Train to Pakistan - Softcover

Khushwant Singh

3.93

29,267 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 8125028218 ISBN 13: 9788125028215

Publisher: Orient Longman, 2005

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Mano Majra is a place, Khushwant Singh tells us at the beginning of this classic novel, where Sikhs and Muslims have lived together in peace for hundreds of years. Then one day, at the end of the summer, the 'ghost train' arrives, a silent, incredible funeral train loaded with the bodies of thousands of refuges, bringing the village its first taste of the horrors of the civil war. Train to Pakistan is the story of this isolated village that is plunged into the abyss of religious hate. It is also the story of a Sikh boy and a Muslim girl whose love endures and transcends the ravages of war.

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Review:

An Authentic Version on Partition Manomajra, a tiny villages slumbers without much din of the urbane suddenly comes alive with fanaticism takes hold of the innocent villagers. The amity and goodwill give place to rancour and so the majority, the Sikhs on knowing the horrors let loose by Muslims in Pakistan on their brethern Sikhs, would like to let out their rages on their fellow villagers- Muslims. It is cast against a love story between a Sikh and a Muslim girl for whose sake the rustic makes a sacrifice thereby allowing her and the rest of the Muslims on their journey to the Promised Land, Pakistan. --Dr V Pala Prasada

read Train to Pakistan years ago, right back when I was in college. I can still never forget the novel, which is undoubtedly one of my favourite Indian novels in English. Khushwant Singh is a daring story-teller. He manages to remain one of the few who refrain from much of the linguistic pomp, glamour, and political pretense that dogs Indian English writers. His language is simple; his message is startling. The novel is based on the time when India won independence, and when the partition took place. Singh blends satire and compassion with heart felt anger: at the hypocrisy and cowardice of social activists, and at the bureaucracy and corruption that permeates Indian politics. The climax of the novel is the message of the story: action is never political; it is only personal. Nobody is going to get up and do a thing for anyone else unless it's for someone they love, unless it's something that comes from the heart. This book is an absolute must read for every single person who cares about Hindu-Muslim harmony. --Supriya Thanawala Nov 19, 2011

Khushwant at his best... A must read for all english prose readers... read this book many years back.. but still i remember each and every character of the novel... Gud narration, story set in the backdrop of partition of india.. describes love,lust,burtality of humans in a simple way.. --Santhosh Tarikere Devananda Dec 2, 2011

About the Author:

Khushwant Singh is India s best-known writer and columnist. He has been founder editor of Yojana, and editor of the Illustrated Weekly of India, the National Herald and the Hindustan Times. He is also the author of several books which include the novels Train to Pakistan, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale, Delhi, The Company of Women and Burial at Sea; the classic two-volume A History of the Sikhs; and a number of translations and non-fiction books on Sikh religion and culture, Delhi, nature, current affairs and Urdu poetry. His autobiography, Truth, Love and a Little Malice, was published in 2002. Khushwant Singh was a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 1986. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1974, but returned the decoration in 1984 in protest against the storming of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

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