Exile (Partition Short Story by Jamila Hashmi) Summary

Exile is an Urdu short story written by Jamila Hashmi and translated into English by Alok Bhalla. The story traces the effects of the rape and abduction of women, in association to the partition of India.

The narrator is a young woman who was abducted by Gurpal, her now husband, during the partition of India. She is the nameless protagonist of the story and commonly addressed by everyone as Bibi. The partition of India resulted in a lot of violence and bloodshed. It involved the rape, kidnap, mutilation and murder of several Hindu and Muslim women. Bibi is one such Muslim woman who belonged to the other side of the country. After the tragic incident, she keeps thinking of her past and her childhood memories. She feels sad about the unexpected separation from her family and longs to be united with them.

Bibi’s parents were murdered by Gurpal. He had forcefully raped Bibi and dragged her to Sangraon to be his slave-wife. Bibi does not know what had happened to her brother and sister-in-law and keeps hoping for their arrival.Bibi is initially treated like a slave by Gurpal and his grandmother Badi Ma.

Later on, as years pass, Gurpal treats her with respect like a wife and Badi Ma also feels proud of the skills and beauty of her Bahu (daughter-in-law). One day, during Dusshera, Badi Ma asks Gurpal to take Bibi and the children to the Fair. Dusshera reminds Bibi about her past and she compares herself to Sita and her husband Gurpal to Ravana.

Munni, her daughter, keeps asking her questions during the Fair. She also says that her friend Swaroop received a soft, silk dress for Diwali, as gift from her Mama. So, Munni enquires her mom, if she has a Mama, who would send her gifts. Bibi is devastated by the questions, as she is once again reminded of her brother.

Her two sons and her daughter Munni feel very tired and so they halt for some time. Gurpal comments that, women are so careless that they forget and lose their children during the Fair, watching Ramlila. Bibi replies that children get lost even outside the Fair, referring to her past. This scene shows the deep impact of her rape and abduction still so fresh in her mind. The psychological trauma associated with the terrors of partition still haunts the young women who had fallen prey to it. Bibi hopes for her brother to come and take her back home.

After the abductions during the partition, both the governments in India and Pakistan initiate the repatriation of stranded women from both the sides. One day, soldiers arrive at Sangraon to take the abducted women back to their natives. Badi Ma and Gurpal are worried that Bibi would leave them. But, on seeing the soldiers, Bibi hides inside the house as she fears that her body is polluted and she might not be accepted by her family. She considers her daughter Munni as an obstacle for her to unite with her family. She cannot leave her present family abruptly and so she accepts her new situation and adapts to it. Thus, the story reveals how partition and its aftermath are like a permanent scar in the life of Bibi. She has no way to find peace, except, finally accepting the house of Ravana as her home