Train to Pakistan

By September, the political chaos affecting the rest of India is being felt in Mano Majra. The train schedules that once shaped the villagers’ days are no longer adhered to and nights are often disturbed by trains going by unexpectedly. Goods trains have stopped running entirely. A unit of Sikh soldiers has arrived and stationed themselves near the village, forming a secure area for inspections where no villagers were allowed. One day, an unusually quiet train arrives in the village, carrying a guard. He talks to the soldiers, and soon fifty armed policemen appear in the village, accompanied by Hukum Chand. The arrival of this ghost train creates a commotion in Mano Majra, as people try to discover what is happening. Mano Majra doesn’t have a formal system of government; at village meetings, it was mainly mullah Imam Baksh and Bhat Meet Singh who handled the affairs of the town. Imam Baksh had lived a hard life, losing his wife, his son, and his eyesight but still looking after his daughter Nooran. He had been a beggar for some time, but donations from the village kept his family fed and allowed him to serve as a religious leader.