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Friday, July 30, 2010

Khaak Aur Khoon; An amazing Novel by Naseem Hijazi

Khak aur Khoon is a historical novel by Nasīm Ḥijāzī that describes the sacrifices of Muslims of the Sub-continent during the time of partition in 1947.

When peoples of different regions were trying to get to Pakistan as they were Muslims, many Hindus and Sikhs in the form of groups used to attack people during their journeys to snatch their money, and jewellery of their wives and daughters. They robbed everybody they found in the way. Khak aur Khoon not only describes how many sacrifices the Muslims have made to get their own homeland, but it also describes the true face of Hindu fanaticism at the time. On June 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatton announced that district of Gurdaspur was going to be aligned with Pakistan. Muslims, after listening to this, guarded the homes and properties of their Non-Muslim neighbours from the riots, but Radcliff gifted this district to India to enable Kashmir to join India. Even the king of Kashmir, Hari Singh wanted it to be mixed with India. After separation the Hindus, instead of guarding their neighbours' homes, started killing Muslims.

‘Khaak Aur Khoon’ is a poignant description of the circumstances in which the partition took place. It’s a narrative of the gruesome events that burned India and especially eastern Punjab in 1947.

In the main, a tale of two nations struggling with the violence caused by members of different religions, ‘Khaak Aur Khoon’, is a superb book on many levels. It is a documentary of Punjab, its people, and its culture. It is a story of the cultural, political, and intellectual atmosphere of India at the time of partition and it succeeds brilliantly in capturing so vividly the rather disturbing and at times touching details surrounding the partition. . For anyone, who is a product of the society the author writes about, or is familiar with the events following the 1947 division; this book is an absolute must read.

Not many will question Nasim Hijazi’s writing skills. He is a specialist when it comes to recording accounts of this nature. ‘Khaak Aur Khoon’ is no different from his previous literary efforts. It is lucid and written in such a manner that you can't help but finish it at a stretch.

Please click here to download this amazing book. Please note that you will have to have PDF Reader to read the book after download. So have downloaded it and do let me know about your comments about the book after reading it.

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