LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 23:11 November 2023
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
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         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
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         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Narratives of Disruption in Saadat Hasan Manto’s Selected Stories

Kuldeep Singh, M.A. and Dr. JapPreet Kaur Bhangu, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.


Courtesy: www.amazon.in

Abstract

In 1947, even as India began, in Nehru’s famous words, a “tryst with destiny”, the nation found itself overtaken by the cataclysmic event of partition. Partition of India was an event of tremendous social, political, religious, and ethical disruption with its accompanying acts of violence, horror, and savagery. Amidst that violence, a writer who dared to narrate stories of this overpowering insanity was the celebrated Saadat Hasan Manto. That he could write with adequate detachment, fairly and poignantly, and capture the passions in reasonable language, without taking sides and without getting trapped within the communal logic, is indeed, as unbelievable as was the terrible reality of the world around. Keeping his focus on the predicament of ordinary people caught in the chaos, Manto lays bare the sheer ugliness and bestiality lying dormant within the human psyche. His raw portrayals have kept the cries of victims and the mindlessness of it all alive through time. The paper takes account of five of Manto’s short stories to examine how the narrative of disruption continues to overpower years after it actually happened.

Keywords: Partition, Manto, Selected Stories, Disruption, Violence.

1. Introduction

India’s independence began shortly at midnight on Aug. 15, 1947, with Nehru’s famous announcement of starting, a “tryst with destiny”. Even as the nation was rejoicing the independence got from the British after a long struggle, instantly the land found itself overtaken by the cataclysmic event of partition. The elation of independence was shattered by the anguish of partition. It was an event, in Gyanendra Pandey’s defining words, “a moment of rupture and genocidal violence” (Pandey 1), an event of tremendous social, political, religious, and cultural disruption with its accompanying acts of violence, horror and savagery. Men and women, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs, who had coexisted together in harmony for generations took to killings and other atrocities along religious lines with shocking abandonment. It was as if, not just individuals, but the whole communities had gone mad. As Mushirul Hasan succinctly summed up, “Partition cruelly displaced millions, divided India’s past, wrecked its civilizational rhythm and unity and left behind a fractured legacy” (Jassal 23). There was thus a disruption, a cruel, heartless, meaningless, and never-ending prolonged breakdown of the social, moral, and communal life of the nation. Literary writers such as Krishan Chander, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Ishmat Chughati, Khadija Mastoor, Saadat Hasan Manto, Yashpal, Amrita Pritam, Khushwant Singh, etc. depicted the impact of this holocaust in their writings. Among them, Saadat Hasan Manto chose to place himself as if, within the gaping, raw wound of partition, attempting to measure the depth of the pain felt by the people caught in the chaos and convey it in his stories. Whether they were victims or perpetrators of violence did not matter as Manto laid bare the sheer ugliness and bestiality lying dormant within the human psyche. It was only logical then, that those in power sought to ban his stories accusing him of portraying obscenity, even though all he was doing was to force readers to face their own obscene inner selves. His raw portrayals have kept the cries of victims and the mindlessness of it all alive through time. So much so that people go to his stories to know about the history of those days. The paper takes account of five of Manto’s short stories that narrate the utter disruption in the social texture of those years.

Saadat Hasan Manto

Manto, one of the most prolific writers in Urdu literature, produced twenty-two collections of short stories, one novel, five collections of radio plays, three collections of essays, and two collections of personal sketches. His depiction of both bright and dark sides of the human psyche has elevated him as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. As Ayesha Jalal aptly says, “Amidst the darkening shadows of criminality, avarice and lust, he plumbed the psychological depths of his characters in search of some residual goodness that could help restore faith in human beings” (Jalal 3). Therein lies the secret of his continued hold on readers. It is indeed remarkable how he could still retain a sense of hope and positivity amidst the surrounding darkness and hopelessness.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Kuldeep Singh, M.A.
Research Scholar, Department of Management and Humanities
Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering & Technology,148106, Punjab (India)
E-mail: kuldeep_ped1705@sliet.ac.in
Mobile Number: +91 86990-13984

Dr. JapPreet Kaur Bhangu, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Professor and Head, Department of Management and Humanities
Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering & Technology,148106, Punjab (India)
E-mail: jappreetkaurbhangu@sliet.ac.in
Mobile Number: +91 98159-80299
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