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H.P NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY, SHIMLA

ASSIGNMENT II

ENGLISH

SUBMITTED TO

MS. RUCHI RAJ THAKUR

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,

ENGLISH

SUBMITTED BY

NISHANT GOYAL

ROLL NO. – 22

BA.LLB. (HONS.) – II SEMESTER

“LITERATURE IS BORNE OUT OF A SOCIAL MILIEU. A READER CANNOT

AFFORD TO OVERLOOK THE SOCIAL BINDINGS, CUSTOMARY FACTORS
AND THE HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS OF THE RESPECTIVE AGE WHICH
SHAPES LITERARY WORK OF ART.”
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“LITERATURE IS THE ART OF DISCOVERING SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY

ABOUT ORDINARY PEOPLE, AND SAYING WITH ORDINARY WORDS

SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY”

~BORIS PASTERNAK

“Literature is the mirror of the society.” Literature reflects society, and society shapes
literature. Both Literature and society prevail conjointly, and both are the counterparts of
each other. On one hand, while Literature is the manifestation of socio-economic and
political structure of a society, society, on the other hand, forms the subject matter for
literature, be it fiction or non-fiction.

Literature is the tool used by the writer to portray through his writings and scrutiny and a
reader to understand and interpret the social obligations, the customary or traditional
practices and historical antecedents of that epoch. Literature forms its base on the trends
in society, its social constructs and events, through which writers try to bring to the
surface a social scenario, through which it has always been successful in having
tremendous impacts over the development of societies. It has shaped civilizations and
affected political systems, and through which, writers always try to elucidate how these
social constructs and processes govern relationships between individuals in the society,
and their position and status within the social milieu, with respect to the other individuals.

The story “Bhali Ladkiyan” is a depiction of society’s presupposed notions of what is

moral and righteous, and what is immoral and debauched with the help of two girls Leela
and Mukta, through which the story tries to establish the set standards of morality in the
Indian Society. Leela and Mukta were classmates, neighbours and best friends since
childhood. They’ve always done well in studies and have been proud of their morals and
ethics. They are carrying out research and surveys pertaining to their phd in psychology.
Another character in the story, Sadanand Mishra, senior to both the girls was also
carrying out his survey regarding his phd in psychology, and the assistant professors of
all three departments were under the supervision of Dr. Asthana.
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Leela and Mukta were to be given the responsibility for research and survey among
women in slum areas for which they had to visit the slums themselves. Dr. Asthana asksa
Mishra to accompany them to the slums, for it would not be safe for the girls to go all by
themselves in a slum area. This also describes the scenario in Indian Society where
women are not free to move around independently in their own country, and the
hypocrisy that they always need assistance and company of a man, can’t be
independently.

On their way to the slum in Maleehabaad, Mishra stops his car on the pedestrian side of
the road, leaving the girls in suspiscion. He rushes to a shop on the other side of the road,
which both the girls suspect to be a liquor shop, and they were proved right. This action
of Mishra strikes both the girls with panic and petulance. The idea of Mishra consuming
liquor grosses both the girls out, for consumption of liquor was not something which is
considered reverent and moral in their society, and this labels a person immoral in their
society. Both the girls refrain from travelling further with Mishra to Maleehabad, for it
was not honorific for them to travel with a liquor consuming person, and they wish to get
off the car.

Through this stimulus of both the girls towards Mishra consuming liquor, the author in
the story tries to reflect to the readers that society has also set standards and conventions
which define the degree of morality and ethics in the society. Through this literary
artwork, it is also elucidated how society places different individuals on different stratas
of morality, thus, pronounces their moral character on the basis of their consumption
patterns. In this way, literature enables its readers to evaluate the social standards based
on morality and immorality, which it explains through various events and circumstances
prevailing in the social milieu.
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BOOK REVIEW: TRAIN TO PAKISTAN

~KHUSHWANT SINGH
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Partition left the country in a state of trauma and marked permanent cicatrix on the hearts
of Indians which still haunts the contemporary societies of both India and Pakistan.
Khushwant Singh’s novel makes a tragic portrait of the political hatred and violence
which took place in those unstable and turbulent days. Despite of being Khushwant’s
first, his lucrative narration of the pitiful anecdote of the individuals was awarded with
“Grove Press India Fiction Prize” in 1956. Khushwant Singh stages the violence and
savage killings that took place on both sides of the border from the view point of Mano-
Majra, a village located at the border.

The village itself has been created as the protagonist of the play. Though the village is
dominated by Sikhs, but is also resided by the Hindus and Muslims. Singh tries to weave
a story revolving around the village which is known for its railway station and all the
activities are related with the arrival and departure of railway trains. The villagers
irrespective of their religious affiliations live like a close-knit family and live in an
atmosphere of solidarity and integrity.

Khushwant Singh draws a disturbing portrait of the events that took place during the
bloodiest communal conflicts. The plot of the novel shifts to a dramatic incident when the
Ram Lal, the moneylender of the village is murdered by a neighbouring village’s dacoit,
Malli and Juggut Singh is arrested as the murder suspect. The novel also states the love
affair between Juggat Singh and Nooran, which is viewed as a love affair between a Sikh
and a Muslim. Later on in the novel, Juggat Singh emerges as the protagonist of the novel
by saving the lives of including his love of life, Nooran. The harmony of the village is
infringed when a ghost train enters the village with corpses and bitters the relation
between the Hindus as it fanned the steam among the Hindus to shoo away the Muslims
from the village with whom they shared kin-like relations.

Train to Pakistan is one of the finest portrays of the communal bloodsheds, the shadow of
which was casted even on a peaceful and harmonious village like Mano-Majra. Love has
been inculcated as the essence of the novel by Singh, despite of being a novel full of
communal rights and dark realities of the partition. Jugga who has been portrayed as a
local dacoit of the village who afterwards sacrifices himself for his love. The tragic love
story of Jugga and Nooran cuts the religious barriers up and tries to bridges the gap
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between the communal gaps that had widened among the villagers due to the happenings
of the partition of India. The novel states the brutal fact that the freedom attained by India
was celebrated by the people in the form of mass murders and rapes on the border. The
title of the novel is well justified by the very fact that Jugga emerges as the protagonist by
saving Nooran and also the lives of Muslims on the Train to Pakistan proclaims the train
as a symbol of peace and hope in the dark world of savage and despair.