What is identity in post-colonial India based on? Do you see more pre-Enlightened sectarian identity or more enlightened forms of identity?

The partition split India into a secular and Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan. Those who had the "wrong" religion for their geography had to flee before the partitioning occurred at the end of the summer, which led ten million people to cross the partition area. Unfortunately, the mixture of individuals moving at such a fevered pace caused mass instability and ethnic and religious violence broke out, with Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs all killing one another. The author sets up Mano Majra so that it is largely separated from the religious violence.

In fact, religious tensions do exist within Mano Majra, though primarily in terms of Jugga, a Sikh, and Nooran, a Muslim, being forbidden to be lovers. But otherwise the town Bhai, Meet Singh, and the town Mullah, Imam Baksh, got along, as did their followers. Tension arises when it becomes clear that mobs will eventually pull Mano Majra into the violence and that the Muslims will have to be evacuated to Pakistan until the violence calms down. When Sikh soldiers arrive in the village, they browbeat the Sikh men to attack the Muslims on the train to Pakistan, and some agree.