Train to Pakistan_Title

 (e-content developed by Prof. (Dr) N A Jarandikar)

Title of the novel

          ‘Train to Pakistan’ is an important novel in connection with the partition literature. The novel is written by Khushwant Singh. The novel talks about one tiny village, Mano Majra, located on the boundary of the east and west Punjab. In the fire of violence erupted after the partition, initially Mano Majra was calm and quiet, but soon it too gets transformed into the battlefield. The novel, powerfully brings out the human tendencies of disbelief, revenge and power control. In this connection, a reference to Pakistan in the title is apt. It is interesting to see how one Indian writer who is a Sikh looks at partition.

          A reference to ‘train’ in the title is also apt. In the opening pages of the novel, it is told how a railway station is important in the life of Mano Majra. The daily routine of Mano Majra is tied with the railway timetable. In the novel, it is seen that after partition, how the railway timetable collapses gradually and so the routine of Mano Majra. There are two major incidents in the novel related to the train when Mano Majra is stunned looking at the horrors of the partition. These trains come from Pakistan. These trains are described as ‘the ghost trains’. These are full of the dead bodies of Hindus and Sikhs coming from Pakistan. So, the obvious reaction of the villagers is that a train going to Pakistan needs to meet the same fate. The villagers cry for revenge.

So, a train going to Pakistan is a climax of the novel. A couple of weeks ago, the villagers had declared the Muslims of Mano Majra as their brothers. When the Muslims shifted to refugee camps, the villagers had cried. But now the situation is changed. They do not want the Muslim villagers to go to Pakistan alive. The drastic change in Mano Majra is the core of the novel. It’s really breathtaking to see whether the train safely goes to Pakistan. The climax of the novel is full of drama. It throws light on the inner working of Hukum Chand, Iqbal, Bhai Meet Singh and Jugga. In that way too, the title of the novel is apt.