This story by K. A. Abbas uses satire and irony to highlight the madness and futility of the religious riots that killed and displaced millions during the 1947 Partition of India. The Delhi-bred Muslim protagonist not only vilifies Hindus and Sikhs, but also looks down on the crude rustic Punjabi practitioners of his own faith. Like most bigots, he advances no reason for his hatred other than that the three groups have different accents, appearances and customs. Fate plays a cruel trick as an angry mob comes for him. Themes include religious and racial intolerance, fear, violence, sacrifice.
As a side-note, when the story was translated into English by Khushwant Singh it was given the title The Death of Shaikh Burhanuddin. It was, of course, the heroic Sardarji who died. Singh’s title suggests that Sardarji’s sacrifice affected the protagonist so much that he dropped his prejudices and metaphorically became a “new” man.
Sardarji Text / PDF / Audio (4,200 words)