SAADAT HASAN MANTO

Q;\'

.Mottled Dawn
FIFTY SKETCHES AND STORIES
OF PARTITION

Translated from the Urdu by Khalid Hasan

'SØith
an Introduction by Daniyal Mueenuddin

@
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First published in Ë,nglish by Penguin Books Indþ 1997

First published in Penguin Modern Classics 201i

T¡anslation copyright @Khalid Hesan 1997, 2011

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A P€NGUIN.RANDOM HOUSE COI,lPANY

 TOBA TEK SINGH
A couple of years after the partition of the country, it
occurred
to the respective governmenis of India and pakistan
ty"d: asylums, like prisoners,
it in n"*
:lMuslim "t
should also be exchanged.
lunatics
in India shourd be transferred to pakistanãnã
Hindu and sikh lunarics in pakistani asylums shourd be
sent
to India.
'whether
this was a reasonable or an unreasonable idea
is difficult to say. One thing-, however, is clear.
f, ,""t *y
conferences of important offi.i"l, from the two sides
,o .orrr.
to the decision. Final details, like the date of ;".h;ö;;
were carefully worked out. rviuslim lunarics whose".'o"i
f"-ilies ;;;;
still.residing in India were ro be reft undisturbed, rrr. i.rì
Á"".J
to the bo¡der for the exchange. The situarion in pakistan
was
slighdy_differenr, since almosi rhe entire population
of Hindus
and sikhs.had already migrated to India. T'heioestion
of keeping
non-Muslim lunatics in pakistan did not, therefore, " -"
While it is not known what the reaction in India wås,"rir..
when the
news reached rhe Lahore lunatic asylum, it immediareiy
the subject of hqâted discussion. One Mushm lr""r",
b*;;
,"ãJã,
reader of the fire-eating daily newspap er Zamindar, "
*rh"r,
what Pakistan wås, replied after deep reflecion, .TLe name ""rt.j
of a
place in India where cut-throat ,""oru are manufactured.,
This profound observarion was received with visible
satisfaction.
A Silú lunatic asked-another Sikh, .Sardärii, why are we
being
sent to India? lle don't even know the language it *y .rp."t
iã
that country.o
The man smiled. '1 know the language of rhe Hindosroras.
These devils always srrut abour as irine-y were
rhe rords of the
earth.'

1
2 MOTTLñD DA\IN TOBA TEK SINGH 3

One day a Muslim lunaric, while taking his bath, raised the
A Muslim lunatic from Chanior, who used ro be one of the
{oqq 'Pakistan Zindabad, with such entiusiasm ihrt h, lort most devoted workers of the All India Muslim League, and r¡¡as
his balance and was larer found lying on the floor un ánrãour.
obsessed with bathing himself fifreen or sixreeû iimes a day,
l.{ot all inmates were mad Some were perfectly normal, except
had suddenly stopped doing that and announced his .r"*. *á,
that they were murderers. To spare them the hángmarr,;;;;;:,;
Muhammad Ali-that he was euaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali
their families had managed to get them commineã after bribing
Jinnah. This had led a sikh inmare to declare himself Masrer Tara
officials down the line. They probably had a vague idea wh| Singh, the leader of the Sikhs. Apprehending serious .orn-u*l
India was being divided and what pakistan *"r, tot, as for the
trouble, the authorities declared them dangeious, and shut them
presenr situation, they were equally clueless.
up in separate cells.
Newspapers.were no help either, and the asylum guards were
ignorant, if not illirerate. Nor was rhere anything toie learnt by .Jl¡ry was-a young Hindu lawyer from Lahore who had gone
ofï his head afrer an unhappy lov e affair.\Fhen told that Amr]tsar
eavesdropping on their conversations. Some saiä there was thi,
]4/as
to become â parr of India, he went into depression because
man by rhe name Muhammad AliJínnah, or the
euaid-e-Azam, his beloved lived in Amrirsar, somerhing he håd nor forgorten
who had set up a separare countryfor Muslims, p"kirt"rr. even in his madness. That day he abused every major and minor
As to where Pakistan was located, the inmates""ll"d
knew nothing. Hindu and Muslim leader who had cut India into two, rurning
That was why both the mad and the panially mad were urr"bie
his beloved into an Indian and him into a pakistani.
to decide whether they were now in India or in pakistan. Il When news of the exchange reached the asylum, his friends
they wer-e in India, where on earth was pakistan? And if they
offered him congrarulations, because he was noìÀ/ to be sent to
were i1 Pakistan, then how come until only rhe other day ít India, the counrry of his beloved; However, he declared that he
was India?
had no intention of leaving Lahore, because his practice would
inmare had got so badly caught up in this India-pakisra*_
, _On"
Pakistan-India rigmarole thar one ãa¡ while sweeping rhe floor,
not flourish in Amritsar.
nvo Anglo-Indian lunatics in the European ward.
he dropped everythingo climbed rhe'nearest tr""-arrã installeá -_Therewere
\Íhen told thar the British had decided to go home after grantihg
himself on a branch, from which vanrage poinr he spoke for independence to India, they went into a state of deep shock
two hours on the delicate problem of Inãia^and pakistan. The and were seen conferring with each other in whispers tñe entire
guards asked him to get down; instead he wenr a branch higher,
afternoon. They were worried about their changãd srarus after
and when threatened with punishmenr, declared, .I wish rJnuá independence. Síould there be a European *atd o, would it be
neither in India nor in Pakistan. I wish to live in this tree.'
abolished? \Fould breakfast conrinue to be served or would thev
When he was finally persuaded to come down, he began have to subsist on bloody Indian chaparti?
embracing his Sikh and Hindu friends, rears running downiis
There was ânother inmare, a Sikh, who had been confined
cheeks, fully convinced that they were about ro leaie him and
for the last fifteên years. Ifhenever he spoke, ir was rhe same
go to India.
mysterious gibberish: 'Uper the gur gur the annexe the bay
A Muslim radio engineer, who had an MSc degree, and never dhayana the mung the dal of the laltain.'Guards said he had not
mixed. with.anyone, given as he was to takinglong walks by
slept a wink in fifteen years. Occasionall¡ he could be observed
himself all da¡ was so affected by the crrrrent?ebai. th"t or,e leaning against a wall, but the rest of the time, he was always to
day he took off all his clorhes, gave the bundle ro one of rhe be found standing. Because of this, his legs were perûlânåntly
âttendânts and ran into the garden stark naked.
swollen, something rhat did nor appeâr to bother him. Recentl¡
4 MOTTLED DAWN TOBA TE,K SINGH 5

