Train to Pakistan is a book about the horrors of civil war and how a small peaceful village finally becomes a part of religious hate and communal violence. It depicts the myriads of human emotions which arise in troubled times and portrays how nothing is concrete. Khushwant Singh makes his point with this book that there is no categorical distinction of a person as good or bad and that even the best of relationships, which are built upon the virtues of comradeship and empathy, can be totally engulfed in troubled times by selfishness, intolerance, hypocrisy and falsehood. It also portrays that the test of ones character is only in tough times- via the contrast of the two lead characters of the novel. Whilst one, who is projected throughout the book as a man with sharp but logical judgements and respected for his capability to revolutionize, fails to take action when he is presented with an opportunity, the other, who has been portrayed as a typical badmash(bad/criminal), trouble-maker and fails to conform to socially-acceptable standards, sacrifices for much greater causes such as love, loyalty and humanity.
Khushwant Singh is a brilliant raconteur and his choice of words and the way he describes each action and thought of a character is extremely lucid, deeming this book a brilliant read even from a literary point of view.