LITR / CRCL 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Student Text-Dialogue Presentation 2008

Thursday, 27 March:  complete Train to Pakistan (through p. 181)

·        Dialogue between Passage to India & Train to Pakistan

leader: Larry Stanley

Textual Dialogue

A Passage to India & Train to Pakistan

The purpose of reading these few passages is to show how feelings change between people after some traumatic event occurs. Aziz felt that with the expulsion of the British, their country would become a nation, united by all religious sects and free from the British prejudice rule, as shown by Mrs. Turton’s view of her husband and Indian men.

P. 240 A Passage to India

Mrs. Turton talking to her husband: “…You’re weak, weak, weak. Why, they ought to crawl from here to the caves on their hands and knees whenever an Englishwoman’s in sight, they oughtn’t be spoken to, they ought to be spat at, they ought to be ground into the dust, we’ve been too kind with our Bridge Parties and the rest.”

Aziz felt that once the British were gone, they could still remain friends.

P. 361

Aziz talking with Fielding: “India shall be a nation! No foreigners of any sort! Hindu and Moslem and Sikh and all shall be one…we shall drive every blasted Englishman into the sea, and then we shall be friends.”

What Aziz didn’t realize was that once England was gone there would be little or no help. The Indian people would be on their own, facing several religious groups vying for control.

Question.

Seeing that England had ruled over India for so long, would they be expected to help India in its fight for independence, or should they have rightly walked away without a second look back?

Train to Pakistan shows how a country can dash the hopes and dreams of a culture to bits with a sudden realization of freedom and the want for control with so many religious sects. It also shows the prejudice feelings a country can have toward its own people, ones they consider better than themselves because of the education they received in a foreign country. Iqbal ran into the same prejudice feelings on his return from England.

P. 116 Train to Pakistan

The inspector talking to Iqbal: “Inspector Sahib, now that the other cell is vacant, can’t you shift me there?” he pleaded.

The subinspector smiled contemptuously. “Certainly, Mr. Iqbal, we will do all we can to make you comfortable. Tables, chairs- an electric fan maybe?”

Obviously, Iqbal thought, being an Indian, he would still be accepted in his homeland. But resentment toward England was still high, and Iqbal had to prove his religious beliefs were the same as the home country.

Question:

Were the Indian people right in their decision to imprison Iqbal because he had no proof of being a Sikh, having no beard and short hair, and they were just being cautious of the Muslims, or do you think they were just being sarcastic, knowing someone like himself would have been used to living a higher lifestyle in England?

Indian terminology encountered and their definitions:

“…he slipped quietly off his charpoy and picked up his turban…”

charpoy- a light bed or cot

“Sat Sri Akal.” (sati sri akala)

An ancient greeting used by Sikhs throughout the world when meeting other Sikhs, regardless of their native language. The rough meaning is “He/she be blessed who say truth is God.”

“This is a gurdwara, the Guru’s house.”

This means “doorway to the guru” and is a Sikh place of worship or a temple.

“No, Inspector Sahib,…”

This is a Hindi or Bengali term of respect, meaning sir, master, or lord.

“The lambardar reports regularly.”

This is commonly used for the head of a village that is responsible for certifying land ownership records for governmental purposes. He is also responsible for certifying birth and death records.

“May be a shikari,” she answered.

This is a Hindi word for “hunter.”

“His father and grandfather were also dacoits…”

This is a Hindi term meaning “bandit.” The most legendary dacoit is held by Daku Man Singh. Between 1939 and 1955, he had 1,112 dacoities, or armed robberies, 185 murders, and countless ransom kidnappings. He had killed 32 policemen.

“…the only word Iqbal could make out was “babu.”

This is a genetic word of respect to address men, especially unknown ones.

“my brother who is a havildar…”

This is the equivalent rank of Sergeant in the British Indian Army.

“The punkah wallah was none of these things…”

The punkah is a type of ceiling fan that used a pulley. Wallah is Hindi for man. The punkah wallah is the servant in charge of running the fan. Also known as the Big Cheese or Top Dog, his description in A Passage to India shows his importance: “He had the strength and beauty that sometimes come to flower in Indians of low birth…This man would have been notable anywhere.”