Writer Mod Date & Time PARTITION: Tape 17 255MODEM 255MODEM Sep 02 13:32 TAPE 17 BHISHAM SAHNI, novelist, interviewed at his home in East Patel Nagar, Delhi, 9 September 1996 author of 'Tamas' born in Rawalpindi in August 1915 into a very prosperous Hindu Punjabi family; working for Congress party there at the time of partition; got the 'Frontier Mail' to Delhi on 13 Aug 1947 to see independence celebrations in Delhi, turned out to be the last train out - has never returned, tho' would like to; in India, was active in IPTA and later Prog Writers' Assn, and now in Sehmat 'Amritsar aa gaya hai' based on his rail journey on 13/8/47 - some incidents, such as the Pathan kicking the Hindu woman, and teh changed moods of the Pathans at Amritsar, are true; there was a Babu who indulged in badinage with the Pathans, but he didn't attack a Muslim couple 'Tamas' was prompted by a visit to a Maharashtran village where there had been communal rioting in the early 70s; much is based on fact - especially on his Congress party campaigning, and visits to outlying villages during 47 - tho other parts, such as the killing of the pig, are fiction. Side A 5 > born in Rawalpindi on 8 August 1915, childhood spent there, got M.A. in 1937 from Lahore, then returned to 'pindi and was there until 47; Hindu 20 > in 40s, raising of "Pakistan" slogan; working for Congress at that time - and anecdotes of mood of local people (very much against Congress Muslims) 'there wd be considerate towards me, but they wd be v hard to the candidate, because he happened to be a Muslim; so at that time the H-M tension haad already started developing' 56 - [first riots] 'in Rawalpindi in the month of March [47] ... tensions had increased v much, the atmos was charged with communal tensions'; statements by Master Tara Singh further inflamed tensions; countryside more affected than town; exodus of Hindus and Sikhs from rural areas to refugee camp in 'pindi 75 - after that tension subsided, 'then a diff kind of exodus started, people moving out of R and going to Delhi and other places' 85 - 'there was a lot of tension inside the town [R] and a lot of burning also, but not much of killing, except in some of the outskirts of the town; there was a place called Rattah (?) ... there was tension there and eventually people were killed; stray cases took place in R' 94 - 'in the countryside there was a lot of killing .... and burning and looting cos after the riots, I had a chance to go to the countryside, the health officer