Tamas
Published on 2. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-14-313805-1 (ISBN)
Description
A poignant and politically charged novel about the 1947 Partition, translated by Booker Prize-winning translator Daisy Rockwell
Tamas, Bhisham Sahni's 1973 novel, is a product of the Partition's devastation. It drew immediate and universal critical acclaim for its poignant and striking retelling of Partition and its bloody aftermath. Tamas is a story about how simmering communal tensions snowball into full-fledged riots that grip villages across the subcontinent. In a city in undivided Punjab, Nathu, a tanner, is bribed to kill a pig. When the animal's carcass is discovered on the steps of the local mosque the next morning, brewing tensions explode into riots and massacre. A seemingly well planned and executed job by the British plants seeds of mistrust and hatred among those who, until the day before, had been close friends and neighbours. Tamas is a chilling reminder of the consequences of religious intolerance and communal prejudice.
Tamas, Bhisham Sahni's 1973 novel, is a product of the Partition's devastation. It drew immediate and universal critical acclaim for its poignant and striking retelling of Partition and its bloody aftermath. Tamas is a story about how simmering communal tensions snowball into full-fledged riots that grip villages across the subcontinent. In a city in undivided Punjab, Nathu, a tanner, is bribed to kill a pig. When the animal's carcass is discovered on the steps of the local mosque the next morning, brewing tensions explode into riots and massacre. A seemingly well planned and executed job by the British plants seeds of mistrust and hatred among those who, until the day before, had been close friends and neighbours. Tamas is a chilling reminder of the consequences of religious intolerance and communal prejudice.
Reviews / Votes
It is Tamas, in either Rockwell's translation or the original Hindi, that remains an essential text for the times -- Nilanjana Roy * Business Standard *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
300 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-313805-1 (9780143138051)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Bhisham Sahni (Author)
Bhisham Sahni (1915-2003) is considered to be among India's greatest writers and a distinguished voice in Hindi literature - having written over 100 short stories and several plays. Sahni, who was born in Rawalpindi, in present day Pakistan, was an active participant in the Quit India Movement, and settled down in India after Partition. Tamas, his most known novel, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975 and was subsequently adapted into a National Award-winning film by Govind Nihalani.
Siddhartha Deb (Foreword By)
Born in north-eastern India in 1970, Siddhartha Deb is the author of two novels. A contributing editor to the New Republic, Deb's journalism, essays and reviews have appeared in the Guardian, the New York Times, n+1, Caravan, the Nation, the Baffler and the Times Literary Supplement. He is the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Society of Authors, the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies at Harvard University and the Howard Foundation at Brown University.
Daisy Rockwell (Translator)
Daisy Rockwell is an artist, writer, and Hindi-Urdu translator living in Vermont. She is a recipient of the Vani Foundation Distinguished Translator Award and her translations have been honored with The International Booker Prize, the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation the MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Translation of a Literary Work, and the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation. Her novel Alice Sees Ghosts and Mixed Metaphors, her collection of poems about translation, is forthcoming from Bloomsbury India, and her memoir Our Friend, Art is forthcoming from Pushkin Press (UK) in 2027.
Bhisham Sahni (1915-2003) is considered to be among India's greatest writers and a distinguished voice in Hindi literature - having written over 100 short stories and several plays. Sahni, who was born in Rawalpindi, in present day Pakistan, was an active participant in the Quit India Movement, and settled down in India after Partition. Tamas, his most known novel, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975 and was subsequently adapted into a National Award-winning film by Govind Nihalani.
Siddhartha Deb (Foreword By)
Born in north-eastern India in 1970, Siddhartha Deb is the author of two novels. A contributing editor to the New Republic, Deb's journalism, essays and reviews have appeared in the Guardian, the New York Times, n+1, Caravan, the Nation, the Baffler and the Times Literary Supplement. He is the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Society of Authors, the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies at Harvard University and the Howard Foundation at Brown University.
Daisy Rockwell (Translator)
Daisy Rockwell is an artist, writer, and Hindi-Urdu translator living in Vermont. She is a recipient of the Vani Foundation Distinguished Translator Award and her translations have been honored with The International Booker Prize, the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation the MLA Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Translation of a Literary Work, and the Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation. Her novel Alice Sees Ghosts and Mixed Metaphors, her collection of poems about translation, is forthcoming from Bloomsbury India, and her memoir Our Friend, Art is forthcoming from Pushkin Press (UK) in 2027.