ABSTRACT

This thesis attempts to account "A Saga of Pain in Partition Novels: A Study
of Selected Novels of Amrita Pritam, Manohar Malgaonkar, Bhishma Sahni and
Bapsi Sidhwa". In this study I have examined Amrita Pritam's Pinjar (1950),
Manohar Malgaonkar's A Bend in the Ganges (1964), Bhishma Sahni's Tamas
(1973) and Bapsi Sidhwa's Ice Candy Man (1988) as a research topic.
The first chapter explores the importance and the scope of the partition
literature. Violence requires no introduction, but this research on a saga of pain and
violence does, precisely because violence is so ubiquitous, persistent and relentless.
This need to be explained and may be, justified. Beside violence is a reality – a lived
reality- that is experienced; words cannot put across with any amount of intensity,
what is experienced by the psyche yet, when a writer moves fairly methodically from
one act of violence to another, the general severity of the result both illustrate and
emphasize the premises about our society and its most threatening problem.
The second chapter examines the partition literature and partition writers.
The study explores the thinking of writers. The chapter explores human opinions
habits, beliefs, behavior and psychological dispositions. The chapter underlines the
anxieties of identity crisis and identity formation in the context of partition in terms of
values, religion, politics and ethos. Likewise, this chapter exposes some creative
filmmaker, who tries to give the shape up of this saga of pain through making some
sensitive film, documentaries, movies, TV Serials. Some Televisions or channels
telecast interviews of partition writers.
The third chapter examines Amrita Pritam's novel Pinjar. Amrita Pritam’s
novel Pinjar depict the female victim of religious violence. Pinjar is a story of mixture
of ethnographic and historical events. This story is an account of nasty aspect of
society. Pinjar is a fine example of women's experiences during partition period. In
this tale, author depicts dominating approach of society against women. It represents
psychological description of huma brutality and cruelness. The story also shows the
characters of realism. Amrita Pritam shows actual darkness behind division. Thus,
this chapter explores clash between Hindus and Muslims communities. This chapter
shows women as victims of the partition.
The fourth chapter engages with Manohar Malgaonkar's novel A Bend in
the Ganges. A Bend in the Ganges by Manohar Malgaonkar is one of the most
powerful novels dealing with the background of Indian independence and the
communal riots in the Punjab. Malgaonkar has tried to present before us a powerful
story against the background of the troublesome times of India. The novel thus
becomes a story of blood and tears. Thus this chapter explores the dreadful
consequences of partition of the country. The novel portrays the freedom struggle of
the Indian nationalists, the mad communal frenzy , the Japanese invasion, the
batteries of partition of souls was created due to certain misunderstanding and
mutual distrust. Neither of the two faction- Hindu or Muslims was alone responsible.
In the fifth chapter, I have examined Bhisham Sahni's novel Tamas. Tamas
describes the historical events of communal riots during 1947 partition. Author was
observing partition and lived it too. The story is chronological sequence of religious
violence and riots. Firstly, the authoer wrote the novel in Hindi language and then
translated in to English by himself. Tamas draws our attention on human stupidity of
expectation of separate nation. It also presents the human's religious fanatic nature.
The story is based on truth of partition which draws outer attention even in the
present day. The present chapter explores the British policy of divide and rule.
Tamas depict the communal violence. It told the story of partition saga. The title of
the novel, 'Tamas', portrays a similar aspect of the partition itself which leads the
question of religious revenge and anger. So, I feel that this work is related to my
research topic.
The chapter six engages with Bapsi Sidhwa's novel Ice Candy Man. The
study of the novel explores the unbelievable sensual struggle of separate identity. It
exposes human attitude towards religion and its greatness in life. The study of the
book examines weakness of human being. It also depicts how religions play an
important role in life. The story effectively depicts the picture of women surviving
during bloody communal partition. Ice Candy Man is a story which tells us crushing
of all communities (Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Parsi) in the period of division. It is a full
account of violence and religious tension which increases bloodshed. Ice Candy Man
has feminie approach which completely exposes gender issue also.
To conclude, this extremely taut and sensitive story takes up the theme of
communal tensions, using religion as way to define individual identity, territorial
cravings, political opportunism, power and love and binds them together in a very
readable narrative. So I feel that Ice Candy Man should belong to the term of a saga
of pain.
 The final chapter deals with final conclusion. These sensitive writers clearly
have a very different perspective with the same theme of partition. The writers depict
the picture of dislocating of families cause of murder of relatives and friends, suicide
of family members, molestation of women, harassment by other religions' people,
and kidnapping of young girls. The writer shows the clashes between two or more
communities with terror. These writers highlight the fact of partition causes horrible
period of human life. The writer effectively uses Indian's psyche towards the
modernity to illustrate trauma of partition. Such partition writers aptly mix the
historical events with human emotion which exposes entire partition issue differently.
They are more concerned with the question like "What out of it?" and "What after it?"
They try to find out the dark history of untold suffering of human in 1947. They
expose human agonies and traumas of partition. A large number of creative writers
in English try to investigate partition in their works. Still this journey continues even
today.
To conclude, I may say that all the preceding chapters of this thesis deals with
partition literature and the term of a saga of pain is described through violence
brutality, abduction of women, bloodsheds, human loss and dislocation throughout
these novels. In this chapter, I tried to show that selected novels deals with the
theme of a saga of pain. Through this research work, my aim is to prove that the
genre of partition novel depicts the characters of term a saga of pain. I also tried to
prove that the Gandhiji's principle of non-violence is necessary for everyone. With
the help of this principle of non-violence, we improve way of thinking and living. It is a
key of happiness. Everybody in the world should follow this principle.