he had srârred to listen carefully to discussions about the behind, now a preüJ., young girl of fifteen. She would come
forthcoming exchange of lndian and pakistani lunarics. \Vhen occasionall¡ and sit in front of him wirh tears rolling down her
asked his opinion, he observed solemnlS 'uper tbe gur gar the cheeks.
annexe the bay dhayana the mung the dal of the Gaueinrnent !n the srrânge world that he inhabited, heä was just
another face.
af Pakisan.' Since the start of this India-pakistan caboodle, he had gor inro
Of late, however, the Government of pakistan had been the habit of asking fellow inmares where exactly Toba
replaced by the governmenr of Toba Tek Singh, a small town in
tei Singh
was, without receiving a satisfâctory answer, because noboãy
the Puniab which was his home. He had also begun inquiring knew. The visits had also suddenly stopped. He was increasingly
where Toba Tek Singh was to go. However, nobody wai quitã restless, but, more than that, curious. The sixth sense, which us"eå
sure whether it was in India or Pakistan; to alert him to the day of the visit, had also atrophled.
Those who had tried to solve this mystery had become urterly He missed his famil¡ the gifts rhey used to bring and the
confused when told that Sialkot, which used ro be in India, was concern with which they used to speak to him. He waJsure they
nt¡w in Pakistan. It was anybody's guess what was going ro would have rold him whether Toba Tek Singh was in India or
happen to Lahore, which \¡/as currendy in pakistaru but cõuld Pakistan. He also had a feeling that they came from Toba Tek
slide into India any moment. It was also possible rhar rhe entire Singh, where he used to have his home.
subcontinent of India might become pakistan. And who could One of the inmates had declared himself God. Bishen Singh
say if both India and Pakistan might not enrirely vanish from asked him one day if Toba Tek Singh was in India or pakistin.
the map of the world one day? The man chuckled. 'Neithe¡ in India nor in pakistan, because,
The old man's h¿ir was almosr gone and what liale was left so far, we have issued no orders in this respect.,
had_ become a parr of the beard, giving him a strange, even
frightening, appearânce. However, he was a harmless feùow and . Bishen Singh begged 'God' ro issue rhe necessary orders so
had never been known to get into fights. Older âttendanrs at rhe !þr.hiu problem could be solved, but he was disapþinred, as
'God'appearçd to be preoccupied with
asylum said rhat he was a fairly prosperous landlord from Toba -orc pr"rrirrg matters.
Finall¡ he told him angril¡ 'Uper the gw gi, the øânexe tbe
Tek Singh, who had quite suddenly gone mad. His family had tlung the dal af Guruii da Khalsa and Guiuii ki
brought him in, bound and fetrered. That was ñfteen yeârs âgo. faæh . . . io
boley so nihal sat sri akal.'
Once a monrh, he used to have visitors but, since rhe start Iühat he wanted to say tvâs, 'You don't answer my prayers
of communal troubles in the Punjab; they had stopped coming. because you are a Muslim god. Had you been a Sikh gåd, you
His real name v/âs Bishen Singh, but everybody called him Toba would have been more of a sport.,
Tek Singh. He lived in a kind of limbo, having no idea whar day
of the week ir was, or monrh, or how many years had passed - { few
Bishen
days before the exchange was to take place, one of
Singh's Muslim friends from Toba Tek Singh came ro see
since his confinement. However, he had developed a sixth sense hirn-the first time in fifteen years. Bishen Singhiooked at him
about the day of rhe visit, when he would barhe himself, soap his once and.turned awa¡ unril â guard said ro him, ,This is your
bod¡ oil and comb his hair and put on clean clothes. He never old friend Fazal Din. He has come all the way ro meer you.'
said a word during these meetings, ex€ept occasional outbursts Bishen Singh looked at Fazal Din and began ro mumble
af , "Uper the gur gur the awtexe the bay dhayana the mung the something. Fazal Din placed his hand on his fiiendt shoulder
dal af the labain.' and said, 'I have been meaning ro come fclr some time to bring
I7hen he was first confined, he had left an in-fant daughter you news. All your family is well and has gone ro India safely.
6 MOTTLED DAWN TOBA TE.K SINGH 7

