SAADAT HASAN MANTO KINGDOM’S END AND OTHER STORIES Translated from the Urdu by Khalid Hasan PENGUIN BOOKS10. Kingdom's End always secure inthe knowledge that he was great Vienna, 30 Api 198712 Kingdom's Bad A Sik late asked another Sikh: ‘Sarda why a we being sent to lndia? We dont even know the language they speak in that country. The man sled“ know the lang “These devils avaye strut about asf they were the lords of, the eat, ‘One day # Muslim lunatic, the slogan “Paita indebal bi fort hi ooing and was lat inmates were mad. Some were prlely normal, o spare them the Bang. titted afer bribing aa down had vague tea why India was being dv Pakistan was, but, at forthe present station, they were equally cles, "Newspaper were no help either, and the aryum guards were ignorant nt was there anything tbe 1 om thee conversations. Some sid By the name Mohamed Al Jinnah, or the Qualike-Aram, whe had Set upa separate country for ‘Musims, called Pakistan, [Ar to where Pakistan ‘wae India? “Gn inmate ad got 10 Badly caught up in this India akin Paistan-India rigmarole that one day, while sweeping bed the Toba Tek Singh 13 ‘eas by himgelf all day, was s0 allected by the curent Gebate that one day he tok all his clothes of, gave the bundle to one of the atendants and ran into the garden starkraked declare himself Master Tara Singh, the leader of the Sikh ‘Apprehending serious communal trouble, the authorities ‘ecard them dangerous, and shut them up in separate ells. Thee was young Hind iswyer from Labor who had gone offhis head after an unhappy love afta When told that ‘Krntsar was to become 2 part of India, he wen | Geprenion because his beloved lived in Amritsar, some: thing he had not forgotten even in hit madness. That day he abused every major and minor Hindu and Muslim Tender who had Ct Inia into two, turing his beloved into a Indian and bie into a Pakistan news of the exchange reached the asylum, Ni declared that he had no because his practice would not fur “There were two Ango-ndian lunatics inthe European ward, When told that the British had decided to go homeM Kingdom's End ster granting independence to India they went ito a sate fof deep shock and were sen Vehispers the entire their changed satus European wart or would it be abalihed? Would Breakfast be served or would they have to subsist on inmate, 8 Sikh, who ‘confined for the ant fiteen years. Whenever he spoke, twas the sime mysterious gibberish: "User the gar gr th omene "he by dhayen the ng th dal of the ain” Gard ahd he had notslepea winkin fie: ys hecouldbe cussions about the forth Pakistani lunatics. When asked his opinion, he observed per te grb ones te bay dhyana mang the (Or late, however, the Goverament of Palistan had eplaced by the Government of Toba Tek Singh, {own in the Punab which wat his home. Hehad ao begun enquiring where Toba Tek Singh was to go. However, ‘nobody was quite sure wheter twas in Inda oF Pakistan "Those who had tried mystery had become which used tbe in body's guess what ing to happen to Lahore, which was curently in India ny moment. It was also possible that he entire subcontinent. ‘And who could say if obo Ta Singh 15 ven fightening, appearance. ‘Once a month, he wied to have vistors, but start af communal roubles in the Punjab, they had stopped His real name was Bisha falled him Toba Tek Singh, He lived in 2 kind Inving no idea what day of ny sniwer, because nobody knew, The vss had also sudden Hopped. He was increasingly estes, but, more than that, nae, which used to alert him tothe day16 Kingdom's End Singh asked him one day i Toba Tek Singh w "The man chuckled: "Neither in Bishan Singh begged “Godt isue the necessary order, 0 that his problem could be solved, but 2 od’ appeared tobe preccupied presing matters, Finally, he told him angrily: “Uper the pt the mang the del of Gara Khas nd Garg i prayers because you are a Mus Sth God, you would have been me bythe grace a o. Both of them gave birt © ane of them died after sx dys. Soy T think of them often and 10 i thee i anything I ean do. Toke Tob Singh ‘Then be added: “Here, I brought you some rc rispes fom home Bishan Singh took the guards. Whereis Toba Te “Where? Why, one ofthe na cold winter evening, sit ies, accom began moving out of the Lahore aeylom towards Wagha, the ‘viding line between India and Pakistan. Senior ofcials from the two sides in charge af exchange arangements me, signed documents and the wansfer got under way "vas quite a job geting the men out Inanding them overt officals. Some just “Those mho were persuaded todo 20 b in every direction, Some were sak naked then 0 cover themselves had failed 'b kept fom tearing off their garmen18 Kingdom's nd The Dog of Titwal ge The solders had been entrenched in their postions for fr they always had and the flowers were in bloom. Bees bazed about lay Only when a shot rang out, the birds got stared and took had struc a jarring noe on his or col, [seemed at peace. Inthe blue skies, cotton clouds Noated all barges ona lke, barbed wir, on one side, lay India and lnchind more barbed wire, on the other side, lay Fak Inbeween, ona bit of earth which had noname, by Taba were quite impregnable. The two Tek placed faced eal ho one side had an advantage. ‘cam tgeagged friouly oni “The ai force was not involved inthe combat the adversaries had heavy gona or mortars. At ‘would light huge fre and hear each otherstecces ce