The historical context for ‘‘The Dog of Tithwal’’ by Sadaat Hasan Manto is the Indian-Pakistani conflict that arose after the partition of India in 1947. The partition came after India won its independence from British rule on August 14, 1947. India was divided into two countries formed on the basis of religion, with Pakistan as a Muslim state and India as a secular nation ruled by the Hindu majority. Boundary issues and religious disputes brought about terrorism, war, and continuing disharmony between India and Pakistan. Even the imposition of official boundaries did not cause the conflict to cease.
The decision to partition India resulted in barbaric treatment of citizens who happened to be living in the ‘‘wrong’’ nation after the boundaries were drawn. By law, people were required to live in the new nation that ‘‘matched’’ their religion- Muslims in Pakistan, Hindus and Sikhs in India- regardless of where they lived before the partition. Sixteen million refugees streamed across the borders, hoping to make homes in regions entirely foreign to them. The entire region dissolved into disarray.
Since there was no experienced government to effectively deal with the chaos and violence, it fed on itself. In addition to more than half a million deaths, looting and rape were commonplace. In particular, the Hindus and the Muslims used women to intimidate each other: ‘‘ghost trains’’ filled with severed breasts of women were sent from each country to the other.
Decades after the partition, Indian and Pakistan are still in conflict, and individuals and families are still affected by the material, psychological, and financial losses of partition and its aftermath.