I did what I could to help. Your daughrer Roop Kaur . . .'*he also being exchanged and they were even noisier. It was binerly
hesitated-'She is safe roo . . . in India.' cold.
Bishen Singh kept quiet; Fazal Din continued, .your family Most of the inmates appeared to be dead set against the entire
wanted me to make sure you were well. Soon you will be moving operation. They simply could not understand why rhey were
to lndi¿. What can I say, except rhar you should remember me tõ being forcibly removed, thrown into buses and driven ro this
bhai Balbir Singh, bhai Vadhawa Singh and bahain Amrit Kaur. strânge place. There were slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad' and
Tell bhai Balbir Singh that Fazal Din is well by the grace of God. lPakisìan Murdabad', followed by fights.
The tr¡¡o brown buffaloes he left behind are well too. Both of \ühen Bishen Singh was brought out and asked to give his
them gave birth to calves, but, unfortunately, one of them died nâme so that it could be recorded in a register, he asked the
after six days. Say I think of rhem often and to wrire to me if official behind the desk, 'Where is Toba Tek Singh? In India or
there is anything I can do.' Pakistanl'
Then he added, 'Here, I broughr you a nice treat from home.' 'Pakistan,' he answered wíth a vulgar laugh.
Bishen Singh took the gift and handed it to one of the guards. Bishen Singh tried to ruñ, but was overpowered by the
'rülhere is Toba Tek Singh?' he asked. Pakistani guards who tried to push him across the dividing line
'Where? Iüh¡ it is where ir has always been.' towards India. However, he wouldn't move. 'This is Toba Tek
'In India or in Pakistan?' Singh,t he announced.'Uper the gur gur *te anftexë the bøy
'In India . . . Í0, in Pakistan.' dbayana mung the dal of Toba Tek Singh and Pakistan.'
'lVithout saying
anorher word, Bishen Singh walked away, Many efforts were made to explain to him that Toba Tek
murmuring, 'Uper the gur gur the annexe the bay dhayøna the Singh had already been moved to India, or would be moved
mung the dal of the Paþistan and Hindustan dur fittay moun.' immediatel¡ but it had no effeót on Bishen Singh. The guards
Meanwhile, the exchange arrangemenrs \¡/ere rapidly being even tried force, but soon gâve up.
finalized. Lists of lunatics from the.two sides had been exchangeã There he stood in no-man's-lând on his swollen legs like a
berween the governments, and the date of transfer fixed. cplossus.
On a cold \¡/inter evening, buses full of Hindu and Sikh Since he was a harmless old rrran, no further attempt was
lunatics, accompanied by armed police and officials, began made to push him into India. He was allowed to stand where
moving out of the Lahore asylum towards lfagha, the dividing he wanted, while the exchange continued. The night wore on.
line between India and Pakistan. Senior officials from the two Just before sunrise, Bishen Singh, the man who had stood on
sides in charge of exchange arrangemenm met, signed documenrs his legs for fifteen years, screamed and as officials from the two
and the transfer got under way. sides rushed towards him, he collapsed to the ground.
It was quite a iob getting the men out of the buses and There, behind barbed wire, on one side, lay India and behind
handing them over to officials. Some just refused to leave. Those more barbed wire, on the other side, lay Pakistan. In between,
who were persuaded to do so began to run pell-mell in every on a bit of earth, which had no name, lay Toba Tek Singh.
direction. Some were stark naked. All efforts to get them to cover
themselves had failed because they couldn't be kept from tearing
off their garments. Some were shouting abuse or singing. Otheri
were weeping birerly. Many fights broke out.
In short, complete confusion prevailed. Female lunatics were
 THE.RETURN 9

she had said, .Father, leave it.'

He could feel a bulge in his pocket. It was a len$h
of cloth.
Yes, he recognized it. Ifwas Sakina's
dupatta, bur *lio. ;;;h;;
Other details \¡!/ere missing. Had heïrought her as f"r;rh;
THE RETURN r3lî"y sration? Had she goii.rto th. with him? rVhen
the rioters had stopped thã train, fr"¿ tt""rri"g"
åi.r, t.. øti, ,il;;
The special train left Amritsa¡ at two in the rrl quesüons. I'here were no ânswers. "y He
wished he could
afternoon, arriving
at Mughalpura, Lahore, eight hours later. Many but rears wouldn'r come. He knew rhen that lr"
had been kiilã ¡veep,
netp.
n".d.ã
on tne way, a lot more injured and countless lost.
It was at ten o,clock the next morning that Sirajuddin A few days larer, he had a break. There were eight
regained of them,
young men armed with guns. They
consciousness. He was lying on_bare ground,
uur-undä;; also had a rucf. fh.y uaij
screaming men, women and child¡en. li¿iA they broughr back rffomen and chiidren left
not make sense. behind on t¡* ott *,
l1y very_srill, gazingat the dusty,ky. side.
Te H;";p*;;;;*
notice the confusion or the noise. To a ,árrgrr,^t He gave them a description-of his daughter. .She
*igh; h;;; is fair, ìrery
looked like an old man_in deep thought,rhãuin " prefty. No, she doesn'r look like me, büt
tfrirî", ioi he, mothei. Ãb";;
the case. He was in shock, ,urprnã"j,-as it seventeen. Big eyes, black hair, a mole
*ere, over a on the left cheek. Find
bottomless pit. my daughter. May God bless you.'
The¡ his eyes moved and, suddenly, caught the young rnen had sald tå Sirajuddin, ,ff your
.broughr sun. The shock ..The
alive we will find her.'
daughter is
him back to rhe *orld of iiui";*;-;;J;;ä.ï
succession of images raced through his inind. Attack . . . fi;; And rhey had mied. At the risk of their lives,
rhey had driven
to Amrirsar, recovered many women and
.- . €scâpe . . . railway surion . . . night. . . Sakina. Hr roæ chilir"r;Jbrrr;il
abruptly and began searching throughihe milling.ro*¿
ir, ,fr.
them back to the camp, buithey hr¡;;
iåund Sakina.
refugee camp, On their next trip out, they hâd found girton
*, the roadside.
He spent þours looking, all rhe time shouting rney seemecl to have scared her and she" had
his daughter,s started running.
name . . . Sakina, Sakina . . . but she was no*hãre They. had stopped the truck, jumped
to U. Fourr¿ run after her.
prevailed, with people looking for il;;;;
Finall¡ tley "ut "n¿
þd.caught up with úer in fi;i¡. Sh;;;;;;;
,^Ïfl**.rsion
qaughte¡sr mothers, wives. In the end Sirajuddin gave up.
pretty and she had a mole on he, left cheek."
One of the men haå
He sat
{9y",away from rhe crowd, and nied ,å rtint äorþ. \ri;;; 9ai{ to her,'Don'r be frightened. Is ycur name Sakina?, Her face
had gone pale, but when they told nei *i"
did he parr from Sakina and'her mother? ihen it
came to him *rry *rr" ,h. fr"ã
in a flash-the dead bodyof his wife, her stomach confessed that she was Sakinä, daughter
,ipp*dõ;. of Siraiuddin.
It was an image that wouldnt so awav. . Th9¡. oung men were very kind to-h.r. fhey had fed her, given
her milk to drink and put Ler in their rr,r.k.
Sakinat mother was dead. fhrt mú.h w¿s cerrain. Orr" of them had
She had givenher his jacket so that she could cover
died in fronlof his eyes. He could hea¡ her voicc, .Leave herself. L *ur;b;;;,
me that she was ill âr eâse without h.. dup.na,irying
where I am. Take the girl away., nervously to
The two of them had begún ro run. Sakina,s cover her breasts with her arms.
dupatta had Many days had gone by and Sirajuddin had sdll not
slipped ro rhe ground a1d he had stoppeJ to pick
i, ,p ,nJ âny news of his daughter. All his time was
had
$penr running from
8
10 MOTTLED DATø'N

