# data[].attributes.body
Toba Tek Singh is a powerful criticism of the Partition of India, exposing its irrationality, cruelty, and absurdity. By taking lunatic asylum as a metaphor Manto highlights how the political leader's decisions seemed as senseless as the word of the mentally ill.

# data[].attributes.body
Syed Zaid Ali Shah

It emphasizes the fact that partitions can't partition the love you have for your loved ones.

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that struck me most in Toba Tek Singh was the final scene where Bishan Singh collapses in the strip of land between India and Pakistan. That image stayed with me because it captures the tragedy of Partition — how an innocent man, searching only for his home, ends up belonging nowhere. It made me think about how political decisions can tear apart ordinary lives, leaving people stranded between identities.

# data[].attributes.body
"The majority of the lunatics were against this exchange. This is because they could not make out why they were being uprooted from their homes. Some, who could still reason and think (my addition: even bigger lunatics🙂), yelled out the slogans ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabad’.

تلخ مگر حقیقت

# data[].attributes.body
For a man who was in in asylum for 15 years what difference did it make for him where Toba tek Singh was

# data[].attributes.body
Aliza Sabir

The image which struck me the hardest was that when he found out that Toba Tek singh is in Pakistan he refused to cross the border and kept on saying that Toba tek Singh is here even though everyone told him that his family is across the border. It stayed with me because even though he went insane the one and only thing he remembered was his land not his family. It made me realised that land meant much more to them than we could ever think.

# data[].attributes.body
The scene that opened my eyes was when the inmates were clueless about the war and Partition, It shows how so many people just get swept up in system they neither control nor understand.

# data[].attributes.body
The point that stayed with me was the aspect that Bishen Singh refused to give his feet rest for 15 years. This was manifestation of his internal motivation and pride which presented physically. He refused to lose his self. Denied losing control. He wanted to stay stood on his two feet, which carried his body without rest. As a landlord earlier he might have believed himself to be self sustaining and capable. That could be why he didn't except losing the reason, losing belonging.

# data[].attributes.body
The moment when bhishan Singh refuses to stay in India, a place where he has little relevance to. The forceful migration of bhishan Singh to India, because of his faith, is what struck me, since it was done by authorities and not by communities. He being homeless in the end. This also proves the complicity of state authorities in driving out people from their homeland to some alien place, to which they don't really connect to. A place where they cannot really relate to.

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that struck me the hardest in Toba Tek Singh was the very end, when Bishan Singh refuses to accept either India or Pakistan and collapses in the no man’s land between the two borders. That image stayed with me because it powerfully captures the pain of Partition the sense of not belonging anywhere, of losing one’s home and identity because of political decisions made far above ordinary people’s lives. It shows how the madness of dividing land and people could leave someone literally without a place to stand.

# data[].attributes.body
The final lines describing how a man who had stood firm on his feet and refused to sleep for fifteen years now lay on the ground who belonged to non, with no identity, no sense of belonging, and no answer to where he truly belonged, left a deep mark on my mind. It reveals that the true madness was not in the asylum but out side of it.

# data[].attributes.body
In the ending, when Bishan Singh collapses in the strip of land between India and Pakistan. This moment is very powerful for me as it shows the tragedy of the partition. A man who literally dies in between because the place he called home no longer exists. And how many people went through the exact moment when they learned they are divided and now they have to choose a side. It shows how madness was not only in the asylum but in the outside too.

# data[].attributes.body
The last part when Bishen neither went to Pakistan nor India he just stayed in the between, a part which has no name this shows how many people were affected by the partition and they had this confusion that where do they belong? and some felt that they no longer belong to this land.

# data[].attributes.body
I like the part when in border the bishan sing asked the officer that where is toba tek sing

Because it gives us the understanding of the situation of the people of that time during partition because most the people didn't have any idea what is happening

# data[].attributes.body
When he died on the border, like it is written that, the man who never slept for 15 years, laid on his face in the no-name land.

# data[].attributes.body
I would neither live in Pakistan nor Hindustan. I would rather live in tree.

# data[].attributes.body
When the tree guy came down and cried for Hindus and Sikh friends.

# data[].attributes.body
"Over there, behind the barbed wires, was Hindustan. Over here, in the identical wires, lay Pakistan. In between, in a bit of land that had no name, lay Toba Tek Singh".

# data[].attributes.body
“There were also some inmates who were not really insane. Most of them were murderers whose relatives had bribed officials to have

them sent to the lunatic asylum to save them from the hangman's noose.”

A bitter revelation and realisation regarding the lack of accountability that was present, that is still present in our peoples blood. It is as if we inherit it.

