But as soon as he finds rest, he is arrested for the murder of the moneylender too. The next morning, a “Mona Sardar” and social worker, Iqbal, arrives in the village to prevent any riots in the area. On one such night, when he is out of the village and the local moneylender gets killed by some dacoits, he is blamed for the murder and arrested. He is in love with a Muslim weaver’s daughter with whom he often rendezvouses in the dark of the night. Jugga is a thug, infamous for his bad character. The village is very remote and hence ignorant of the happenings in the country. Mano Majra, as previously suggested, is a small village on the Indo-Pak border graced by a few inhabitants – both Sikhs and Muslims, in equal majority, along with a few important places like a railway station, an officer’s bungalow, a mosque and a temple. It is in this backdrop that the story of a small village, on the border of India and Pakistan, unfolds along with the story of its inhabitants.

The time was a tumultuous one where, as an outcome of communal riots, many people were killed, their properties looted, women raped and children tortured. It is set in 1947 when the partition of India was taking place and swarms of people – both Hindus and Muslims were migrating in large numbers. Train to Pakistan is the highly acclaimed novel written by Khushwant Singh.

Train to pakistan pdf