camp to .3mp, looking for her. At night, he would pray for

the
:1".:.r of the young men who werJlooking for his j*gl,t;r.
Tbeir words would ring in his ears; ,If your"daugfrr., ir;d.,
we will find her.'
. Then one day he saw them in rhe camp. They were abour to
drive away. 'Son,' he shouted after one of them, ;h"r." yoo fnonå THE ASSIGNMENT
Sakina, my daughter?'
fI7ê wilf we will,'rhey replied all rcgether. Beginning with isolared incidents of stabbing, it had now
The old man again prayed for them.lt made him feel better. developed into full-scale communal violence, wirh no holds
That evening rhere was sudden acdvity in the camp. He saw
.
four men carrying the body of a young girl found o*orrr.io*
barred. Even home-made bombs were being used.
The general view in Amritsar was that the riots could not
near the railway tracks.._ They were taking her to the camp last long. They were seen âs no more than a manifestation of
hospital. He began to follow them. temporarily inflamed political passions which were bound to cool
He stood outside the hospital for some time, then went in. down before long. After all, these were not the first comrnunal ríoæ
In one of the rooms, he found a sffetcher with'someon" Iring the city had known. There had been so many of them in the pasr.
on it, They never lasted long. The pattern was familiar. Tþo weeks or so
A light was switched on. It was a young woman with a mole of unrest and then business as usual. On the basis of experience,
on her left cheek. 'Sakina,' Sirajuddin scrðamed. therefore, the people were quire iusrified in believing that the
The doctor, who had switched on rhe light, stared at current troubles would also run rheir course in a few days. But this
Sirajuddin. did not happen. They not only conrinued, but grew in intensiry.
'I am her fatherr' he stammered. Muslims living in Hindu localities began to leave for safer
The doctorlooked at rhe prostrare body and felt for the pulse. places, and Hindus in Muslirn majority areas followed suit.
Then he said to the old man, pointing at;he window, .Open it., However, everyone saw these adjustments as strictly temporary.
The.young womân on the stretcheimoved slighdy. Her hands The atmosphere would soon be clear of this communal madness,
groped for the cord rhar kept her shalwar tied *""A her waist. they told themselves.
ìtith painful slowness,. she unfastened it, pulled the garment Retired iudge Mian Abdul Hai was absolutely confident that
down and opened her thighs. things would return to normal soon, which was why he wasn't
'She is alive. À4y daughter is aliver' Sirajuddin shouted with joy. worried. He had two children, a boy of eleven and a girl of
The docor broke into a cold s\{/eaf. seventeen. In addition, there was an old servânt who was now
'Slhen
pushing seventy. It was a small family. the troubles starred,
Mian sahib, being an extra caufious man, had stocked up on food
. . . just in case. So on one count, at least, there were no worries.
His daughter, Sughra, was less sure of things. They lived in a
three-storey house with a view of almost the entire city. Sughra
could not help noticing that, whenever she went on the roof,
there were fires raging everylvhere. In the beginning, she could
hear fire engines rushing past, their bells ringing, but this had

17
 12 MOTTLED DAWN THE ÀSSIGNMENT 13

noïy- stopped. There ïvere too many 6res in too many places. It was rhe month of Ramadan and only two days to Id. Mian
The nights had be^come paticularly frightening. ih. ;iy sahib was quite confident that the troubles *ooid U.
was always lit by conflagratirons like giånts ipiningäot fü;;. "u"i th,
then. Hg w-as again wrong. A canopy of smoke hurrg ou.i
Uy
Then rhere were rhe srogans th¿t rÃt the åir *lih
ürr,ryr"e city, with fires burning everywhere. Ar night the silence was
frequency-'Allaho Akbar', .Har Har Mahadev'.
shattered by deafening explosions. Sughra ind Bash¿rat hadi,t
ner/er expressed her fea¡s to her fatåer, because
,had1ryhl"
declared confidently that there wås no cause for
he slept for days.
sughra in any case couldn'r because of her father's deteriorating
Everphing w.as going to be fine. Since he was generally";";;
alwafs condition. Helplessly, she would look at him, then at h., young]
righq she had initially fek reassured.
f,rightened brorher and the sevenry-yeâr-old servanr Akbar, whî
Howeveq r.vhen the.power and water supplies l^¡ere suddenly
was useless for all pracdcal purposes. He mostly kept io his
cut off, she.expressed her unease ro her f"ther and
Jgg;;;;å bedo coughing and fighting forb¡eath. One day Sughra'rota
him
apologerically that, for a few days at least, rhey should
rõu. ro angril¡'TØhar good are you? Do you realize hã* ill Mian sahib
Sharifpura, a Muslim localiry where many of'the ota r.ri¿.nt,
is? Perhaps you are toolazy ro $¡anr to help, pretending that you
had already moved to. Mian sahib was adamanr. ,youd are suffering from acute asthrira. There wai a time
imagining things. Ëverything is going m be noqrnalo"ry whei r.ruárt,
r*n,; used to sacrifice their lives for their mâsrers,'
. He was wrong. Things went'from bad to worse. Before long . Sughra felt very bad afterwa¡ds. She had been unnecessarily
¡!ry yas not a single Muslim family to be found in Mian Abd,;
Hai's localiry' Then one day Mian sahib suffered ,
harsh on the old man. In the evening, when she took his fooå
to him in his small room, he was not ihere. Basharat looked for
"irri"*ori
was laid up in bed. His son, Basharar, who used to,p".ra "r¿ him all over the house, bur he was nowhere to be found. The
gf !úr jTtr_playing self-devised games, now stayed giued to his front door was unlatched. He was gone, perhaps to get some
father's bed.
help for Mian sahib. Sughra prayed fãr hisìeturrr, brrt i"o d"y,
n]lthe shops in rhe area had
- Ghulam Hussain,s dispensarybeenpermanendy
Dr
boarded up.
halbeen shut ior weeks aiJ
passed and he hadn't come back.
It was evening and the festival of Id was now only a day away.
Sughra had noticed from che r.ooftop one day ttn"t tn" _
JioiJoã She remembered the excirement that used to grip in* f"rnity on
clinic of Dr Goranditta Mal was also clósed. Mian sahib,i
this occasíon. She remembered standing on thã rðoftop, peering
condition was gertinglvorse day by day. Sughra *u,
into the sk¡ looking for the Id moon and praying for ihe cloudi
her wirs'end. One day she rook Bashar"t rrid" and said "t*årt "t
ro him, to clear. But how different everything *aì today. The sky was
'You've got to do something.I know itb not safe to go
our, ü"ì covered in smoke and on distant roofs one could see people
we ger some help. Our farher is very ill.'
TusJ looking upwards. Tflere they trying to catch sight o{ th" ,rã*
The boy went, bur came back almost immediately. His face
moon or were they watching the fires, she wondered.
was pale with fear. He had seen a blood-drenched
boây þing in
*Í^" ffouq of wild-looking men looting,h.pr.É"gi;; . She looked up and saw rhe thin sliver of rhe moon peeping
:h.,rtr,"o through a smallpatch in the sky. She raised her hands i" pråyri
tg"\ !h. terrified boy in her arms and said a sitent prayer, thanfing b"ggrng God to make her father well. Basharat, ho*.rrår, í",
God for his safe return. However, she could tto, k"t h.r
f"trrrä upset thâr there would be no Id this year.
suffering. His left side was now completely lifeless. His speech
had The night hadn't yet fallen. Sughra had moved her farher's
been impaired and he mostly communicared ,frr"rgh g".i**,
bed out of the room on to the veranda. She was sprinkling
designed to reassure Sughra thar soon all would U".,i.lf. "ll \Mater on the floor to make it cool. Mian sahib was lyìng the;
i

