Stuck between the barbs

     Name : Laron Fernandes 

     Class : 1 Bcom D

     20SJCCC368

   

   

   

    LETTER :

   

   Dear Toba Tek Singh,

                        After 300 years, the British finally 

   left India, a huge achievement for India but the

   subcontinent partitioned into 2 independent 

   nation states, the Hindu- majority India and

   Muslim-majority Pakistan. I am writing this 

   letter to convey my feelings towards the 

   unfortunate incident that took place.

                        I heard it on the radio that you 

   belonged to a Muslim family but were later    

   adopted by a Sikh family and the partition

   left you in a state of confusion as to where you

   must belong. I totally resonate with you 

   because I am born to a hindu mother and a

   muslim father. I cannot begin to imagine how 

   I would feel if I had to choose between the two.

                        As I continued to listen, I heard 

   that you took a stand and established yourself

   to be in no man's land, which is also now 

   called Toba Tek Singh which made me really

   proud. You believed that religion shouldn't be

   a factor that separates human beings. The 

   virtue of every religion is to unite and be one 

   while people are dividing and causing 

   differences between one another.

                        I fully support the no man's land-

   belonging to one and all regardless of who 

   they are and what religion they belong to. I 

   hope that this land and your effort will     

   eventually result in people understanding 

   that we are all one and we should go back to

   how we were at the beginning with no 

   differences amongst ourselves.

   

   

   Report :

                My interpretation of Toba Tek Singh is 

   expressed in the form of a poster. I have also

   written a letter addressing him expressing my 

   views on the partition and Toba Tek Singh.

                 I have chosen a  poster to express my 

   interpretation because posters are eye-catching 

   and informative. I resonate with art and I believe

   that this poster will communicate the message 

   that I am trying to convey. Toba Tek Singh is 

   between India and Pakistan as he was a man who

   belonged to No man's land. He wanted to have the

   rights to be recognized as a human rather than the

   emphasis of a religion. I have made my own 

   interpretation of Toba Tek Singh and I will be 

   explaining my opinion in this report.

                Toba Tek Singh is a young boy who was 

   born to a muslim family but due to their financial 

   crisis, he was given for adoption. A Sikh family

   adopted him and brought him up with care and 

   support. They never put upon him the burden of 

   being a muslim child and brought him up as 

   their own. Since he was born to a muslim family,

   by the age of 10 he started to imbibe the muslim

   culture as well. He used to visit the temple with 

   his family but he also prayed at the mosque. Many

   years passed by and the boy lived a normal

   peaceful childhood. 

                A last minute mechanism took place on 

   the 13th of August,1947 when it was announced 

   that the British will be leaving India. Along with 

   this came a news that nobody expected. India

   would be separated and a new state called 

   Pakistan would be created. The partition was 

   caused in part presented by the two nation theory

   presented by Syed Ahmed Khan, due to presented

   religious issues. Pakistan would be a muslim 

   country and India would become a majority Hindu

   but secular country. The main spokesperson for

   the partition was Muhammed Ali Jinnah.

               The British announced that the only way to

   ensure a safe and secure region was with this

   partition. They commanded that all muslims 

   would move to the east while the western part 

   would remain called India with Hindus living there.

   The partition caused a huge ruckus to the entire

   population. People were in chaos and did not know

   how to deal with the situation. The movement had

   to take place quickly. It was announced that 15th

   of August,1947 would be the official day when the

   partition would be finalized and India would be

   officially divided and Pakistan would come into 

   existence. 

               This forced millions of people to leave 

   their homes to move to the other state. This was 

   the largest forced migration of people that has 

   ever happened. It was deeply scarring and 

   traumatic, changing their lives dramatically,

   uprooting them from places and communities 

   where they had lived for generations. They lost 

   languages, ways of life, property, heirlooms,people.

   It shaped their attitudes towards government,

   minorities and the concept of home.

               As the partition took place, Toba Tek Singh

   started to wonder what he is supposed to do. The

   partition struck him with shock and confusion. He

   completely did not understand the reason for this

   separation and remained clueless as to which 

   state he belonged to. He felt himself connected 

   to both the places and did not like the fact that he 

   would be pushed into one and would be forced 

   into choosing between the two. He kept 

   questioning everyone where he belonged and 

   nobody knew what to answer.

                It was the 15th of August and the muslims

   were pushed into Pakistan while the hindus 

   remained in India. Toba Tek Singh finally made a

   decision of where he belonged. He went towards 

   the border and announced that he is not willing

   to be divided and broken into either of the states.

   He said that this division is of no good and will

   only create a difference among people rather than

   being creating unity and oneness. He refused to

   be identified based on religion. There was a huge

   disagreement and Toba Tek Singh was forced and

   beaten and asked to choose where he wanted to

   belong. He did not resist and fought. He fought 

   hard and went through a lot during this partition

   as he was not on the same page as everyone else.

                 Toba Tek Singh grew up to be a person of

   no religious identity. He lived in a place called 

   No man's land in order to create a peaceful 

   atmosphere and have a space for people who do

   not limit themselves based on religion. He started

   a movement as well against religious 

   discrimination and for the unity of Pakistanis and

   Indians. He did not want the Britisher's

   manipulation and decision to divide us based on

   religion to create such a huge difference. 

                 This partition and Toba Tek Singh's story

   is a great example and a wake up call to all people 

   to end this cold war against Pakistan and India.

   Ever since the partition, there has been an 

   unspoken yet obvious enemity between the two

   nations. It has completely changed the history of

   India as a country where people lived as brothers

   and sisters. People like Toba Tek Singh who have 

   no religious identity have suffered a lot due to this

   division and they deserve to have a place as well.

   Not only that, religion should never be a matter of

   division at all. The poster therefore shows the 

   purpose of Toba Tek Singh's struggle and his 

   achievement of a No Man's Land. After all, there 

   is strength in unity and that is what Toba Tek

   Singh stood for.