men and women, hundreds of corpses floating. Another train filled with corpses came this time they used a bulldozer and buried the dead. A boy entered the gurudwara and asked people to join in killing the muslims who will board their train to Pakistan. Meet Singh was disappointed as muslims from mano majra would be there but malli and his men and some refugees who came from Pakistan joined. At last their attempt to kill the muslims was unsuccessful. Juggut singh was separated from Noran as she travelled to Pakistan becoming pregnant.
Comments
Post a Comment