A Nameless Fate.
Toba Tek Singh- Report
Saadat Hasan Manto's short story "Toba Tek Singh" was first published in 1955. It follows the story of Bishan Singh and a few other inmates in a Lahore asylum, some of whom would be transferred to India after the partition of 1947. It is centered around the partition of British India, and in addition to the violent aftermath Saadat Hasan has also highlighted the mental effects.
After reading Manto’s story and listening to all the discussions in class, I felt it was only right to address Toba Tek Singh as a land that had seen so much pain and confusion. A land that is a witness to the various injustices suffered by the people due to the Partition of India.
For this project, the historical context I chose is the Partition of British India into India and Pakistan and post Partition. I figured that the best way to address Toba Tek Singh and the Partition of India was a speech, a voice over that I made and an Instagram account(tobateksingh_07) where I uploaded content that I believe would be more relatable to our generation, given our affinity towards digital platforms in today's world.
The power of speech is to be noted, many great speeches like, “I have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr, “Tryst with Destiny” by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and even Mark Antony’s speech in Julius Caesar, a play written by Shakespeare will forever be engraved in history because of the emotions each of them contained as well brought out from their audience. I chose to record an audio as a sympathetic bystander who witnessed the pain and trauma that Toba Tek Singh and the people of the Nation had gone through. I chose this art form because I wanted my voice to emphasize and convey to all the listeners on all the hardships, adversity, trauma distress, misery and pain Toba Tek Singh had to undergo. I also chose to make an Instagram account where I have uploaded a few memes, (graphical representation of my interpretation). As a part of the youth, I can say that at least a majority of us have seen a meme and that the one of the best ways to connect and empathize to this generation is by using social media and digital graphics. I chose to focus memes mainly because they are extremely small graphics that hardly take a minute to read and understand. I realized that the best way to make the youth understand Manto’s story would be with the help of these memes.
In a black and white world, a small tint of color is always appreciated. Similarly, in a busy world where no one has time to pick up a 500-page journal to read about the past, creative modes of expression are always appreciated. We all know how social media have taken over our generation. Now let’s say a teenager found one of my memes on Toba Tek Singh and he/she doesn’t understand, he/she would go online look up what it meant and the backstory etc and then come back to the meme. Now not only has he/she understood the meme, he/she has also understood what Toba Tek Singh is. In this way, we can also spread much more awareness about underappreciated topics. Creativity plays an important role because people always remember something unique. So, if history is reimagined in a creative way, it will be easier for us to remember our past because it is very important for us not to forget our roots as well as learn from the mistakes of the past.
In my letter, I mention how British India had attained freedom from the British but it unfortunately resulted in the split into India and Pakistan. How Toba Tek Singh and so many other people were wondering where they belonged? India or Pakistan? There was so much confusion and chaos. Riots after riots, all in the name of which religion is better. Every citizen of British India must have been affected. The inmates of the Lahore Asylum were affected, Ram and Ali were affected, Relationships that people had with each other were broken. For lovers, mothers and sons were separated from each other. A person you knew since your childhood was suddenly raising his arm against you. It is said that 14 million people had to leave their homes and about two hundred thousand to two million people approximately have lost their lives. Bishan Singh with the amount of confusion and chaos and also given his age forgot about his family and only wanted to know where his beloved land, Toba Tek Singh was. It can also be said that even now we are affected by the partition, the roots of hate being buried so deep. Even though it has been almost 74 years since the Partition there is still Hindu Muslim hate in the country. There is still hate towards Pakistan as a country. There are so many hate crimes that are being committed against Hindus and Muslims all because we cannot overcome a deeply ingrained ideology put into us by people who only wanted to use us.
Sometimes I think that the Hindu Muslim hate crime rate would be much lesser if the Partition had not taken place. Maybe, we would have come to the realization that the British had only use divide and rule as a technique to conquer and that we were all stronger when we stand together. If the partition didn’t happen then Ram and Ali could have grown up together. So many families would have never been separated and of course Bishan Singh would not have died. He would not have worried himself sick about where his beloved Toba Tek Singh is located. His hold on his family would have been stronger and perhaps he wouldn’t have forgotten them in the first place. He would’ve realized his sense of utopia came visiting him every single day and could never leave him.
Bishan Singh wasn’t a product of hate, in Saadat Hasan Manto's story he never once displayed an ounce of hatred to anyone, be it the other inmates, the prison guards in fact he wasn’t even the slightest bit angry at the last moment of deceit before his untimely death. I think that, can be said for a lot of other citizens. They were never born to hate, they only died as a result of it.
Annie Jose
1 BCOM D
20SJCCC307
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