HUM WAHSHI HAIN LARGE PRINT

by Krishan Chander

‘Hum Vehshi Hain’ is a humanist response to the trauma and tragedy of 1947, and presents points of view of various characters across class, gender and ideology in colonial India.
Text available here : https://www.rekhta.org/ebooks/ham-wah...

Hardcover

About the author

हिंदी : कृश्न चन्दर
Urdu Profile:کرشن چندر
Krishan Chander was an Urdu and Hindi writer of short stories and novels. He also worked on English.

He was a prolific writer, penning over 20 novels, 30 collections of short stories and scores of radio plays in Urdu, and later, after partition of the country, took to writing in Hindi as well.

He also wrote screen-plays for Bollywood movies to supplement his meagre income as an author of satirical stories. Krishan Chander's novels (including the classic : Ek Gadhe Ki Sarguzasht, trans. Autobiography of a Donkey) have been translated into over 16 Indian languages and some foreign languages, including English.

His short story "Annadata" (trans: The Giver of Grain – an obsequious appellation used by Indian peasants for their feudal land-owners), was made into the film Dharti Ke Lal (1946) by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas – which led to his being offered work regularly as a screenwriter by Bollywood, including such populist hits as Mamta (1966) and Sharafat (1970). He wrote his film scripts in Urdu

Reviews

[Tarun · Rating 4 out of 5]

اس کتاب کو پڑھنا بہت ہی مشکل ہے ۔ کسی تیز نشتر کا سامنا کرنے جتنا مشکل ۔

[مومنہ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It shattered my heart into a thousand pieces.💔😭

[Izhar Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books don’t just demand courage to read — they demand a strong heart too. Hum Wehshi Hain is not merely a collection of short stories; it is a chilling, raw mirror held up to one of the darkest chapters of our history — the partition of India and Pakistan. Krishan Chander brings forth tales that aren’t just written in ink, but in the blood, tears, and screams of those who lived through that horror.

The stories — Andhay, Laal Baagh, Amritsar Azaadi Ke Baad, Peshawar Express, Ek Tawaif ka Khat, Jackson, Doosri Maut, Dil Ka Chiraag, and Lala Ghaseeta Ram — each carry a storm within. They’re not just narratives, they are lived experiences, fragments of a time when humanity forgot itself.

What makes this book even more powerful is Krishan Chander’s neutrality. Despite being a Hindu himself, he never blames just one religion or group. He boldly states that everyone was at fault. Be it Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh — humanity had taken a backseat, and savagery ruled. That’s what makes the title “Hum Wehshi Hain” (We Are Beasts) so hauntingly fitting — because it wasn’t “they,” it was us.

The rape of women, brutal killings of children, the looting of homes, and the loss of basic humanity — it’s all portrayed so vividly that you don’t just read, you feel it. Every page is like a dagger — sharp, painful, unforgettable.

If someone thinks freedom is just a celebration, they need to read Hum Wehshi Hain — only then will they understand the kind of darkness this light had to fight through. This book isn’t just something you read. It’s something you absorb, something that shakes you to your core.

[Khalid Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

ہم واقعی وحشی ہیں

[Manzar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"اس کتاب کو میں اپنے الفاظ میں بیاں کرنے سے قاصر ہوں، جہاں یہ کتاب تقسیم کے وقت کہ پنجاب کی تہذیب و ثقافت کی عکسی کر رہی، وہی یہ تقسیم کے دلخراش اور بھیانک واقعات کی عکس ہے، یہ آزادی ہمیں ایسے تھوڑی نہ نصیب ہوئی، اس میں لاکھوں لوگوں کا لہو بہا، پنجاب میں چھٹا دریا بہنا شروع ہوگیا "خون کا دریا" ، ماؤں، بہنوں کی عصمت دری کی گئی، بہمانہ قتل کیا گیا، کہیں انکو دلالوں کے ہاں پیچا گیا، اور کہیں معصوم بچوں کو ابدی نیند سلایا گیا، ان سے پانی تک چینا گیا، گھر تباہ و برباد ہوئے، مال و اسباب لوتا گیا، اور اس آزادی کی خاطر انسان نے وحشی پن کا مظاہرہ کیا۔
اس کتاب کو پڑھنا میرے لیے بہت مشکل تھا، شاید کسی تیز نشتر کا سامنا کرنے جتنا مشکل...!"