1.4 MOTTLED DA!øN THE ASSIGNMENT 15

quiedy, looking with vacant eyes âr the sky where she had seen
Sughra was reassured.IØhy hadn,t she thought of it in the first
the moon, Sughra came and sat next to him. He motioned her
I place? But why had Basharat said it was tom.ðr," else? After all,
to get closer. Then he raised his right hand slowly and put it on
he knew Gurmukh Singh's face from his annual visit.
he_r head. Tears began to run from Sughra,s eyes. Evãn
Mian Sughra went ro the front door. There was another knock.
sahib looked moved. Then with great difficulty he said ro her,
Her heart missed a beat. ''Sfho is it?, she asked in a faint voice.
'God is merciful. All will be well.'
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Sughra's heart began . Basharat whispered to her to look through a small hole in
the door.
to beat violently. She looked at Basharar, whoie face had turãed .

It wasn't Gurmukh Singh, who was a.very old man. This was
white like a sheet of paper. There was another knock. Mian sahib
â young fellow. He knocked again. He was holding a bag in his
gestured to Sughra ro ans\¡/er it. It must be old Akbar who had
hand of the same kind Gurmukh Singh used to bring.
come back, she thought. She said to Basharat, .Answer the door.
'ìího are you?' she asked, a little more confident now.
I"m sure it's Akbar.' Her father shook his head, as if to signal
'I am Sardar Gurmukh Singh's son Santokh.,
disagreement.
Sughra's fear had suddenly gone. '1ù7hat brings you here
'Then who can it be?'Sughra asked him.
today?' she asked politely.
Mian Abdul Hai t¡ied ro speak, but before he could do so
'\Øhere is Judge sahib?' he asked.
Basharat came running in. He was breathless. Taking Sughra
'He is not well,' Sughra answered.
aside, he whispered, 'It's a Sikh.,
'Oh,I'm sorr¡' Santokh Singh said. Then he shifted his bag
Sughra screamed, 'A Sikh! What does he wanr?' -
from one hand to the other. 'Here is some sawwâiyaan.'Theri
'He wânts me to open the door.'
after a pause,'sardarji is dead.'
Sughra took Basharat in her arms and went and sat on her
'Dead!'
father's bed, looking at him desolately. oYes,
a month ago, but one of the last things he said to me
On Mian AbdulHai's thin, lifeless lips, a faint smile appeared.
wâs, "For the last ten years, on the occasion of Id, I have always
'Go and open rhe door. It is Gurmukh Singh,' taken my small gift to Judge sahib. After I am gone, it will
'No, it's someone else,' Basharat said. become your duty." I gave him my word that I wãuld not fail
Mian sahib turned to Sughra. 'Open the door. h,s hirn.' him. I am here today ro honour the promise made to my father
Sughra rose. She knew Gurmukh Singh. Her father had once
on his deathbed.'
done him a favour. He had been involved in a f¿lse legal suit
Sughra rvas so moved that tears came to her eyes. She opened
and Mian sahib had acquitted him. That was a long time ago,
the door a little. The young man pushed the bag rowards her.
but every yeâr, on rhe occasion of Id, he would cðme all ihe 'May God rest his soul,'she said.
way from his village with a bag of sawwaiyaan. Mian sahib 'Is Judge sahib not well?' he asked.
had told him several times, 'sardar sahib, you really âre too
'No.'
kind. You shouldn't inconvenience yourself every year., But 'What's wrong?'
Gurmukh Singh would always repl¡'Mian sahib, God has given 'He had a stroke.'
you everything. This is only a small gift that I bring every year
'Had my father been alive, it would have grieved him deeply.
in humble acknowledgemenr of the kindness you did me once. He never forgot.|udge sahib's kinclness until his last breath. He
Even a hundred generations of mine would not be able to repay
used to sa¡ "He is not a man, but a god." May God keep him
your favour. May God keep you happy)
under his care. Please convey my respects to him.'
16 MOTTLËD DAWN

