The story is about the time of partition and how a family gets affected by it. Sirajuddin, a poor farmer has recently witnessed his wife’s murder. Amidst the confusion of people rushing in mad crowds to leave the horror and riots filled place, he has also lost his daughter, Sakina. The tiresome journey from Amritsar to Mughalpura is never ending because of the frequent stops and scores of families jumping on. The situation shows the condition of the nation and mindset of the people at the most horrible time in Indian history.
At the refugee camp which Sirajuddin finally reaches, he has no help from the doctors or social workers. On the other hand, Sakina is raped by the very workers who are supposed to be helpful caretakers. When the doctor is brought an injured patient and commands her to open her clothes for examination, he witnesses the horrors of rape. And the helpless father is left to experience more sorrow.
A painful story of how rape has been a tactic of war, of savage supplement of male ego, of separation of communities and the degradation of the society as whole.
Today is Manto's birthday and I wish he is celebrated more. His writing pierces the soul and makes us think and empathize with a world beyond us. Irrespective of the era, be it partition or war time or 'normal' time, can we say we have good times now? For women, for labourers, for the less privileged. Thank you Manto for being the torchlight of the society.
No comments:
Post a Comment