Saadat Hasan Manto’s “Toba Tek Singh”

The chapter analyses Saadat Hasan Manto’s short story “Toba Tek Singh,” with its depiction of a subcontinent in transition and the encircling chaos in forms which are physical or mental. The chapter views the work from the perspective of trauma theory in literature. Manto’s “Toba Tek Singh” is a sensitive expression of the psychological wear-and-tear of a nation split into rival halves. The formulation of character is often dependent on memories and the location of these memories in the social and ethical context. The purpose of this chapter is to look closely into how Manto’s short story represents mass trauma and to analyse the narratives employed in order to explore the ‘mad’ characters therein.