Tamas

<i>Tamas</i>, 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. <i>Tamas </i>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. <i>Tamas</i> is a chilling reminder of the consequences of religious intolerance and communal prejudice.