Elsa M.
Philip
2021/8
Partition Literature
12-05-2024
Q. Discuss the use of ‘Madness’ as a literary device in Manto’s short story, “Toba Tek Singh.”
In "Toba Tek Singh," Saadat Hasan Manto uses madness as a potent
literary device to probe into the complexities of human existence, societal upheaval, and the
quest for identity and belonging in a world marked by the absurdity of partition. The story is
set in an asylum in Lahore during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, where the
protagonist, Bishan Singh, resides. The Hindu and Sikh lunatics are told by bureaucrats
organising the transfer of power that they will be forcibly transferred to institutions in India.
Confronted by so much insanity in the real world, Manto discovered normality in the asylum.
“The ‘lunatics’ have a better understanding of the crime that is being perpetrated than the
politicians who have agreed to Partition” observes Stephen Alter . The essay analyses how
Manto has used ‘Madness’ as a symbol, and satirical commentary, and explores existential
themes and the psychological impact of Partition.
Madness in the story serves as a symbolic representation of the chaos and
turmoil caused by partition. Bishan Singh's condition mirrors the collective insanity that
gripped the subcontinent during this period. His confusion, irrational behaviour, and
obsession with a piece of land between India and Pakistan, Toba Tek Singh, reflect the
madness of the partition itself. The central character is Bishan Singh, a Sikh, who has been an
inmate of an asylum in Pakistan for the past fifteen years. During this time, he has never slept
or lain down and continually mutters variations on the nonsensical Punjabi refrain, "O pardi
girgir axe di bedhiana di moongdi dal di laltain." Bishan Singh's home is a village called
Toba Tek Singh, which is located in Pakistan. However, during the period leading up to
Partition, there is confusion amongst the inmates of the asylum, as to which country they will
be assigned. Whenever Bishan Singh inquires where Toba Tek Singh is located, he is given
ambiguous answers by the authorities. Sometimes he is told it is in Pakistan and other times
in Hindustan, adding to his confusion.
Manto employs madness as a tool for social critique and satire. Through the
inmates of the asylum, he exposes the absurdity of the religious and political divisions that
led to the partition. Bishan Singh's refusal to accept either India or Pakistan as his homeland,
instead clinging to a place that exists outside the newly drawn borders, highlights the
absurdity and arbitrariness of these divisions. The asylum and the inmates allow Manto an
opportunity to indulge in the kind of black satire that is his trademark. He attacks the politics
and religious dogmatism of the period, through the eccentricities of the lunatics. One of the
inmates proclaims himself to be Mohamed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Others declare
themselves to be Hindu and Sikh politicians and a tremendous row ensues. There are several
Anglo-Indian inmates, who face an even greater struggle for identity, being of mixed
parentage. One lunatic believes that he is God and when Bishan Singh inquires of him about
the location of Toba Tek Singh, he replies, “It's neither in Hindustan nor Pakistan. In fact, it
is nowhere because I have not taken any decision about its location.” Through their frenzied
shouting of slogans, erratic behaviour, and stripping off of clothes, Manto mirrors the
irrationality of society outside the walls of the asylum. “This inversion of reality, where the
characters inside the asylum take on the roles of those outside, while the people outside
behave in irrational and inhuman ways, underscores the irony that is so much a part of
Manto's fiction. Madness becomes an entirely relative term, which defines the political and
social upheaval of Partition, with all its inherent ambiguities.” opines Stephen Alter.
The portrayal of madness also delves into the psychological impact of the
partition on individuals. Bishan Singh's breakdown reflects the trauma and disorientation
experienced by many who were uprooted from their homes and forced to confront new
identities and allegiances. His inability to comprehend the logic behind the partition
underscores the psychological toll it took on the people caught in its midst. Manto vividly
recreates the anger and horrors of this period and the trauma of refugees uprooted and
victimized by the delineation of arbitrary borders. “As the characters in Manto's stories
confront the ruthless inhumanity of Hindu-Muslim violence-murder, rape, and mutilation-
their only conceivable response is madness” views Stephen Alter. He saw through the falsity
of religious and political rhetoric, particularly in the context of Partition. rioting and rape to
gratuitous effect, but for Manto these images were essential to his portrayal of Partition as a
brutal, inhuman act of madness.
Manto explores existential themes through the lens of madness. Bishan
Singh's existential crisis, his existential angst, and his search for meaning in a world torn
apart by violence and division resonate with readers on a deeper level. His final act of
defiance, choosing death over being confined within the limitations of nationalistic
boundaries, epitomizes a quest for freedom and autonomy in the face of oppressive
circumstances. Manto ends the story with the typically enigmatic lines: "On one side behind
him stood the lunatics of Hindustan and on the other side across the road, lunatics of
Pakistan. Between them on the no-man's land, Toba Tek Singh lay stretched." The confusion
between the name of the village and the name of the main character is important to the story.
At several points, Manto refers to Bishan Singh as Toba Tek Singh and it becomes the name
by which he is known in the asylum. By mixing up the name of the character and place, the
individual and the land, Manto tries to emphasize the relationship between a person's home
and his identity. He also uses the main character's madness to exaggerate the sense of
separation, the distorted loyalties, and the dislocated self.
“Manto takes an unusually pragmatic view of madness in this story. For
him, it is a fact of life, a symptom not only of the individual character's paranoia but of a
kind of mass schizophrenia brought on by Partition” observes Stephen Alter. In the period
following Partition, madness becomes the guiding metaphor in much of Manto's fiction, and
it is more clearly and effectively used in this story. Through his nuanced portrayal of
madness, he offers a powerful commentary on the absurdity and tragedy of partition and its
lasting impact on individuals and communities. Walls and borders lose their meaning and a
character like Bishan Singh embodies the contradictions and divided loyalties experienced by
those people who were uprooted on either side. In many of his stories, madness is conceived
as a metaphor, representing not only the upheaval surrounding Partition but also the tortured
and split identities that emerged.
REFERENCES:
1. Manṭo, Saādat Ḥasan. ‘Toba Tek Singh’ The 1947 Partition of India, An Anthology of
Writings. Delhi, Delhi: Worldview Editions.
2. Stephen Alter. “Madness and partition: The short stories of Saadat Hasan Manto” Alif:
Journal of Comparative Poetics.
