Partition of Indian sub-continent is one of the most terrible events in the history of the sub-continent. The two countries got freedom in 1947 along with its vivisection on the communal basis which leaves us puzzled whether the year 1947 is worthy to be remembered for the independence or for the massacre and atrocities during involuntary migration of a huge mass of people for their existence. Various writers have attempted to deal with the theme of partition of Indian sub-continent in their works. However, a kind of variation in the depiction of the historical events, differences in the approaches to the truth and differences in the focus and attitude of the authors are quite natural. Even the treatment of the same event or incident may differ from author to author. The present paper aims at the comparative study of Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan and Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice-Candy-Man. Both the writers have witnessed the event themselves and have tried to depict the terror of the conflict and the suffering of people during those days in their novels. Train to Pakistan (1956) is a novel wherein Khushwant Singh tells the tragic tale of the partition of India and Pakistan realistically. In fact the partition touched the whole country and Singh attempted to look at the tragic and terrible events from the point of view of the people of Mano Majra, a small village in Punjab, India. Ice-Candy-Man (1991) is also a novel depicting the conflicts in the sub-continent during the days of partition and their most damaging effects on the subcontinent. Here the story has been told from a Parsee’s point of view. Khushwant Singh is an Indian writer, writing in English whereas Bapsi Sidhwa is a Pakistani writer. However, both the novels share the same theme. Both the writers witness themselves the partition and have tried to depict the terror of the conflict and the suffering of people during those days in their novels. The present paper discusses the similarities and dissimilarities in the treatment of the same theme by two novelists of India and Pakistan.
Research Scholar, Department of English, Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya
