73247139 Book Review a Train to Pakistan

8/3/2019 73247139 Book Review a Train to Pakistan

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/73247139-book-review-a-train-to-pakistan 1/6

Submitted to :Mam Syeda Ayesha Bukhari



Submitted by :Rashid Mehmood

Sequence # :05

Batch-09(AERO)

Book reviewon

“A Train ToPakistan”Englishcomposition

RASHID MEHMOOD

5/15/2011



Title : A TRAIN TO PAKISTAN

Author : KHUSHWANT SINGH

Publisher : P enguin B ooks India & R avi D ayal P ublisher .

ISBN NO. : 97801 - 4306 - 5883

First published in 1956 but this specific one was published in 2009.

Purpose of the book is to enhance the knowledge of the reader regarding the

partition of subcontinent and its effects on the peoples especially on villagers.

The book basically is an example of Mano Majra (small village) where

majority peoples are Muslims and Sikhs. And also to throw some lights on the

behavior of Sikhs, and their relations with the Muslims, and also their part in

the partition.The author wrote that both the communities live together friendly

before the partition. But suddenly partition starts and now same peoples

changes their attitude towards each other.

The writer first explains the peaceful life before partition and then the stagesduring and after the partition. The content and the quality of English are fine.



But in some cases in order to gave the reality the author uses some foul

language he also explain some abuses which is unnecessary. He adopted a

chronological order and in doing so he don’t wrote much about its basic topici.e. the time during partition. Layout isn’t so impressive i.e. it often creates

difficulty for the readers that who is the listener and who is the speaker? And

he uses the primary source as he is telling the story in a manner that it seems

that he also in the scene of the story. There are few things which could be

removed without affecting the story or essence of the topic for example he

explain some irrelevant and foul scenes. And author also went so deep in

them which were not necessary to do so. He also wrote some irrelevant

things which could be erasable.

The writer don’t appreciate this movement of people as some peoples don’t

wants to left their ancestral homes and villages same is the case with Mano

Majra their Muslims also don’t wants to leave their homes but due to the

danger of being killed by the refugees from Pakistan they had to left their

homes, property, cattle’s etc. and also it results in a lot of causalities i.e. the

trade of trains full of corpses being observed by the indo-pak peoples. when

Sikhs saw the train full of corps from Pakistan then they became hyper and

wants to take revenge of that but when they thought that they are planning tokill their own village fellows on behalf of Pakistani Muslims so most of them

came back but refugee Sikhs don’t wants to lose their chance to take revenge

from Muslims so they make a plan to destroy the train to Pakistan but their

whole plan was vanished by a Sikh who sacrifies his life to save the life’s of

the Muslims which were going to Pakistan.

You can get the idea of this book with the following quotation written by

khushwant Singh:

“Muslims said the Hindus has planned and started the killings according to

Hindus, Muslims were to blamed. The fact is, both sides killed. Both shot and

stabbed and speared and clubbed. Both tortured. Both raped.”

“Juggut Singh went near the track and slowly started climbing the ladder. He

reached the top, where the rope was tied to damage the train going to



Pakistan. Jugga holded himself firmly, took out the knife from the back and

slowly started cutting the rope. The planner to destroy the train starts

shooting at him. He heard the sound of train coming closer he has almostfinished cutting the rope. He was convinced that now the train will find its way

safe to Pakistan, and so will be his love Noora.The planner fired again, and

the bullet went in as mercilessly as ever, the sound of train came further

close, jugga fell down on the track, the train went over him and went to

Pakistan.”

Characters along with their professions are as follows:

➢ Lambardar (a person which communicates between the peoples

and the government)

➢ Ram laal (a money lender and richest person in Mano Majra)

➢ Meet Singh (he looks after the Gurdwara)

➢ Imam bakhsh (imam of the mosque of Mano Majra& also a weaver)

➢ Hukum chand (a magistrate which orders the inspector regarding

the different matters of mano majra)

➢ Juggut Singh (an illiterate badmash of Mano Majra)

➢ Inspector sahib (a person who took the order from magistrate)➢ Nooran(daughter of the weaver imam bakhsh)

➢ Iqbal Singh (an educated person called himself as a representative

of peoples party)

➢ Bhola (a Tonga driver)

➢ Haseena (a dancer)

➢ A young extremist Sikh which leads the Sikhs to destroy the train of

Muslims.

➢ Mali and his gang

This book is very different as compare to the other book written on the same

topic by the other author. That author explains mostly the time period during

the partition and all the difficulties faced at every steps of their journey and

also he discusses more general views regarding the partition. But in this book

the author spend most of its times in explaining the life before the partition

and so he only explain very little about the original topics requirements i.e. the

time during the partition.



Over all this is the only English book other than text books that I read

thoroughly. It’s nice to read the book I choose that because it is easily

available and also considerably small in size, and also the topic encourageme to choose that book first I thought that it will be about a train and the

difficulties faced by the peoples during their journey. But in this book the

author adopts the different way. He explains mostly the other things instead

of basic topic.

Documents

73247139 Book Review a Train to Pakistan