# data[].attributes.body
The man who had his lover in amritsar when came to know that amritsar was included in india. And as he was a muslim so he was supposed to be included in pakistan, his pain was a touching moment as the most pain for a human being is to lose a loved one. Like wise alot of people lost their loved ones during the partitioning. Like his feelinga there was an environment of sorrow all over the subcontinent.

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that struck me the most is when the protagonist lays dead on a land which is neither Pakistan nor India. It showed how a simple line drawn just to "part" people who lived together for hundreds of years felt vulnerable and suffered the most.

# data[].attributes.body
What stuck with me most was the moment when he tries to remember his daughter but subsequently asks the question of where his Toba Tek Singh. The main character's love for his land was so extreme that in the moment of complete non-understanding, he still longs for his land (even when he forgets his daughter). The love for nation stays in all circumstances of life!

# data[].attributes.body
There, behind barbed wire, was Hindustan. Over here, behind the same kind of barbed wire, was Pakistan. In between, on that piece of ground that had no name, lay Toba Tek Singh.

This mirrors the feeling of countless people who found themselves suddenly belonging to neither sides after the partition.

# data[].attributes.body
In the asylum there was a man who called himself Khuda. One day when Bishen Singh asked if toba tek singh was in Pakistan and Hindustan, he replied with, 'its neither in Pakistan or Hindustan, for we havent passed the orders yet.'

Bishen singh then begged his Khuda to pass the orders but Khuda had others important things to do.

# data[].attributes.body
The thing that he thought of living on a tree rather then Pakistan or India.....

# data[].attributes.body
I want to live neither in Pakistan nor in hindustan I would rather live in tho tree

Followed by his weeping when he thought his friends had left

The conundrum of belonging and the the overwhelming by the thought of loneliness

# data[].attributes.body
For me, the most striking thing in Toba Tek Singh is Bishan Singh dying in disputed land, symbolizing that he belonged neither to India nor Pakistan. It shows the pain and absurdity of partition.

# data[].attributes.body
"I wish to live neither in India nor in Pakistan. I wish to live on this tree.”
‎This is amusing because it highlights the absurdity of partition politics, while governments were obsessing over borders, the madman refuses to choose between India and Pakistan and instead declares his independence from the whole debate.

# data[].attributes.body
The line: I don't want to join Pakistan or Hindustan, I just want to stay on this tree.

# data[].attributes.body
At the end, when Bishan Singh lies down, it signifies his death. One aspect that particularly struck me is that he chose to lie down at the border, which shows his struggle with the sudden change in identity. He could not cope with this transformation, which showed a new side of partition. This moment reflects how loved ones were separated and emphasizes the impact on civilians.

# data[].attributes.body
It is the end where toba tek singh died at the end in no mans land. It potrays all the other people who died in between the territory of India and Pakistan.

# data[].attributes.body
When the exchange of lunatics was happening and it felt extremely dehumanising and barbaric and they were being transferred from one border to the other as if they were cattles and the lunatics that were being transferred didn't even want to be transferred.

# data[].attributes.body
The irony and absurdity of splitting people based in religious or nationalistic lines, particularly when those individuals are already suffering from mental illness.

# data[].attributes.body
"In between, on a bit of land that had no name, lay Toba Tek Singh"

speaks to complete dislocation. He ends up in a space between borders, between identities, between nations. That "no name" land becomes a symbol of absurdity of drawing arbitrary lines on maps that rip lives apart.

# data[].attributes.body
There were three friends who had different religion and cast but still they got emotional at the time when they were being separated which I felt deep, because it showed there was love and acceptance between them irrespective of caste or religion.

# data[].attributes.body
The incident which hit me hard was the frequent asking of toba tek singh that where is toba tek? He used to get visitors from his family but when they stoped visiting him he started to ask this same question again and again but couldn’t get an answer. By asking this question again and again he died the day when they were sending Bach to their countries. He died without meeting his family particularly his daughter

# data[].attributes.body
The line that struck me the most was when the lunatic who sweeping the floor climbed up on a tree saying that he would rather live on this tree then in Pakistan or India. This shows the extent of the effects this partition had on the people of subcontinent. They have been living together for centuries and shared their lives. Most people were not ready to leave their homes and their friends and they were compelled to leave.

# data[].attributes.body
The thing which struck me most is that there ware a lot of people who didn’t want to leave their home but they were forced to do so we can take the example of beshen singh if they were happy what was the need of new separate countries

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that struck me hard was when Bishan Singh was waiting for his people to visit him because they always did but at the time of division of Hindustan into two parts his family went to Hindustan and he was remained in Pakistan and he didn't even knew this beforehand. It was sad to even read this part because before knowing the truth he felt so abandoned at the moment. Also I felt heart wrenching seeing how he was eager to know about his village toba Tek Singh...the attachment to his own land and the fact that he was being thrown away to the land he never wanted to go.

