Shia Hashiye

BLACK BORDERS
Author(s): Saadat Hasan Manto, Nathan Rabe, Alan Zinser and John Zylla
Source: Journal of South Asian Literature, Vol. 20, No. 2, THE WRITINGS OF SAADAT HASAN
MANTO (Summer, Fall 1985), pp. 36-55
Published by: Asian Studies Center, Michigan State University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40872775
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BLACK
BORDERS
Translatedby NathanRabe, Alan
Zinser, and JohnZylla
Dedicated
To the manwho,recountinghis acts of bloodshed,said,
murder.1
I struckan old woman,
it seemedas if I had committed
"When
Jadid, 1948.
Siyah hashiye. Lahore: Maktabah-e
- 36 -
A SweetMoment
It has beenreportedthat, uponthe deathof Mahatma
Gandhi,sweetswere
in celebration.
GwaliorandBombay,
distributedin severalplaces in Amritsar,
(IndianPress)
- 37 -
Wages
Lootingwas goingon at a feveredpitch. The activity becamemoreheated
whenfires brokeout in ewerydirection.
and was goingabout cheerfullysinging,
Onefellow picked up a harmonium
Ohmylove, whenyou wentaway
Such pain, such strife;
Whois minein this life?
A youngboy ran off stashing a pile of ppars in the apron of his shirt.1
He stumbled,and a bundleof papars fell out.
Whenhe bent downto pick themup a mancarryinga sewingmachineon his
head said to the boy, "Let thembe, son, let thembe. They'll roast by
themselves."
in the bazaar a full sack fell over with a thud. A manran up
Somewhere
and slit open the belly of the sack with his knife. Instead of guts, pure
whitesugar spilled out. People gatheredaroundand beganfilling their shirt
aprons. Onemanwas withouta shirt. He quickly openedhis dhoti and began
to fill it with fistfuls of sugar.
"Out of the way! Moveit!"
passed through.
A tonga loaded with freshlypainted cabinets
A bolt of muslincame flutteringout of a windowof a tall building; a

By the time it reachedthe street
tongueof flamegently licked at it. ...
it was a heap of ashes.
"Honk! Honk!. . . Honk! Honk!" A car's hornsoundedand over it were
heardthe screamsof twowomen.
A dozen or so mendraggedan iron safe outside and began to pry it open
with their lathis.
Picking up several tins of "Cowand Gate" milk in both hands, and supportino themwith his chin, a manemergedfroma shop and slowly headed out
into the bazaar.
hot
Someoneshouted,"Comeon! Comeon! Get your bottle of lemonade--the
weather's here." A manwith a car tire aroundhis neck took two bottles and
wenton withouteven thankinghim.
Someoneelse shouted,"Call the fire department!Otherwiseall this stuff
will be burned." No one paid anyattentionto this soundadvice.
In this way, the bazaar remainedactive. The fires breakingout continued
to add to the frenzy. Muchlater, shots rangout, and bullets beganto fly.
The police foundthe marketempty. Fromaround a corner, enveloped in
smoke,the shadowyfigure of a manappeared. The police sepoys dashed after
himblowingtheir whistles. The shadowyfigure quickly slipped into the smoky
haze. Thepolice sepoyschased after him.
When
theyemergedfromthe smoke,the police sepoys saw a Kashmirilaborer
fleeing with a heavy sack on his back. Theyblew ther whistles until they
werehoarse but the Kashmirilaborer didn't stop. The load he carried was no
- 38 -
ordinaryburden--thesack was enormous. But he ran as if there was nothingon

his back at all.
The sepoys becamewinded. One of them,his patience exhausted, drewhis
pistol and took aim. The bullet hit the Kashmirilaborer in the leg. The sack
fell fromhis back. Panicking,he looked back and saw the sepoys slowly gaining on him. He examinedthe blood flowingfromhis calf; but with a jerk, he
it on his back, beganto runagain.
pickedup the sack and, throwing
The sepoysmuttered,"Let 'im go. To hell with him!"
Suddenly,the limpingKashmiristumbledand fell.
top of him.
The sack came downon
The sepoysgrabbedhimand took himawayalong withthe sack.