He left before Sughra could make up her mind whether or

not to ask him ro get a doctor.
As Santokh Singh turned t-he corner, four men, rheir faces
covered with their turbans, moved rowârds him. Tþo of rhem
held burning oil torches; the others carried cans of kerosene oil
and explosives. One of them asked Santokh, .Sardarji, have you COLDER THAN ICE
completed your assignment?'
The young m¿n nodded. Singh enrered rhe room, Kalwant Kaur rose from
rshould we then 1¡tsþhryry the
|roceed with ours?' he asked. bed and locked rhe door {rom the inside.
Ii was past midnight.
'If you like,' he replied and walked away. A strânge and ominous silence seemed to have descendejon
the city.
Kalwant Kaur rerurned to rhe bed, crossed her legs
and sat
down in the middle. Ishwar Singh siood quietly in"u
.orrr.*,
holding his kirpan absent-rnindeali'. an*¡eryän¿ .onrurion
writ large on his handsome f.ace.-
**r.
Kalwant Kaur, apparently dissatisfied wirh her defiant posrure,
moved tq the edgc and sat down, swinging her legs,"ggilvã;:
Islwq Singh sdll had not spoken.
Kalwant Kaur was a.big woman with generous hips, fleshy
lhl*F
*Í unusualty hish breasts. Her eles *.r. ,il;t;;å
brtght end over her upper lip there was faint
bluish do*n. Her
ç¡¡¡ srrggested great strength and resolutíon.
.I:!l* Singh had not moved from his cornef,, His turban,
which"he ahvays kept smardy in place, was loose
and his hands
trembled from time to time. However, from his srrapping,
f"$y. figure, it was apparenr rhat he
be Kalwant Kaur's lover.
IrJ¿l*t what it took ro
Mgtg time_passed. Kalwant Kaur was gening restive. .Ishr
^.
Sianr' she said in a sharp voice.
Ilhwa_r Singh raised his head, then turned it away, unable to
.
deal with Kalwant Kau¡'s ûery gaze.
This tirne she screamed, .Ishr Slan.'Then she lowered
her voice
and added,'Where have you been all this time?,
Ishwar Singh moistened
,Know.' his parche{ lips and said, .I don,r

Kalwant Kaur lost her temper. ,What sort of a motherfucking

ansrver is that!'
17
 18 MOTTLED DA\X/N COLDËR THAN ICE l9
Ishwar Singh threw his kirpan aside and slumped on rhe bed. Kalwant Kaur did nor resist hirn, but she kept asking, ,\)Øhat
He looked unwell. She stared at him and her anger seemed to went wrong that night?'
have left her. Putting her hand on his forehead, she asked gentl¡ 'Nothing.'
'Jani, what's wrong?' 'Ilhy don't you tell me,?'
'Kalwant.' He turned his gaze from the ceiling and looked 'There's nothing to tell.'
at her. There was pain in his voice and it melted all of Kalwant
Kaur. She bit her lower lip. 'Yes jani.' .. 'Ishr Sian, may you cremare my body with your own hands
if you lie ro me!'
Isliwar Singh took off his turban. He slapped her thigh and Ishwar Singh did not reply. He dug his lips into hers.
' His
said, more to himself thân to her, 'I feel strange.' moustache tickled her nostrirs and she sneer.à. Th.y
burst out
His long hair came undone and Kalwant Kaur began to run Iaughing.
her ñngers through it playfu.lly. 'Ishr Sian, where have you been Ishwar Singh began to take off his clothes, ogling Kalwant
allthis time?' --
Kaur lasciviously. 'It,s time for a garne of cards.'
'In the bed of my enemy's mother,' he said jocularly. Then
he pulled Kalwant Kaur towards him and began to knead her
. Beads of perspiration appeared over her upper lip. She rolled
her eyes coquettishly and-sàid, .Ger losr.,
breas$ with both hands. 'I swear by the Guru, there's no other
wornan like you.' . Is.hryar Singh pinched her lip and she leapt aside. ,Ishr Sian,
dont do that. It hurrs.,
Fliitatiously, she pushed him aside. 'Swear over my head. Did Ishwar_Singh began to suck her lower lip and Kalwant
you go to the city?' Kaur
melted. He took off the resr of his clothes. iTime for
a round of
He gathered his hair in a bun and replied,'No.' trumps,' he said,
Kalwant Kaur was irritated. 'Yes, you did go to the city and Kaur's upper lip began to quiver. He peeled her shirt
you looted a lot more money and you don't wanr to tell me .Kalwanr
off, as if he was skinning a banana. Hå fondled her naked
body
about it.' and pinched her arm. ,Kalwant, I swear by the
Guru, yor,r..ot
'May I not be my father's son if i lie to you,' he said. a womân, you're a delicac¡' he said between
kisses.
for a while, then she exploded, 'Tell me what
She was silent Kalwant Kaur examined the skin he had pinched. It was red,
happened to you the last night you were here. You were lying 'Ishr Sian, you're a brute.'
next to me and you had made me wear all those gold ornaments
you had looted frorn the houses of the Muslims in the city and
. Ishwar Singh smiled through hìs thick mousrache. .Then let
there be a lot of brutaliry tonight., And he began
to prove what
you were kissing me all over and then, suddenl¡ God only knows he had said.
what came oyet you, you put on your clothes and walked out.' He bit. her lower lip, nibbled at her earlobes, kneaded her
Ishwar Singh went pale. 'See how your face has fallen,' ,breasts, slapped herglowing hip resoundingly and planted big,
Kalwant Kaur snapped. 'Ishr Sian,' she said, emphasizing every wet kisses on her cheeks.
word,'you're not the mân you were eight days ago. Something Kalwant Kaur began to boil with passion like a kettle on
has happened.'
,
high tue.
Ishwar Singh did nor ans\¡/er, but he wâs srung. He suddenly But there was something wrong.
took Kalwant Kaur in his arms and began to hug and kiss her Ishwar.Singh, despite his vigorous efforts at forepla¡
could
ferociously. Jani, I'm what I always was. Squeeze me tighter so not feel the fire which leads tã the finar and ineviåbr'i
act of
that the heat in your bones cools off.' love. Like a wresrler who is being had tt. b"tt"|
oi, h";;pl;;;
20 MOTTLEÞ DAWN COLDËR THAN ICÊ 21