# data[].attributes.body
He stood on his swollen legs at a spot in the middle,in a posture that seemed to suggest that no power on earth could now move him from there.

This line hits up differently because its a sentence of pure emotions,show

s how not specifically bishen singh but all the people back at the time of seperation were emotionally attached with their birth place and they didn't want a line boundary to divide them from each other.

# data[].attributes.body
Toba tek singh ,a sikh man died in between the land of Pakistan and India without knowing where he belonged basically, after the partition and he kept on asking about his place.

This stayed with me beacuse this isn't just a death but it actually shows how partition erased homes and identites, leaving people stranded between two nations.

Tafseer

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that struck me most was when Bishan Singh collapsed in no-man’s land between India and Pakistan. That image stayed with me because it showed the tragedy of Partition in the simplest way: a man who no longer had a place in either country. It felt powerful because it wasn’t just his death, but a symbol of how many people were left without a home or identity.

# data[].attributes.body
The only thing that made me sad was the patriotism which was sparkling in a differently able human which ended with his death without seeing the country for which he was having unlimited love and affection.

# data[].attributes.body
“There, behind barbed wire, in the no-man’s land between India and Pakistan, lay Toba Tek Singh.”

This line urge me to think about the pains and sufferings of millions of refugees at the time of partition.

How border and politics take away the thinking, belongings,families and mental health of people.

# data[].attributes.body
Nothing struck with me or stayed but the thing that I got from this lesson is, the partition is not something that people wanted the only thing people wanted was to stay with their family and live a happy life. It got partitioned because some of the prominent wanted it to separate maybe they had some benefit there. Yeah I felt bad because he wanted to be in his nation and with his family, he wanted to see his daughter but he couldn't.

# data[].attributes.body
When Bisham singh was so scared and confused that he could not go to India and he wasn't even considering Pakistan and later died in a no man's land...This moment was very heart breaking to read through.

# data[].attributes.body
The toba Singh refused to accept either county.the line is

there ,behind barbed wire,was India,on this side was Pakistan,In between,on piece of land that had no name,lay toba singh

# data[].attributes.body
There is a moment in Toba Tek Singh where the people inside the asylum start asking questions. Questions that say how can the parts which were in india are now in Pakistan and vice versa.How can one change his sence of belonging.

# data[].attributes.body
The exchange of prisoners.

# data[].attributes.body
The one thing which stands with me is when bishen singh collapses and dies in that very strip of land... Neither in India nor in Pakistan but in between...

# data[].attributes.body
"Thoes who were sane were busy proving that the other's were mad while those who were mad were trying to prove thatthey were sane!"

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that hit me the hardest in Toba Tek Singh is when Bishen Singh collapses on the ground between India and Pakistan, a place that doesn’t belong to either side. It stayed with me because it shows the pain and confusion so many people felt during Partition.

# data[].attributes.body
The moment when on the border Bishen Singh asked whether toba Tek singh is in Pakistan or India and when he got to know it was in Pakistan he wasn't ready to leave and go to India.

Although he was an Indian lunatic and was supposed to return to India he wasn't ready to let go of toba Tek singh which was his hometown even if it would be given to Pakistan. People had been divided into Pakistanis and indians on the basis of religion and no other factors were considered.

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that stays with us the most in Toba Tek Singh is when Bishan Singh lies down and dies in between India and Pakistan. because it shows he did not belong to either country his home, Toba Tek Singh, was lost to him. This image makes us feel the pain of Partition and stays in our memory as he did not belong to either of them something that sads us though.

# data[].attributes.body
The Protognist dying in no man's land because he felt like he didn't belong to either India or Pakistan. He symbolizes the people who lost their roots and had nowhere to call home.

# data[].attributes.body
“Partition made citizens of maps, but it made orphans of people” this means partition not only means happiness but it makes some people’s orphans.Partition gave people a country, but it took away their “home.”

# data[].attributes.body
The moment which struck me the most is how toba tek Singh had no concept of time but he always remembered the time his family would visit, urging him to change and dress up into something presentable.

I think it is symbolic of his cultural roots and how partitions blur these aspects of human memory deeply tied to belonging as on line defines how a response is presented and understood.

# data[].attributes.body
The moment when bishan singh was asking from everyone in the asylum whether I am in Pakistan or India was showing the absurdity of partition. The partition affected the common people more.