On the way, the Kashmirilaborer said repeatedly, "Your Honor,whyyou
I taking only one bag of rice . . . for
I ampoor man....
arrest me?...
eating at home.. . . Youno right to shootme."
But no one listened to a wordhe said.
At the police station, too, the Kashmirilaborer tried hard to clear
I
himself. "Yourhonor, other people, they take big, fancy things. ...
only take one sack of rice. . . . Your Honor,I werypoor man. . . . Every
day I eat only boiled rice. ..."
Tired and defeated, he wiped the sweat fromhis foreheadwith his dirty
cap and gazed wishfully at the sack of rice. Withoutstretchedhands, he
pleaded with the police sergeant, "O.K, Your honor,you keep the sack. . . .
Just pay memywages . . . fourannas."
Note
1. papaos:
thin discs of spiced chickpea-flour, resembling a wery large
potato chip, deep-fried and eaten as a snack or with meals.
- 39 -
Cooperation
A mobof forty or fifty menarmedwith lathis were advancingtowarda
house to ransackand loot it.
Suddenlya thin, middle-agedmanbrokethroughto the frontof the crowd.
He faced the rioters and addressedthemas their leader. "Brothers,there is
immense
wealth, countless valuables in this house. Comeon, let's seize it
together!! We'll divide the bootyamongstourselves."
Clenchedfists and lathis werebrandishedin the air and a resoundingtorrent of shoutsand slogans burst fromthe crowd.
The mobof fortyor fifty menarmedwith lathis, underthe leadership of
the thin middle-agdman,began to advancequickly towardthe house, the house
of immense
wealthand countless valuables.
Halting at the maindoor of the house, the thin manonce again addressed
the rioters. "Brothers,whateveris in this house is yours, but don't fuss and
fight over whogets what. Comeon."
Oneof themshouted,"There's a lock on the door."
Anothershouted,"Breakit down!"
"Breakit down! Breakit down!"
Clenchedfists and lathis werebrandishedin the air and a resoundingtorrent of shoutsand slogans burst fromthe crowd.
The thin manmotionedto those about to break downthe door to stop, and
witha smile, said, "Brothers,wait- I'll open it with the key." Sayingthis,
he took a ring of keys out of his pocketand, selecting one of them,inserted
it in the lock and openedit.
As the massivewoodendoor creakedopen, the frenziedcrowdrushedforward
to get in. Thethin manwipedthe sweat fromhis foreheadand said, "Brothers,
in this house is yours. There's no need for all this
take it easy. Everything
commotion."
Thecrowdimmediately
calmeddown. Oneby one, the rioters filed into the
house. But as soon as the looting began, chaos brokeout again. The rioters
mercilesslybeganto clean out the valuables.
Whenthe thin manwitnessedthis scene, he said to the looters in a distressed voice, "Brothers,calm down. There's no need to quarrel amongyourselves-or to claw and grab. Cooperate! Don't be envious if someonegets hold
else for yourof a valuable item. It's such a big house, look for something
self; but don't be brutal about it. If you insist on fighting, things will
break, and it'll be yourownloss."
Once again order was instilled amongthe looters. The thin manexhorted
the looters, "Look, brother,this is a radio; pick it up gently, otherwiseit
will break, here, take the cord with it too."
"Fold it up, brother...
fold it up, first. That's a walnutteapoy . . .
with ivory inlay. ...
It's yery fragile. . . . There, that's better1.
- 40 -
"No,no ...
withyou.
don't drinkit here,you'll get drunk.. . . Takeit home
"Wait,wait, let me shut off the mainswitch;otherwiseyou'll get a

