Conflicting Communal Identities and Wounds upon Regional Consciousness: A Socio-Political Study of Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan

Abstract

The study analyzes Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan to explore the social, psychological and political impacts of the Partition of India. The partition is both a result and a cause of religious discrimination in the novel which chronicles the communal harmony and the subsequent disintegration in the fictional Mano Majra. David Storey’s theory of Territory and Territoriality is employed to critically examine how once inclusive and cohesive communal identities turn volatile under the strain of colonial legacies, political manipulation and the resultant social discontent. A close reading of the text and engagement with the secondary data reveal the manifestations of violence, loss and betrayal in the rural microcosm. While studying the repercussions of the partition on various communities that went into chaos leading to wild massacres and mass bloodshed, this paper sheds light on the factors and motivations behind these happenings, thus opening panoramas in the domain of Partition Literature.