‘ট্রেন টু পাকিস্তান’ ও ‘পেশোয়ার এক্সপ্রেস’ : মুহাজির ও শরণার্থীদের অমঙ্গল যাত্রার আলেখ্য / ‘Train to Pakistan’ and ‘Peshawar Express’: A Narrative of Ominous journeys of Migrants and Refugees

Abstract

An unprecedented and unparalleled chapter in world history is the partition of India in 1947. A single country was divided to create two separate nation-states named India and Pakistan. Especially, during the partition, the naked reality of religion-based communalism severely impacted the lives and families of ordinary people. However, the partition deeply shocked the common people. Especially as a result of this division, countless people from the Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities in affected provinces of Punjab and Bengal were severely affected in their lives and families. The children, young, and the elderly people were killed. Numerous women lost their honour. Thousands of people lost their property due to looting and acquisition. Countless people were lost their domestic animal. The path became muddy with blood. Many of those who were forced to leave their homeland for religious reasons could not find safe haven—because many people died on the way while walking, traveling by a car, or by train. Many people lost everything on the roads. Many people lost their relatives forever. The mutual brotherhood among human neighbours turned into enmity. And a unique chapter of art, literature, and history was created around that tragic and tragic event in the social and political history of India. Two notable creations in this genre are ‘Train to Pakistan’ and ‘Peshawar Express’, which display the pathos and agony of a fragmented Punjab divided by the Radcliffe Line.