Train to Pakistan

By September, the political chaos affecting the rest of India is being felt in Mano Majra. The train schedules that once shaped the villagers’ days are no longer adhered to and nights are often disturbed by trains going by unexpectedly. Goods trains have stopped running entirely. A unit of Sikh soldiers has arrived and stationed themselves near the village, forming a secure area for inspections where no villagers were allowed. One day, an unusually quiet train arrives in the village, carrying a guard. He talks to the soldiers, and soon fifty armed policemen appear in the village, accompanied by Hukum Chand. The arrival of this ghost train creates a commotion in Mano Majra, as people try to discover what is happening. Mano Majra doesn’t have a formal system of government; at village meetings, it was mainly mullah Imam Baksh and Bhat Meet Singh who handled the affairs of the town. Imam Baksh had lived a hard life, losing his wife, his son, and his eyesight but still looking after his daughter Nooran. He had been a beggar for some time, but donations from the village kept his family fed and allowed him to serve as a religious leader. Meet Singh, on the other hand, came from peasant stock and never married or had children. Although head of the Sikh temple, he wasn’t particularly learned. He didn’t carry the same respect that Imam Baksh did, and the two were frequent—if friendly—rivals. However, at this point they both agreed that trouble was coming. The village meeting is interrupted by a policeman, who takes Banta Singh to meet with the military. His new relationship with the government lends Banta Singh a new air of authority, and he becomes more aggressive in his approach to village politics.   As requested, he gathers wood and kerosene from the villagers, who are later horrified to discover that it will be used to burn large numbers of bodies brought on the train from Pakistan. The village is soon filled with the smell of burning flesh and smoke. It was the first night that Imam Baksh didn’t raise his voice to proclaim the glory of God. 

Even Hukum Chand was deeply affected by the burning of the bodies. He had overseen the task, and it left him numb, tired, and feeling sorry for himself. Although he attempts to refresh himself with attentive treatment from his servants, he sleeps fitfully that night, troubled by nightmares of the horrors people had encountered on the train. He wakes with a start and drinks himself back to sleep while watching a moth’s desperate attempt to escape a gecko. Chand has been obsessed with death since he was a child, having witnessed the slow death of an aunt after a stillbirth. In an attempt to overcome his fear, he took every opportunity he could to witness death, even visiting a crematorium. As a result, he had developed a fatalistic attitude to death, believing it to be the only absolute truth. However, the brutality of what he had seen on the train still shocked him. He has an altercation with a pimp and decides to hire the same young prostitute again, in the hope that he will find some comfort in her company. 

The summer monsoon season in India is the end of a long, painful drought period where plants and animals alike suffer in the brutal heat. The longer the dry season, the more desperate people became, and this year the monsoon was later than ever. Monsoon season is a time of joy as the drought is over, but soon the rain causes problems of its own, such as flooding, mudslides, and an onslaught of insects and other pests. Hukum Chand wakes with panic as the rain arrives, worrying that it will douse the funeral pyre.  Despite his hangover and his regret at spending the night with a prostitute, he confirms that the bodies have been burned and discusses political affairs with the subinspector. He worries that the violence will come to Mano Majra, but the subinspector assures him that the refugees nearby are peaceful. However, they decide that it is time to move the local Muslims out of the area before things deteriorate. The subinspector reveals that Jugga has given up the names of the bandits and advises that both Jugga and Iqbal should be released once the arrests are made. Disappointed that the culprits are Sikhs, Hukum Chand orders the subinspector to let Malli and the rest of his gang go and to keep the two prisoners, and to start movement on evacuating the Muslims of Mano Majra. Chand convinces himself that he’s doing the right thing and that evacuating the Muslims is the best way to handle the situation. 

After the subinspector leaves, the young prostitute asks to go home. She reveals her name is Haseena Begum, and says that her handler is actually her grandmother. They have breakfast together, and Chand begins to have paternal feelings towards her, thinking of his own daughter. Through Haseena, he learns about the situation in Chundunnugger, her hometown. Muslims have been evacuated there, but she was allowed to stay because of her status as a singer. She tells the story of how a group of Hijras, or intersex individuals, was also allowed to stay because they were able to confuse the Sikhs looking for Muslims. Chand asks Haseena to stay with him until things settle down, and vows to protect her. 

Since his arrest, Iqbal has been left alone in his cell in the desolate police station with the rain raging outside. He observed as Jugga was taken for interrogation and returned, and as five other men were arrested. After this, Iqbal and Jugga become cellmates and Jugga attempts to win Iqbal’s favor by asking him to teach him English so he can get ahead in life. Jugga reveals that the five men who were brought in are the true killers in Mano Majra, and that he is innocent, but he doesn’t hold out much hope of being released. Although Jugga is friendly to him, Iqbal is irritated by Jugga’s coarse manners and questions about his sex life. Although Jugga talks continuously of his sexual adventures, Iqbal sees his behavior for what it is: youthful boasting. As the conversation turns to Iqbal’s education, it becomes clear that Jugga is fascinated with the idea of improving himself through learning. Jugga is functionally illiterate, knowing only hybrid mixture of English and Hindustani he learned from his barely literate uncle as a child. The two practice languages for a while before the five new prisoners are brought into the neighboring cell, at which point Jugga becomes sullen again. 

As the rain dies down, the subinspector races to the police station to free Malli and his men on Chand’s orders before the arrest is final. He discusses the arrests with the head constable, and then shocks the constable by ordering the releases. He tells the head constable to take Malli and his men back to Mano Majra and release them where the villagers can see them, and to begin inquiring about a Muslim gang led by a man named Sultana.  Sultana has already fled to Pakistan, however, the subinspector plans to use the people’s fear of him to make them cooperate with the evacuation of local Muslims.  He also orders the constable to investigate what Iqbal—who they are portraying as a member of the Muslim League—was up to in town. 

Malli and his men taunt Jugga as they are released but Malli gets too close and Jugga attempts to strangle him. The police officers are forced to threaten Jugga’s life to get him to let go of Malli. Iqbal asks to be moved to the other cell now that it’s vacant, but the subinspector merely smirks and leaves him alone with Jugga.