shock."
a commotion
arose froma corner. Fourrioters werefighting
Meanwhile,
overa bolt of silk. Thethin manquicklyran over and scoldedthem,"how
stupidyou are; you'll tear this expensivecloth to shreds. This househas
there shouldbe a yard stick around. Go find it, measurethe
everything;
clothanddivideit among
yourselves."
a dog barked. In the blink of an eye a
"Woof,woof,woof!" Suddenly
into the roomand, leaping,mauledtwoor threelooters.
snarlingcur bounded
Thethinmanshouted,"Tiger,Tiger!"
In Tiger's fearsome
mouth
wasa looter's raggedcollar. Wagging
his tail,
he loweredhis eyes and movedtowardthe thinman. As soon as the dog appeared,all the looters fled, exceptone whosecollar was in Tiger's mouth.
Helookedat the thinmanandasked,"Who
are you?"
The thinmansmiled. "Theownerof this house. . . . Watchit' . . .
Thatglass jar is aboutto slip from
yourhand."
- 41 -
Partition
he tried to pick
Onemanpickeo out a large woodencrate for himself. When
it up, he couldn't budge it an inch. Anotherfellow, not finding anything
worthtaking, said to the manstrugglingwith the box, "Can I give you a hand?
Themantryingto pick up the crate accepted the offer of help. The fellow
whocouldn't find anythingworthtakingrockedthe crate withhis stronghands,
lifted it up, and heaved it on his back. The other mansupportedhim. They
both left.
It was a massive crate. The strugglingman's back creaked and his legs
doubledunderthe weight. But the prospect of the rewardnumbed
himto the
to the mancarryingthe crate, the manwhohad claimed
physical pain. Compared
it was quite weak. Thewholewayhe maintainedhis claim by supportingit with
one hand. Whenthey reacheda safe place, the one whohad done all the work
set the crate aside and said, "Tell me, howmuchof the stuff in this box will
I get?"
The manwhohaa first spottedthe crate replied, "Onefourth."
"Notenough."
"Notenough? That's too much. Afterall, I laid myhandson it first!"
"That's true, but whobrokehis back hauling it here?"
"Fifty-fiftythen?"
"Fine. Openthe box."
Whenthe crate was opened, a manleaped out fromit. In his handwas a
sword. As he leaped, he split both partnersinto four pieces.
- 42 -
ProperUse
three people the Pathan beamedtriumAfterfiring ten roundsand wounding
phantly.
Chaoserupted. People werefalling all over each other, scramblingto grab
something,and brawls brokeout. The Pathan, rifle in hand, muscledhis way
into the crowd. Afteralmostan hourof wrestlingwith the mob,he managedto
makeoff witha thermosbottle.
Whenthe police arrived, everyonefled- includingthe Pathan.
A bullet grazed his right ear; the Pathancouldn't have cared less.
handstightlyclenchedthe red thermosbottle.
His
Uponreachinghis friendshe proudlydisplayed his red thermosbottle. One

