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Abhinava, Rs. 250
COMPLEX HISTORICAL factors cause ruptures in nations that have behaved as homogenous units at least for some time. Regions inhabited by people of diverse groups have been severed from or amalgamated with other nations going by the exigencies of the times. More often than not, violence in its various forms, has accompanied such events and caused indescribable suffering to people of all denominations, be they victors or vanquished, majority or minority. The human tragedy that is an inseparable feature of such fateful events is unimaginable. Among many such disasters that visit a nation some are of such enormity that they leave their scars permanently on the psyche of a people. The partition of the Indian sub-continent has left many wounds still festering and stands as a precursor to the alarming tragedies that continue to happen even now.
It is most necessary to examine the various events that preceded and succeeded the Partition as they influence public attitudes even now. An objective, in-depth reading of the times should, hopefully, serve to bring down the rising tide of hatred between inhabitants of the same land. It can be said that not many attempts have been made in Kannada to study the partition in proper perspective. It is therefore commendable that Abhinava, a theme-based quarterly literary journal in Kannada, has brought out an issue devoted to the Partition. The team of editors has done well to put in place writings on Partition by eminent thinkers such as Aijaz Ahmed, Asghar Ali Engineer and others. There is also a section that represents the responses of creative writers to the violence of Partition, prominent among them being Saadat Hasan Manto's short story Toba Tek Singh and Bhisham Sahni's Tamas.
Personal accounts of activists, social workers who were witnesses to the tragic happenings give us a glimpse of the actual acts of violence. An extract of Ambedkar's opinion on the Partition and Gandhi's soliloquy give one an idea of the divergent views that leading figures of the time had. This only points to the complexity of the issue and makes it clear that none were above board — be it the Congress, the Muslim League, the British or other groups. The significance of this book lies in the fact that it seeks to break stereotypes dished out by vested interests of all hues today to make political capital out of an enormous human tragedy. An in-depth analysis of the contemporary situation explodes the myths propagated about the role of communities and places the issue in proper perspective. It raises several questions about the conduct of different groups and national leaders and brings out the contradictions in their thought as well as actions.
Partition is usually seen as arising out of the friction between two religions. This is a simplistic reading that ignores the multiple dimensions to the issue like the plight of the Sikh community that was literally torn apart when Punjab had to be partitioned or the inhabitants of Bengal who went through a similar experience. Accounts by a few activists throw light on what happened on the Eastern frontier.
It is a painful reality of history that women bear the burden in all human tragedies. The enormity of violence perpetrated on women is indescribable. Reading of the acts of violence on women leaves one in a state of shock. Fiction grapples with words to comprehend the acuteness of human suffering. Kannada critic G. Rajshekar draws parallels with Kafka and points out that Saadat Hasan Manto wrote his short stories with a belief that there is no suitable language or style that can convey the enormity or futility of violence.
One hopes that this volume will enable Kannada readers to gain insights into the complex nature of our times and strive to recover the `culture of peace' that was, and to a great extent is still, a fundamental feature of our civilisation.
RAKSHITH M.R.
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