Literature of Partition: An Analysis with Special Reference to the Trauma in the Writings of Bapsi Sidhwa and Khushwant Singh Dr. Mallika Tripathi Assoc. Professor & Head, Deptt. Of Humanities, Feroze Gandhi Institute of Engg. & Technology, Raebareli & Atraiya Mishra Essayist India Abstract India, the ancient land known as the torchbearer of peace, spirituality and humanism became testimony to one of the ghastliest and flabbergasting acts ever committed in the history of mankind. Her own offspring who had lived as a single unit were suddenly bifurcated on communal lines due to political vendetta. Many authors have incorporated the trauma and sufferings during the partition. Khushwant Singh and Bapsi Sidhwa are distinguished signatures in the arena of English literature who have published novels based on the theme of partition. They have portrayed the traumatic picture of that time making us to feel the pain of humanity. Thus the present paper focuses upon the literature of partition with special reference to the trauma in the writings of Khushwant Singh and Bapsi Sidhwa. Keywords: Humanity, Literature, Partition, Trauma www.ijellh.com 156 India drank the sweet nectar of freedom from the foreign yoke of British Raj but with a heavy price. The ancient land whose civilisation had stood against the test of time was bifurcated into two parts- India and Pakistan. The biggest exodus of people ever in the history of humankind took place from one part to another. A state of religious frenzy and bigotry spread in the entire Indian subcontinent. People became worse than beasts ever ready to slaughter fellow beings in the name of religion. The single most affected victim was humanity which was torn into pieces by its own children. All hell broke loose when people in both nations were killed just due to their religious affiliations. A plethora of literature is produced on this subject particularly from the authors of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The trauma and agony experienced by people has found its voice in the literature of partition by many notable and distinguished authors. Poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz lamented, „This stain covered daybreak, this night bitten dawn. This dawn is not that dawn we craved for‘. Muslims migrated to Pakistan and Hindus to India leaving back their ancestral homes, tradition and culture to become refugees in a distant land just in the name of fanaticism. Bigotry spew its venom particularly on women who were assaulted, sexually abused and tortured if they were found to be of different religion. The tragedy of partition has given way to literature in almost all languages of the Indian sub- continent particularly Hindi, English, Urdu, Bengali and other vernacular languages. A common element in all these pieces of literature is pathos. It is different from historical account as it embodies the human suffering and pain due to partition. Authors such as Krishna Chander, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Amrita Pritam, Saddat Hasan Manto, K.S. Duggal, Nanak Singh and others have revolved their prose on the subject of partition. Khushwant Singh‟s ‗ Train to Pakistan „, Bapsi Sidhwa‟s ‗Ice Candy Man‘ and ‗Bride‘, Salman Rushdie‟s ‗Midnight‘s Children‘, K.A. Abbas‟ ‗Inquilab‘ in English, Bhishma Sahani‟s „Tamas‘ and Yashpal‟s „Jhoota Sach‘ in Hindi give a insight into the hardships that common people had to endure in this nasty battle of power and politics. An author while dealing with a formidable historical event such as the partition has to maintain isolation from historical facts and not adhere to any perspective. Instead the author provides an amalgam of human emotions, fantasies, tale of hope and sorrows with a message to the world. This common characteristic is evident in almost all the literary writings of the partition. Thus history loses its sense of time and facts and in its place hovers around the author‟s flight of fantasies. www.ijellh.com 157 Almost every literary piece related to the partition depicts hooliganism, rape, murder, treachery, barbarism and a common thirst of blood amongst people. They were ready to slaughter their neighbours who had lived arm in arm for centuries just because they practised different religion. Few authors have depicted the restoration of human rationality and prudence after the holocaust. However, many disillusioned authors have given tragic account of the events without taking any sides. They accuse both the sides for their mud sledging and dog fight for power. The first novel which brought partition into limelight was Khushwant Singh‟s ‗Train to Pakistan‟ in 1956 (originally under the title of Mano Majra). Since then many have penned the horror of partition and unequivocally criticised barbarism and hooliganism so commonly practised by the multitude. A despairing and heart-renting tale is provided in “Open It” by Manto. A girl Sakina was abducted and molested so many times that when she was hospitalised and doctor asks her father to open the window, she involuntarily opens her trouser strings. Her father exults with joy,‖ She is alive.