of themsmiledand asked, "KhanSahib, what's that you got there?"
KhanSahib gazed at the bottle's shiny cover with fondnessand replied,
"Whatdo you mean?"
"That's a bottle for keepinghot thingshot and cold thingscold."
"KhanSahib stuffedthe bottle in his pocket. "Sure, I'll put mychewing
tobacco in it--it'll stay warmin summer
and cold in the winter."
- 43 -
TheAdvantage
of Ignorance
Thetriggerwas squeezed. Thebullet roaredout fromthe pistol. A man
a window
doubledoveron the spot.
peeringfrom
A little later, the triggerwas squeezedagain. A secondbullet whistled
out. Onthe street, a water-carrier'ssack burst. He fell face down. His
bloodstreamed
out, dissolvingin thewater.
Thetriggerwassqueezeda thirdtime. It missedits mark. Thebullet was
absorbed
mudwall.
bya damp,
The fourthbullet struckan old woman
without
in the back. She dropped
evena scream.
Thefifthandsixthbullets werewasted;no onewaskilled or wounded.
a small boy ran into the street. He
Thesniperwas annoyed.Suddenly,
turnedandleveledthebarrelat theboy.
His companion
are youdoing?"
said, "What
the sniperresponded.
"Why?"
"You'reout of bullets."
that."
"Keepquiet--thekid doesn'tknow
- 44 -
Action
Appropriate
in the
of the minority
When
the attackoccurred,somemembers
community
werekilled; the rest fled for their lives. However,
onemanand
neighborhood
his wifehid in thecellar of theirhouse.
Thehusband
andwifehid for twodays and twonights,anxiouslyawaiting
theirmurderers'
arrival. Butno onecame. Twomoredayspassed. Theirfear
of deathbeganto wane. Hunger
andthirsttormented
them.
Fourmoredays passed. Life or deathwas no longerof interestto the
husband
andwife. Together
from
theirplace of refuge.
theyemerged
- kill us."
"Wesurrender
Thepeoplehe'd addressedpondered
for a moment."According
to our religion,killing is a sin."
and handed
Theywereall Jains.1 But theyconsultedamongthemselves
over the husband
and wife to menfromanotherneighborhood
for appropriate
action.
Note
1. TheJainreligionabhorsall forms
of violence. SomeJainsare so adverse
to killing thattheywearmasksso as to avoidbreathing
in germs
or bugs,and
the pathbeforethem.
sweepbugs,etc. from
- 45 -
Miracle
The police started conductingraids to recover stolen goods. Struckwith
fear, people beganto dispose of their looted goods in the dark of night. To
avoid the armof the law, there werealso somewho,whenthey got the chance,
got rid of even their ownpossessions.
One manwas faceo with a dilemma. He had two sacks of sugar that he had
looted froma grocerystore, he managedto somehow
dumpthe first into a
nearbywell in the middleof the night. Whenhe picked up the second one and
beganto dumpit in, he wentin with it.
People gatheredwhenthey heard his screams. Ropeswere loweredinto the
well. Twoyoungmenclimbeddownand fished the manout. However,several
hours later he dieci. The next day, whenpeople drewwater fromthe well, it
was sweet.
That yerynightvotive lampslay flickeringon the man's grave.
- 46 -
Correction
"Whogoes there?"
"Whoare YOU?"
. "1
"Har har mhdev
s har har mhdev
"Har har mhdev."
"Whatproofdo you have?"
Chand.
"Proof? Mynameis Dharm
"That's no proof."
"Askmeanythingabout the four Vedas."
"Wedon't knowthe Yeda--giveus somereal proof."
"What?"
"Loosenyour pajamas."
When
his pajamaswereloosened, a clamorarose. "Kill him,kill him!"
"Wait,wait--I'myourbrother. I swearto God, I'm one of you."
"So, whatabout this?"
"I'm comingfromthe territoryof our enemies. I had no choice . . . did
it only to save mylife. . . . This is the only thingwrongwith me; the rest
of meis all right."
"Shootit off."
Chandwith it.
Themistakewas blownaway. . . and Dharm
Note
1. Hindusalutation and rallying cry duringpartition rioting.
- 47 -
Jelly
witha pushcart
an ice vendor
nearthe petrolpump,
At six in themorning,
wasstabbed. At seven,the bodystill lay on the pavedstreetwiththe melton it.
ing ice dripping
At 7:15 the police cameandtookthe bodyaway. Thebloodandwaterwere
left lyingon the street.
A tongapassedby. A smallboylookedat the shinyclots of blood. His
armandsaid, pointing,"Look,mummy,
mouth
watered. Hetuggedat his mother's
jellyi11
Advertisement
downin the fire. Onlyone shopwas spared.
burned
Thewholeneighborhood
line of buildingmaterials
Onthe frontof it hunga signboard:"Yourcomplete
available here."
Pathanistan
"Yo,quick,whoare you?"
"I ...
I. ..."
"Yo, speakup,yousono1 the devil- Hinduor Muslim?

