Vikas Turakhia, The Minnesota Star Tribune

In light of recent tensions between India and Pakistan, two newly reissued novels from the subcontinent chillingly resonate, decades after their original publication.

Taking distinct narrative approaches, “Tamas” (1973) by Bhisham Sahni and “The Women’s Courtyard” (1962) by Khadija Mastur revisit the messy emergence of the two countries from the Partition of India in 1947 and the lasting wounds it created.

“Tamas” (meaning “Darkness”) is a harrowing anatomy of a sectarian riot that tears through more than 100 villages and leaves thousands dead in the lead-up to Partition. Set in the Punjab province of what is now Pakistan and based in part on the author’s experiences during the 1947 Rawalpindi riots, the novel begins with a tanner struggling to

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