Before and After the Partition: A Comparative Study of Bhisham Sahni's Tamas and Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan

The end of the long rule of British domination brought independence for the nation but the same event resulted in partition of the country followed by large scale migration of people from both sides that left millions of people homeless. Partition brought nothing progressive but only large-scale violence, displacement, horror of migration and endless suffering to people who lost their ancestral homes where they were born and lived for years. The present paper will analyse the social framework before and after the partition through the study of Bhisham Sahni's Tamas (1947) and Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan (1956). Both texts provide significant commentary on the events that led to the partition of India. It will also study how the peaceful lives of common masses completely got changed after partition. Tamas is a prelude to the upcoming disruption whereas, Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan focuses on the aftermath of partition and it can be studied to understand the effects of partition on the lives of common people and finally this paper will be a comparative study of both the texts to understand deeply how partition brought misery and suffering in the lives of millions of people.