Tamas, meaning darkness, opens in a town in the Rawalpindi district in the months before Partition. Nathu, a poor tanner, is paid to kill a pig for what he is told is a veterinary purpose. The carcass is left at a mosque, and within days the district is consumed by fear, rumour and killing between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims.
Sahni moves among many characters rather than following one hero: Congress volunteers trying to keep peace, young men trained for militancy by communal organisations, a British deputy commissioner who could intervene but prefers administrative caution, Sikh villagers preparing to defend a gurdwara, and refugees in camps. Nathu's guilt and bewilderment give the book its moral centre.
Drawing on his own memories of riots in Rawalpindi, Sahni wrote in plain, restrained prose that makes the violence more disturbing. The novel won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975, and Govind Nihalani's 1988 television adaptation provoked national debate. Sahni's own English translation is the best known, and the book remains essential reading on how communal hatred is manufactured.
Book details
| Author | Bhisham Sahni |
|---|---|
| First published | 1974 |
| Original language | Hindi |
| Translated by | Bhisham Sahni |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Type | Fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 350 |
| Setting | A town and villages in Rawalpindi district, Punjab, early 1947 |
| Awards | Sahitya Akademi Award 1975 |
Themes
- Communal violence
- Partition
- Manipulation by elites
- Colonial indifference
- Guilt
Who should read it
Readers who want to understand how Partition riots were provoked and spread, told without sensationalism.