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that struck me the hardest was the ending, when Bishen Singh lies down in the no man’s land between India and Pakistan.

Emaan Lodhia

# data[].attributes.body
Bishan Singh kept asking where Toba Tek Singh was in India or Pakistan and it really struck me because it shows how confusing and painful Partition was. People didn’t even know where their home suddenly belonged.

Farzina

# data[].attributes.body
One of them who climbed on a tree saying he'd live on the tree rather than going to India or Pakistan. Also when he came down he hugged Hindu and Sikhs crying saying he'll miss them.

# data[].attributes.body
The line that struck me the most was: “There, behind barbed wire, was Hindustan. Here, behind the same kind of barbed wire, was Pakistan. In between, on that piece of ground that had no name, lay Toba Tek Singh.” It’s engraved in my mind as if I’ve been memorizing it.

# data[].attributes.body
The passage that said that most of the inmates of the mental asylum were murderers. The fact that psychologically ill people had to live with possibly dangerous criminals struck me the hardest.

# data[].attributes.body
I want to live in neither hindustan nor pakistan. . . I would rather live in this tree

# data[].attributes.body
The last sentence from the very last paragraph which somewhat goes like heavy wiring boarder on one side was India and same wiring boarder on other side was Pakistan and in between those a small land with no name stood was Tobe Tek Singh.

Just giving new names and creating boarders doesn't change the attachment of people from their beloved land .

# data[].attributes.body
" where is Toba Tek Singh, in Pakistan or Hindustan?" It represents how arbitrary boundaries are, and how partition , for a political, "sensible" person was for identity and for a man who has no sense of such politics, lost his identity because of that very partition.

# data[].attributes.body
"THERE BEHIND BARBARED LINE WAS HINDUSTAN . HERE, BEHIND BARBERED LINE WAS PAKISTAN". The fact that an imaginary line is drawn between a home and is termed as independence hiding the fact that it actually comes at what cost. The cost of partition is way beyond what we have been told always not just the conferences or resolutions but the lives of humans and sacrifices of thousands of lives their families and properties.

# data[].attributes.body
Humna Alam Khan

What amused me the most was Bishan Singh staying steadfast. Belonging from Toba Tek Singh which was reported to be in Pakistan after partition, he was a Sikh man who had to move to India. However, he refused to move during the exchange process. He stood midway until his feet were swollen till he died the next morning. This shows the struggle faced my many others as well who were confused about their belonging, were stranded midway and had nowhere to go or no place to call home.

# data[].attributes.body
The part where the lunatic while sweeping the floor climbed up a tree and started delivering a speech about the Hindustan-Pakistan issue,when he was asked to climb down he climbed even higher and when the guards threatened him, he said I want to live neither in Pakistan nor Hindustan I would rather

live in this tree.

I feel that it'll stay with me for a bit longer than I have expected.

# data[].attributes.body
Why did the governments of India and Pakistan decide to exchange lunatics after Partition?

# data[].attributes.body
The moment that stuck me is the ending that Toba Tek Singh died in no man's land between India and Pakistan. It is important because it shows how people during partition lost their homes and country. Many people ended up with no where to go .Manto uses this incident to show the tragedy of Partition and how ordinary people were left confused, homeless and broken.

# data[].attributes.body
how a person in the asylum climbed upon a tree and said i would rather live on this tree than live in pakistan or india the reason it stayed with me was that i think this also showcases how children behave and act so i related to all the children that were forced toby their families to go to pakistan or india

# data[].attributes.body
It was when the men in the mental asylum do not want to separate on the basis of their religion because they had a deep connection with their friends in there.

# data[].attributes.body
The part that struck me the most in Toba Tek Singh is when Bishan Singh falls in the no-man’s-land, refusing to go to India or Pakistan. This moment stayed with me because it shows the pain and confusion of Partition. He belonged to neither side, just like many people at that time who lost their homes and identity. It is very sad but also powerful.

# data[].attributes.body
"Darmiyan mein zameen ke uss tukre par jiss ka koi naam nahin tha. Toba Tek Singh para tha." << I can read this sentence 100+ plus times and I will get chills everytime. The impossibility of the nation, the tragedy of partition. Everything comes together and you are left moved by humanity and perplexed by this thing we call 'the state.'

# data[].attributes.body
I don't think any thing was hard because previously I have deeply analyzed it both keeping in mind historical and literature .However ,the pain losing their belongings was heart wrenching .

# data[].attributes.body
The moment when Toba Tek Singh died, it was sad that he never got a chance to return to his home Toba Tek Singh