"Muslim."
11
Yo, whois yourprophet?"
"Muhammad
Khan."
"OK...
go on."
- 48 -
Beware
I
Withgreat difficulty the rioters draggedthe ownerout of the house.
Gettingup and brushingoff his clothes, he said to the rioters, "Go ahead,
and kill me, but whoevertouchesmymoneyhad better beware!"
Eternal Vacation
"Grabhim. . . grab him. . . . Don't let himget away." Aftera short,
frantic chase, the victim was caught. Whenthe spears closed in to pierce
him, he pleaded in a tremblingvoice, "Don't kill me, don't kill me! I'm on
vacation."
Ealal and Jhatka}

"I placed the knife on his jugular, then slowly slit his throat according
to haial."
"Youdid what?"
do you ask?"
"Why
did you kill himthat way?"
"Why
"Justfor the funof it."
"For the fun of it! You son of a. ...
accordingto jhatka . . . like this. ..."
You should have killed him
Andthe Muslim'shead was severedwitha single blow.

Note
1. halali The Islamic methodof animal slaughter, similar to kosherbutchering, in which, after the nameof God is invoked, the jugular vein is cut.
jhatk: The traditional Hindu methodof animal slaughter whichentails decapitation withone stroke.
- 49
A Bum Deal
selected one and
Two friends got together, and from ten or twenty girls,
After spending the night with her, one of
bought her for forty-two rupees.
the friends asked her, "What's your name?"
When the girl told him her name, he became upset.
you were of the other religion!"
The girl replied,
"But we were told
that
"He lied."
Hearing this, he ran to his friend and said, "That bastard cheated us.
sold us a girl of our own religion- come on, let's return her."
He
Beastliness
the husband and wife managed to salvage some of
With great difficulty,
their household goods.
They had no idea what had happened to their teenage
They also had a baby daughter whom the mother held tightly to her
daughter.
Their cow was saved,
The rioters had driven off their brown buffalo.
breast.
but her calf was lost.
The couple was hiding with the baby and their cow. The night was pitch
of the
dark. When the child began to cry with fear it was as if the stillness
night had been broken with a banging drum. The terror-struck mother placed her
Her cries
mouth so that their enemies wouldn't hear.
hand over the child's
while
A little
were stifled.
The father covered them with a heavy blanket.
The cow's ears stood up. She got
later they heard the distant cry of a calf.
They tried desperately to quiet
up and began to race madly about, bellowing.
her down but it was no use.
Hearing the commotion, their enemies approached;
torches could be seen in the distance.
The wife snapped angrily
beast with you?"
at her husband, "Why did you have to bring that
- 50 -
Humility
The train was stopped. Those of the other religion were taken out and put
to deathwith swordsor bullets. Whentheywere finished, the rest of the travelers were treated to sweets, milk, and fruit. Before the train started up
again, the organizerof those handingout the sweets addressedthe passengers.
"Brothersand sisters, we were informed
only recentlyabout the arrival of
the train. That's whywe were unable to serve you in the waywe would have
liked."
Fertilizer
Uponhis suicide, a friend of his remarked,"he was so stupid. I told him
a thousandtimes, 'Look, just because they cut off your hair and shavedyour
beard doesn't meanyou've lost your religion. Gurj willing, if you apply
yogurtdaily, you'll be back to normalwithina year. '"^
Note
1. guru: referenceto Nanak,founderof Sikhism;jZ: honorificparticle.
- 51 -
Resolve
"Onno accountamI readyto becomea Sikh.
Give meback niyrazor."
UnderSupervision
A, pretendingto his friend, B, that he was a co-religionist, set out with
a military squadronto bring himto a safe place. On the way, B, whohad expedientlychangedhis religion, asked a soldier, "So, tell me, sir--have there
been any incidents aroundhere?"
though,some'dog1 was killed."
"Nothingspecial- in one neighborhood,
B asked nervously,"Anything
else?"
The reply: "Nothingspecial- three 'bitches' werefoundin the canal."