‖ This is ironical as well as a tight slap on the face of human race which boasts itself to be civilised and cultured. Women authors have also given their contribution to literature of partition. Bapsi Sidhwa, Attia Hosan,Krishna Sobti have given their narrative of the partition. Almost every literary work is full of fury, crime, murder, rape and it seems that the fabric of civil order has been torn into pieces and man has turned into savage. Suvir Kaul rightly says,” Partition issues need to be explored because they define not only our past in crucial ways but also our collective future.” It is very true as the county is still affected by draconian problem of communalism and futile fights in the name of religion. Hollow ideals and chauvinism lead a person to shun his prudence and follow barbarism. Both nations flex their muscles on the issue of Kashmir till date. The valley has been rightly described by noted historian Ram Chandra Guha as a valley ‗bloody and beautiful‘. Representation of violence is depicted in partition literature so as to invoke a sense of disgust to violence in the minds of the reader and the conscience of readers contemplate over the futility of such heinous deeds in the name of religion and identity politics. Train is a symbol, so vividly used by authors. Running trains with ‗sacks of breasts‘ in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice Candy Man has a nauseating effect on readers. Khushwant Singh has also used train in his novel „Train to Pakistan‟ in which corpses of dead come to the village. The tragedy of partition was such that its scars remain even today and its aftermath has been a saga of pain and suffering. Exodus of people on such a large scale caused loss of culture, customs and often affected people felt meaninglessness and void in www.ijellh.com 158 their life. The joy of freedom was marred by the sting of partition which was inflicted by imperialist British and supported by power hungry people. A common string which connects the literature of partition is that it deals with common people, their sufferings and trauma instead of traversing their literature into the arena of power politics. Contribution of Bapsi Sidhwa and Khushwant Singh to the World of Literature and the different facets of their Traumatic Writing Bapsi Sidhwa is a novelist of international repute from Pakistan. She witnessed the trauma of partition as an eight-year child and vividly describes sufferings from a child‟s perspective. Her novel „Ice Candy Man is a profound attempt by the author to unravel the trauma of partition through a girl Lenny growing up in Lahore. Bapsi Sidhwa is a Sitara-i-Imtiaz awardee (Pakistan‟s highest national honour in arts) and currently resident in the USA. She is considered an authoritative signature in the field of English literature worldwide. Literature is a potent tool in the hands of craftsperson who can bring about a sea change in the society. Bapsi Sidhwa uses her literature to give a voice to sufferings of women and restructuring social norms regarding them. She portrays a determined woman capable to bring about a positive change in society. Khushwant Singh was an Indian novelist and journalist who was best known for his secularism, humour, sarcasm and free thinking. He was decorated with Padma Vibhusan, India‟s second highest civilian award. His column ‗With Malice Towards One and all‘ was widely read. He is described as a „fearless intellectual‘ who opined without any hesitation. He brought the trauma of Partition before the nation with his book „Train to Pakistan‘ and made people to ponder over the hollowness of such mass fratricide. He was awarded “Grove Press India Fiction Prize” for the year 1956. A dark and tragic romance pervades in his novel which eventually brings out the futility of bloodshed. Singh‟s great artistic possession is his wit which he uses so often to condemn the Partition. It was a common practise during the partition to strip a man naked to check whether he was a Hindu or a Muslim. In Singh‟s „Train to Pakistan‘, one of the characters who was circumcised sarcastically remarks, ―Where on earth except in India would a man‘s life depend on whether or not his foreskin had been removed? I would be laughable if it were not tragic.” Thus a state of madness is depicted in which useless and trivial affiliations and practices determined whether a person was fit to live or not. Man can be insane and lunatic if he drinks the poison of communalism and hatred. www.ijellh.com 159 Plot Construction in Ice Candy Man The story revolved around a young and lame Parsee girl Lenny who witnessed the horrors and stigma of partition.