every üick he knew to ignite the fire in his loins, but it eluded Ishwar Singh's dimming eyes sparked inro momentary life.
him. He felt cold. 'Don'r call her a bitçh,' he implored.
Kalwant Kaur was now like ân overtuned instrument. .Ishr 'Iüho was she?'she screamed.
Sianr' she whispered languidl¡ 'you have shuffled me enough,
it is time to produce your trump.' _ Ishwar Singhb voice was failing, 'I'll tell you.' He ran his
hand over his throat, then looked at it, smiling wanly, .'!fhat a
- Ishwar Singh felt as if the entire deck of cards had slipped
from his hands on to the floor.
motherfucking creature man is!'
'Ishr Sian, answer my questionr'Kalwant Kaur said.
He laid himself against her, breathing irregularly. Drops of He began to speak, very slowl¡ his face coated wirh cold
cold perspiration appeared on his brow. Kalwant Kaur made sweat.
frantic efforts ro ârouse him, but in the end she gave up. 'Kalwant, jani, you can have no idea what happened to me.
In a fury, she sprang out of bed and covered herself with a I?hen they began to loot Muslim shops and housãs in the cit¡
sheet. 'Ishr Sian, tell me the name o{ the bitch you have been I joined one of the gangs. All the cash and ornâments that fell
with who has squeezed you dry.' to my_share, I brought back to you. There was only one thing
Ishwar Singh just lay there panring. I hid from you.'
'Who was that bitchl' she screamed. He began to groan. His pain was becoming unbearable, but
'No one, Kalwant, no one,' he replied in a barely audible voice. _
she was unconcerned. 'Go onr'she said in a merciless voice.
"Kalwant Kaur placed
her hands on he¡ hips. ,Ishr Sian, I,m 'There was this house I broke into . . . there were seven people
going to get to the bottom of this. Swear to me on the Guru's inthere, sixof them menwhom I killedwithmy kiqpan onelyo*
sacred nâme, is there a wornan?' . .. and there was one girl . . . she wâs so beautiiul . . . I didn,t
She did not let him speak. 'Before you s\¡/ear by the Guru, kill her . . . I rook her away.'
don't forget who I am. I am Sardar Nihal Singh's daughter. I will She sat on rhe edge of the bed, listening ro him.
cut you to pieces. [s there a womân in thisl' I can't even begin to describe tn you how
He nodded his head in assenr, his pain obvious from his face. -beautiful she jani,
'Kalwant
was . . . I could have slashed her throat but I didn't
Like a wild and demented crearure, Kalwant Kaur picked up . . . I said to myself . . . Ish¡ Sian, you gorge yourself on Kalwant
Ishwar Singh's kirpan, unsheathed it and plunged it in his neck. Kaur every day . . . how about a mouthful of this luscious fruit!
Blood spluaered out of rhe deep gash like warer our of a fbuntain. 'I thought she had gone into a faint, so I carried her over
Then she began to pull at his hair and scratch his face, cursing my shoulder all the \A/ay to the canal which runs outside rhe
her unknown ¡ival as she continued tearing at him. city , . . then I laid her down on rhe grass, behind some bushes
'Let go, Kalwant, let go now,o Ishwar Singh begged. and . . . 6rst I thought I would shuffle her a bit . . . but then I
She paused. His beard and chest were drenched in blood. decided to trump her right away . . .'
'You acted impetuousl5' he said, 'but what you did I deserved., 'What happened?' she asked.
'Tell me the name of that woman of yoursr' she screamed. 'I threw the trump . . . but, but . . .'
A thin line of blood ran into his mouth. He shivered as he His voice sank.
felt its taste. Kalwant Kaur shook him violently. Tühat happened?'
'Kalwant, with this kirpan I have killed six rnen . . . with this Ishwar Singh opened his eyes.'She was dead. . . I had carried
kirpan with which you . . .n a dead body . . . a heap of cold flesh . . . jani, give me your hand.'
'Who was the bitch, I ask youl'she repeated: Kalwant Kaur placed her hand on his. It was colder than ice.
7Z MOTlLÊD DA\PN

More blood poured out of her mouth. 'Damn it!, she said.
Then she looked at Tarlochan and pushed aside the turban
with which he had rried to cover her ttãk.dtrs*.
'Take away this rag of your religion. I donot need it.'
Her arm fell limply on hei bare breasts and she said no more.
THE DUTIFUL DAUGHTER
The country had been divided. Hundreds of thousands of
Muslims and Hindus were moving from India to pakistan and
from Pakistan to India in search of refuge. Camps hâd been set
up to give them temporary shelter, but they were so overcrowded
that itseemed quite impossible to push ånorher htrman being into
them, and yet more refugees were being brought in every day.
There wasn't enough food ro go round and basic facilities were
almost non-existent. Epidemics and infections were comrnon,
but it didn't bother anybody. Such were the times.
The year 1948 had begun. Hundreds of volunreers had been
assigned the task of recovering abduced women and children
and restoring them to their families. They would go in groups
to lndia from Pakistan and.from Pakistan ro India to make theii
recoveries.
It always amused me to see that such enthusiastic efforæ
were being made to undo the effects of something that hed
been perpetrated by more or less the same people. I?hy were
they rying to rehabilitare rhe women who had been raped and
taken away when rhey had let them be raped and taken away
in the first placel
It was all very confusing, bur one still admired the devorion
of these volunteers.
[t was not a simple task. The difficulties \¡¡ere enormous. The
abductors were not easy to trace. To avoid discover¡ they had
devised various means of eluding their pursuers. They were
constá.ntly on the move, from this locality ro that, from one city
to another. One followed a dp and often found nothing at rhe
end of the trail.
One hea¡d strange stories. One liaison officer told me that in
Saharanpur, two abducted Muslim girls had refused ro rerurn
la
/-)
74 MOTTLÊ,D DAWN THE DUTIFUL DAUGHTER 75