A, for B's sake, said to the soldiers, "Isn't the armydoinganything?"
The reply: "Of course- it's all doneunderour supervision."
Shoes
The crowdturnedand rushedat the statue of Sir GangaRam. Lathis were
showeredon it and bricks and rocks were hurled. Someonerubbedtar on its
face. Anothergatheredtogethersomeold shoes and, makinga garlandof them,
advancedto put themaroundthe statue's neck. But the police cameand bullets
started to fly.
and
The one whowas puttingthe garlandof shoes on the statue was wounded
was sent to Sir GangaRamHospital for first aid.
- 52 -
Foresight
near the hotel at the intersection. ImmediThe first incidenthappened
ately a guardwaspostedthere.
Thesecondincidentoccurredtheverynexteveningin frontof the store.
the first place and assignedto the site of the
Theguardwasmovedfrom
secondincident.
near the laundry. Whenthe
The third incidenttook place at midnight
police inspectororderedthe guardto keepwatchat this newplace, he pondered
don'tyoupostmewherethenextincidentwill be?"
awhileandsaid, "Why
Sorry
Theknifeslit the belly past the navel, cuttingthe pajamastrings. Sudof themanwieldingtheknifecamethesewordsof regret,
themouth
denly,from
"Tsk,tsk, tsk . . . mymistake."
Concession
"Don't kill
my daughter before my eyes."
"Go on, do him a favor--take
off her clothes
and take her aside."
- 53 -
Loveof Cleanliness
The train was stopped.
Threemenwith rifles approachedthe compartment.Peering in throughthe
windows,theyasked the passengers,"Hey,anymuvghs[roosters] in there?"
but stopped. The others answered,
One passengerstarted to say something
"No, sir.11
A little while late four mencarryingspears comeby. Peering in through
in there?"
the windows,theyasked the passengers,"Anymurghas
The passengerwhoearlier had started to say somethingbut stopped andon't you comeand check in the bathroom." The
swered, "I don't know--why
entered. Whentheybrokedownthe bathroom
door, theyfounda murgha.
spearmen
Oneof the spearmen
said, "Butcherit."
But anotherone replied, "No, not here--you'll mess up the compartment;
take himoutside."
His Kindness
was finished and the audience had left, the music
Whenthe performance
mastersaid, "I had nothingleft whenI camehere, but dearest Allah, in such
a short time, has mademea fortune."
- 54 -
A NeedFor Rest
"He's not dead- look, he's still alive."
"Let himbe, man--I'mexhausted."
Luck
"Nothing's going myway--after all that work, I finally got my hands on a
box, and it turned out that all that was in it was goddamnpig meat."
Reality Denied
"Whatkind of people are we, anyway?Over there in the templesbeef is
selling like mad. But here, after all that trouble roundingup fifty pigs and
butcheringthemin this mosque,no one's comingto buypork."1
Note
1. The speaker is a Hindu. ConservativeHindusdo not eat meatof any kind,
while Muslimsdo not eat pork. It was common
conpractice during communal
flict for Hindusto desecrate Muslimmosquesby slaughteringpigs in themand
likewise for Muslimsto desecrate Hindutemplesby slaughteringcowsin them.
- 55 -

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Shia Hashiye

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BLACK BORDERS

A tonga loaded with freshlypainted cabinets

A bolt of muslincame flutteringout of a windowof a tall building; a

ordinaryburden--thesack was enormous. But he ran as if there was nothingon

The sack came downon

The sepoysgrabbedhimand took himawayalong withthe sack.

don't drinkit here,you'll get drunk.. . . Takeit home

"Wait,wait, let me shut off the mainswitch;otherwiseyou'll get a

Uponreachinghis friendshe proudlydisplayed his red thermosbottle. One

"Yo, speakup,yousono1 the devil- Hinduor Muslim?

Ealal and Jhatka}

You should have killed him

Andthe Muslim'shead was severedwitha single blow.

"But we were told

at her husband, "Why did you have to bring that

my daughter before my eyes."

"Go on, do him a favor--take

off her clothes

and take her aside."

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