Bhisham Sahni

Siddhartha Deb

Daisy Rockwell

It is Tamas, in either Rockwell's translation or the original Hindi, that remains an essential text for the times

Tamas, Bhisham Sahni’s 1973 novel, is a product of the Partition’s devastation. It drew immediate and universal critical acclaim for its poignant and striking retelling of Partition and its bloody aftermath. Tamas is a story about how simmering communal tensions snowball into full-fledged riots that grip villages across the subcontinent. In a city in undivided Punjab, Nathu, a tanner, is bribed to kill a pig. When the animal’s carcass is discovered on the steps of the local mosque the next morning, brewing tensions explode into riots and massacre. A seemingly well planned and executed job by the British plants seeds of mistrust and hatred among those who, until the day before, had been close friends and neighbours. Tamas is a chilling reminder of the consequences of religious intolerance and communal prejudice.

Tamas

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Bhisham Sahni

Praise for Tamas

It is Tamas, in either Rockwell's translation or the original Hindi, that remains an essential text for the times

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