to their parents who were in Pakistan. Then there \ ¡âs this with dust. The only thing that srruck rne about her was that she
Muslim girl in Jullandar who was given a touching farewell by was looking for someone.
the abductor's family as if she was a daughter-in-law leaving on 'I was told by one of the women volunreers that she had lost
a long journey. Some girls had committed suicide on the way, her mind because her only daughter had been abducted during
afraid of facing their pârents. Some had lost their mental balance the riots in Patiala. She said they had tried for monrhs to find
as a result of their traumatic experiences. Others had become the gid but had failed. In all probability, she had been killed, but
alcoholics and retorted with abusive and vulgar language when that was something the old woman ìryas not prepared to believe.
spoken to. 'The next time I ran into her at Saharânpur. She was at the
líhen I thought about these abducted girls, I only saw their bus stop and she looked much worse than she had the first time I
protruding bellies.'Tfhat was going to happen to them and what had seen her. Her lips were cracked and her hair looked matted.
they contained?'Who would claim the end result? Pakistan or I spoke to her I said she should abandon her futile search; and ro
India?' induce her to follow my advice, I told her-it was brutal-that
And who would pay the \¡/omen the wages for carrying those her daughter had probably been murdered.
children in their wombs for nine months? Pakistan o¡ India? Or 'She looked ai me. "Murdered? No. No one cân murder my
would it all be put do',¡¡n in God's $eât ledger, that is, if there daughter. No one can murder my daughter."
were still any pages left? 'And she walked away.
\Vhy were they being described as'abducted women'? I had 'It set me thinking. \Fhy was this crâzy woman so confident
always rhought that when a woman ran away from home with that no one would murder her daughter, that no sharp, deadly
her lover-the policé always called it 'abduction'*it 1¡/es the knife could slash her throati Did she think her daughter was
most romantic act in the world. But these women had been taken immortal or was it her motherhood th¿t would not admir defeat
against their will and violated nor entertain the possibility of death?
They were strânge, illogical times. I had boarded up all the 'On my third visit, I saw her again in another town. She looked
doors and windows of my mind, shumered them up. It was very old and ragged. Her clothes $¡ere now so threadbare that
difficult to think straight. they hardly covered her frail body. I gave her a change of dress,
Sornetimes it seemed to me that the entire operation was being but she didn't want it. I said ro her, "Old woman,I swear to you
conducted like import-export trade. that your daughter was killed in Patiala."
One liaison ofÊcer asked me,'Why do you look lost?' "'You âre lyingr" she said. There was steely conviction in
I didn't ans\ner his question. her voice.
Then he told me a story. 'To convince her, I said, "f âssure you I'm telling the truth.
"S7e were loolcing for abducted women from town to town, Youove suffered enough. It's time to go to Pakistan. I'[ take you."
village to village, sffeet to street, and sometimes days would go 'She paid no âttention to what I had said and began muttering
by before we would have any success. to herself, "No one can murder my daughterr' she suddenly
'And almost every time I went across to what is now India, declared in a strong, confident voice,
I would notice an old woman, the same old woman. The first '"tüfhy)" I asked'
time it was in the suburbs of Jullandar. She looked distracted, '*Becâuse she's beautiful. She's so beautiful that no one cân
almost unâlry'are of her surroundings. Her eyes had a desolate kill her. No ohe cân even dream of hurting her," she said in a
look, her clothes had turned to rågs and her hair was coated low whisper.
76 MOTTLED DATøN THE DUTIFUL DAUGHTÊR 77

'I wondered if her daughter was really as beautiful as rhal I 'The grrl looked up, but only for a second. Then, covering
thought it was just, *rtr.t of all children b.it g beautiful to their ^ with her
face her chaddar, she grabbeci her companio',s arrn-and
mother. But ir was also possible that the old woman was right.
'Who sâid, "Let's get âwây from here."
knew? But in this holocaust nothing had survived. Ìhis
'They crossed the roacl, taking long, brisk steps.
mad old woman was deceiving herself. There are so many ways
'The old womân shouted, ,.Bhagbari, Bhagbari.,'
of escape from unpleasant reality. Grief is like a roundabout, 'Irushed mwards her. ,,SØhat is rhe matterJ', I asked.
which one intersects with an infinirc number of roads.
'She was trembling. "I have seen her . . . I have seen her.',
'I made many other trips across the border to India and "'W'hom have you seen?" I asked.
almost every time tr somehow ran into the old woman. She was
no mor€ than a bag of bones now She could hardly see ancl
"'I have seen my daughter . . . I have seen Bhagbari." Her
eyes were like burnt-out lights.
tottered about like a blind person, a srep ar â time. Only one
"'Your daughter is dead," i said.
thing hadn't changed*her faith that her ãaughter was alive and '¿'You're lying," she screamed.
that no one could kill her.
"'I sweâr on God your daughter is dead.,,
'One of the women volunteers said to me, ,.Don,t waste your
'The old womân fell in a heap on the road.'
time over her. She's raving mad. It would be good if you could
take her to Pakistan with you and put her in an asylum."
'Suddenl¡ I didnt wanr ro do that. I didn'r wanr ro divest
her of her only reason for living, As it was, she was in a vast
asylum where nothing made any sense. I didn't wish to confine
her within the four walls of a regular one.
'The last time I met her was in Amritsar. She looked so broken
that it almosr brought reârs ro my eyes. I decided that i would
make one last effort to take her to Pakistan,
'There she stood in Farid Chowk, peering around with her
half-blind eyes. I was talking to a shopkeeper about an abducted
Muslim girl, who, we had been informed, was being kept in the
house of a Hindu moneylender.
'After my exchange with the shopkeeper, I crossed the srreer,
_
determined to persuade the old womân to come with me to
Pakistan.
'I noticed a couple. The woman's face \¡/âs partly covered by
.
her white chaddar. The man v¡as young and handsome-a Sikh.

_ 'As they went past the old \¡r'oman, the man suddenly stopped.
He even fell back a srep or rwo. Nervously, he caught hold ãi the
woman's hand. I couldn'tsee her full face, but one glimpse was
-
enough to know that she was beaudful beyond words.
"'Your motherr" he said to her.