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Khushwant Singh being the follower of Sikhism has presented it in abundance in the novel `Train to Pakistan. So many references related to the Sikh religion like their behaviour, habits, principles and scenes of gurudwaras are made in the novel frequently. Juggat Singh having taken the decision of sacrifice, asked Bhai Meet Singh, the Sikh priest to invoke Guru’s blessings for him.Bhai Meet Singh reads:

`By thought and deed be judged forsooth,    

For God is True and dispenseth Truth.

There the elect his court adorn,

And God Himself their actions honours.

There are sorted deeds that were done and bore fruit,

From those that to action could never ripen.

This Nanak,shall hereafter happen.’ (Train to Pakistan,183)

Though the novelist did not believe in the superficies of religion but he had an unshakable faith in Sikhism .Therefore he wanted to put forth the merits of the religion. He cast Juggat Singh into the image of Sikh martyr whose love for his beloved motivated him for the sacrifice of his life and he ultimately saved the life of all the refugees heading to Pakistan. Undiscriminating love for all is one of the basic tenants of Sikhism. This religion was born to promote unity between Hindus and Muslims. The writer tried his best to bring the salient features of Sikhism to the forefront. Iqbal who was baffled at the countrymen’s code of morals commented on the morals of the Sikhs.

Being true to one’s salt was the pre requisite for a true Sikh. Someone breaking the law and defying the authorities for the sake of his /her friendship was given utmost respect and importance in the society. It shows that the Sikhs had moulded their principles as per their own convenience. In general, truth, honour, financial integrity are put on the top level as far as the human principles are concerned. Cheating and breaking the law are considered to be one of the sinister crimes which are never acceptable in society. But these things have been presented in the novel as if they are the generally acceptable things. Khushwant Singh’s perspective about the partition was that religion played a very crucial role in the division of India. It is right religious strife was the main point behind the partition but it cannot be said for sure that if no religion had been there, violence and partition could not have taken place. Some other factors were also responsible for it. Caste and class distinctions were and are deeply rooted in Indian soil and there seems no escape from it even now. These factors too play a significant role in the maintenance of harmony, peace and tranquility in society. Different persons of the same religion do not react in the same way whenever they are instigated for the violence .Some of them may be ready for the execution of proposed plan while the others may be completely against it. It is maturity, education, upbringing, and understanding of the ongoing things and the mentality of people which are instrumental behind the occurrence or non occurrence of violence or disorder. Prestige, respect and proper treatment come along with the possessor of maturity, high education, and high upbringing, broad mind while the lack of these things deprives a person of prestige, respect and proper treatment.

Both Iqbal and Juggat Singh were arrested on the charge of Lala Ram Lal’s murder but the treatment they met at the hands of police personnel was quite different. The former received special treatment from the policemen viz. he is served his food in a brass plate and tumbler and is provided with a chair and newspapers. The latter received a very rough treatment.He was given no plate or a tumbler, not to talk of a chair or newspapers. Food was flung at him and he ate his chapattis out of his hands. Iqbal was provided with a cot while Jugga had to sleep on the cemented floor.Such type of inequality was also observed while giving them seats in the tonga.`Iqbal was given the place of honour in the middle of the front seat. The driver perched himself on the wooden shaft alongside the horse’s flank, leaving his seat empty. Juggat Singh sat on the rear seat between two policemen.’(Train to Pakistan,70) Such type of discrimination in the treatment towards the people accused of the same crime is observed in Indian institutions as well as in Indian society. Rich and highly educated persons are considered superior to poor and low educated or uneducated ones. Even sometimes the rich people with the stains of one or the other crime are given preference over the poor and clean ones. It is a pity that people distort the definition of religion as per their own requirement. They take the support of religion for killing the followers of other religions as if that particular religion teaches this thing to them while no religion in the world inspires the people for it. Every religion in the world teaches love, affection, harmony and kindness to each and every creature found on the Earth  is against such types of practices.

In order to boost up the morale of the Sikhs, the young army soldier utters the slogan: ‘The Sikhs are the chosen of God. Victory to our God. ‘Singh has shown the lowest level to which humanity can fall. By approving such activities, human beings degrade themselves because no religion ever teaches human beings to fight and kill others brutally. Killing goes against the norm of each and every religion.(Khatoon,67)

Singh managed to avoid discussing the reasons behind the political unrest and violence against Muslims and Sikhs, or even the reasons why the split was necessary in the first place. All that is known to us is that the division resulted from the biases that adherents of one religion held against those of the other. A young Sikh man from Mano Majra in the book said that the local Muslims had been "taking their salt" for many years. These remarks imply that some Sikhs think of Muslims as freeloaders and intruders. However, due of their kirpans, long hair, and beards, some Muslims view Sikhs as "barbarous infidels with ill intent. It is important to highlight that in this case, the characteristics or demeanour of the adherents of each religion served as the catalyst rather than the religions themselves. The novelist left no chance in highlighting  the prominent features of love and humanism of the Sikhism.

Chaskar has pointed out ``Thus, Jugga’s final act shows his sacrifice for love and humanism,two of the basic values of Sikhism. As a religion, Sikhism is like needle and thread ,which stitches the patches of caste ,community and culture. Therefore, Khushwant Singh ends his narrative with the noteworthy act of Jugga’s saving the lives of thousands of Muslims .His sacrifice is not only the result of his love for his beloved, but also his compassion ,sympathy and kindness to the Muslim brothers who are on their way to Pakistan to resettle themselves.’’(Chaskar, 98).

Although the novel's opening seems to give the readers this idea, from the inside; they were not fond of one another. The British left India without leaving adequate arrangements for their control in the future, which led to turmoil in the newly established governments of Pakistan and India. There existed a state of political vacuum in both India and Pakistan. The administration was out of the governments' hands, and the violence continued unchecked, taking its own course. The extent of the loss of life and property would not have been possible if there had not been a power vacuum in both countries. Sikh and Muslim villages were plundered and robbed in this void, and members of both faiths were attacked, sexually assaulted, and killed. Consequently, a form of vigilante justice was developed, with the maxim "eye for an eye" serving as the guiding principle. For instance, the head of a Sikh mob plans to send a train of dead Muslims back as payback for a train of dead Sikhs that was sent from Pakistan. Though the killing of one group by the another group brought neither the lives of human beings killed, the honour of the women raped nor the property looted or destroyed on the other side of the country but it was to “teach” the other side a lesson that they were also not weaker than them and to stop the violence altogether. People had clearly understood that government was not able to check killings, murders, rapes and abduction of people, children and women .Therefore they thought it better to take the matters into their own hands. Thus in both the countries, there was no rule of government but of the mob. They were doing whatever they desired to do. Some naïve persons too involved themselves in this matter just for the sake of enjoyment. During this saga of partition a very big proportion of population underwent the process of displacement.

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3. Chaskar, Ashok.Multiculturalism In Indian Fiction in English.ATLANTIC Publishers,2010,p.79.
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