Question

Which of the following statement(s) aptly describe(s) the novel, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale?

• A. The novel projects a picture of the bestial horrors enacted on the Indo-Pakistan border region during the days of August 1947.
• B. The novel begins with house-breaking and robbery followed by the murder of the money lender Lala Ram Lal.
• C. The novel is located in the disturbed pre-Partition period and concentrates on the inner tensions and external movements of a well-to-do Sikh family.
• D. The novel’s triumph is really the portrait of Sabhrai, Buta Singh’s wife, whose faith in the Guru and in the Adi Granth is unflinching.

Hint:

Khushwant Singh’s {I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale} is a nuanced novel that explores moral dilemmas, generational conflict, and political change through the lens of a Sikh family in colonial India.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C, D

Identifying the context of the novel.
I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale (1959) is a Partition-era novel by Khushwant Singh, set during the pre-Partition period of India in the early 1940s. It focuses on the moral, political, and familial dilemmas in a Sikh household.
(A) This statement is inaccurate. The novel is not centered on the border horrors of August 1947, but instead takes place during 1942, the Quit India Movement era, and reflects the build-up of political tensions. So, this is incorrect.
(B) This is a red herring. It refers to the plot of Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable, not Khushwant Singh’s novel. Hence, this is also incorrect.
(C) This is correct. The novel indeed concentrates on the internal dynamics and psychological conflicts within a well-off Sikh family, especially between Butta Singh and his son Sher, and how they navigate political turmoil and differing ideals during colonial rule.
(D) This is also accurate. The character Sabhrai, Butta Singh’s wife, is one of the most admired characters in the novel. Her unwavering spiritual strength, faith, and moral compass make her a symbolic center of peace and virtue in the novel’s narrative.
Final Answer: The statements that aptly describe the novel are (C) and (D).