Horrors of Partition: A Study of Violence and Psychological Trauma in Khuswant Singh’s Train to Pakistan and Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India

Partition of India (1947) created at least 10 million refugees and resulted in at least one million deaths. The bounds of the property loss could not encompass the devastation. The number of persons killed, tortured, maimed, abducted and exposed to disease remains incalculable. The emotional pain of severance from home, family and friendships is by its nature immeasurable. Partition unleashed barbarism in its cruellest form which gave birth to unending violence and trauma that caused severe psychological trauma for the people of that era to accept. The violence attached to Partition was mostly faced by Women and Children of that era. The people believed that they best way to take revenge was to torture the women and children of the opposite religion. The very essence of humanity was lost during the entire episode of Partition, the effects of which are still prevalent but not addressed by many, even after 70 years of Independence. This paper tries to put forth the horror of violence and mental trauma that people at the time of partition underwent, calling for immediate and strong addressing on the same. The Paper would also give an account of women being the worst sufferers of Partition which led to lifelong shame and discontentment resulting in psychological trauma.