Page 37 - Train to Pakistan

question. He did not have to say what Iqbal he was. He could be a Muslim, Iqbal
Mohammed. He could be a Hindu, Iqbal Chand, or a Sikh, Iqbal Singh. It was

one of the few names common to the three communities. In a Sikh village, an
Iqbal Singh would no doubt get a better deal, even if his hair was shorn and his
beard shaved, than an Iqbal Mohammed or an Iqbal Chand. He himself had few

religious feelings.
‘I am a social worker, Bhaiji. There is much to be done in our villages. Now
with this partition there is so much bloodshed going on, someone must do

something to stop it. My party has sent me here, since this place is a vital point
for refugee movements. Trouble here would be disastrous.’
The bhai did not seem interested in Iqbal’s occupation.

‘Where are you from, Iqbal Singhji?’
Iqbal knew that meant his ancestors and not himself.
‘I belong to district Jhelum—now in Pakistan—but I have been in foreign

countries a long time. It is after seeing the world that one feels how backward we
are and one wants to do things about it. So I do social work.’

‘How much do they pay you?’
Iqbal had learned not to resent these questions.
‘I don’t get paid very much. Just my expenses.’
‘Do they pay the expenses of your wife and children also?’

‘No, Bhaiji. I am not married. I really …’
‘How old are you?’

‘Twenty-seven. Tell me, do other social workers come to this village?’ Iqbal
decided to ask questions to stop Meet Singh’s interrogation.
‘Sometimes the American padres come.’
‘Do you like their preaching Christianity in your village?’

‘Everyone is welcome to his religion. Here next door is a Muslim mosque.
When I pray to my Guru, Uncle Imam Baksh calls to Allah. How many religions

do they have in Europe?’
‘They are all Christians of one kind or other. They do not quarrel about their
religions as we do here. They do not really bother very much about religion.’

‘So I have heard,’ said Meet Singh ponderously. ‘That is why they have no
morals. The sahibs and their wives go about with other sahibs and their wives.
That is not good, is it?’

‘But they do not tell lies like we do and they are not corrupt and dishonest as
so many of us are,’ answered Iqbal.