The Refugee

Summary

K.A. Abbas is a well known Indian journalist, film director and writer. ‘The Refugee’ is one of his famous short stories. Through the life of Maanji, the author narrates the suffering of people uprooted from home and family during the Partition of India and Pakistan in 1947.

Maanji’s life before the Partition at Rawalpindi:

Maanji is the mother of the author’s Sikh friend. Maanji and her husband were Sikhs. They lived in a two-storied house in Rawalpindi which is now in Pakistan. She and her husband led a happy life. Their only son lived in Bombay. But the old couple never wished to leave Rawalpindi. They had a small piece of land and also got rent by letting out the shops in the building. Most of her tenants were Muslims. They had many Muslim friends too. Maanji was a kind; old lady. She owned a buffalo which gave more than ten seers of milk every day. She used the milk to make curd every day. After stirring out the butter she would distribute fresh buttermilk to all her neighbours.

The Life of Maanji during Partition

Maanji knew about the partition of India and Pakistan from the newspapers. But it did not trouble her. She thought politics was not for ordinary people like her. There were violent communal clashes. Many Hindu and Sikh families left Rawalpindi. Maanji thought it would all settle down soon. She did not want to leave Rawalpindi. Refugees came to Rawalpindi from East Punjab. She never thought of her Muslim neighbours as her enemy. Instead, she donated food, clothes and blankets to the Muslim refugees who came from India.

 Maanji’s Faith

Then an incident happened that shattered Maanji’s faith. She was shocked to see a Hindu tonga-wallah stabbed to death in front of her house by a Muslim mob. Muslims killed even the horse that had neither religion nor caste. Maanji knew that the madness had gone too far. She and her husband left Rawalpindi and came to Bombay as refugees.

Maanji’s Life as a Refugee

In Bombay, Maanji and her husband lived in a small rented house with their son. The house was very small with a single room. That room served them main hall, kitchen room,   bathroom and also a storeroom. At Rawalpindi, she had few servants to do her household works. But now she does all sorts of her work in the house at Bombay. She kept her house very neatly. Occasionally, she sent letters to her Muslim neighbours at Rawalpindi. They also sent letters to Maanji. On reading them, she was moved to tears. She never hated any of her Muslim neighbours even there was communal hostility between Hindus and Muslims. The Old memories were very sweet to her and she wept on the past happy incidents with them.

Conclusion

‘The Refugee’ is a moving and thought-provoking story. It tells us how communal hatred and violence can affect the lives of innocent people.  Maan ji’s Muslim neighbours are also good in nature. But the dirty politics and inefficient governments have made an irreparable gap between the lives of them.