Tamas

A man named Vanprasthiji is leading a group of worshippers chanting mantras in which they wish for peace. When the meeting ends, the Secretary asks the members of the Executive Committee to stay behind for an important announcement. The members of the Executive Committee are prominent leaders representing various Hindu religious institutions. Six Sikhs also arrive to take part in the meeting. The Secretary tells them that since a pig was left on the steps of the Mosque, the Muslims have been gathering weapons. Vanprasthiji encourages them all to go home and boil mustard oil, to be poured on the heads of attackers from the rooftops. The President of the Committee says that he will pay the cost for two hundred lathis, which is a type of fighting stick. He also says he will pay to have two hundred young men trained in lathi combat. An old man named Lalaji says that, whatever else they do, they should petition the Deputy Commissioner for help. If he can quell the violence before it breaks out, the weapons training may prove unnecessary. The old man also suggests that they test the temple bell: the bell is rung only in warning, and they want to make sure that it sounds properly when needed. After further debate, each man leaves with instructions about how to best help his own neighborhood prepare for conflict.

Among them is a fifteen-year-old boy named Ranvir. Today is the day of a test that will initiate him into his social group. As he follows his tutor, a man named Master Devbrat, he thinks about all the lessons he has received about the unclean nature of Muslims. Many of his favorite legends and folktales involve the Hindu Gods or masters cursing and punishing the Muslims. Devbrat takes him to a small building where a man hands Ranvir a knife and orders him to kill a hen with it. The boy is immediately queasy. Devbrat kills the hen and then asks for another. He is ashamed of Ranvir’s reluctance. When the watchman of the building brings another hen, Devbrat leaves, telling Ranvir that he will return in five minutes. If he has not killed the hen by then, he will not be initiated into the group. When he returns, Ranvir has killed the hen. Devbrat dips his finger in its blood and makes a mark on Ranvir’s forehead.

A young man named Badhraj appears and takes him to a room full of weapons. Badhraj is the leader of the Youth Group, a group of young men who will fight for the Hindu cause under Devbrat’s orders. Badhraj says they need a large cauldron to boil mustard in, but they haven’t been able to find or buy one. Ranvir says he is willing to break into a sweetmeats shop and steal the owner’s cauldron. He goes there with the group, who decide that they will ask for the cauldron instead of stealing it. They believe that the owner, a Hindu, will assist them in their cause. But the owner protests and wants to know what they will use the cauldron for. Ranvir steps forward and cuts the owner’s face with a knife. The man collapses, crying, and the boys leave with the cauldron. 

Bakshiji and members of the Citizen’s Committee deputation visit Richard. They ask him to intervene and prevent the impending violence. Richard wants to know why they are asking for his help, given that they have no faith in the British government. He says that the responsibility to curb the conflict should belong to Pandit Nehru, not to him. Richard says he will do what he can, but that they must all make a joint appeal to the people, Muslim and Hindu, to ease the tension. Suddenly they hear raised voices outside. A man enters and tells them that a Hindu has been murdered on the bridge. The members of the Committee prepare to leave, hoping to get home safely before there is more trouble. Before they go, they ask Richard to institute a curfew.

At noon, Liza is walking thr0ugh her house. She hears a thump and sees that a lizard that was clinging to a wall has died and fallen to the floor. She thinks of an earlier trip to India, and how she grew so bored that she began drinking heavily. She is almost overcome with the desire for beer. Instead, she calls a servant and tells him to remove the lizard. After she speaks with him about the lizard, she feels nothing but revulsion. She does not understand how her husband Richard can bear to work with such people all day. For Liza, the Hindus and Muslims barely seem human. 

A tailor named Khuda Baksh is helping some women when he notices someone climbing the temple wall across the street. One of his assistants tells him that the bell is being mended.

Nathu sits in a goldsmith’s shop and listens to gossip and rumors. He is nervous about his possible involvement with the pig that was thrown on the mosque steps. However, he tells himself that it might have been another pig. If Murad Ali revealed Nathus’s involvement, he would be killed. He wonders if he should visit a prostitute that night, but decides to spend the money on candy for his wife instead.

Outside, the General arrives on the back of a truck driven by Shanker. Shanker stops and announces a Congressional Committee meeting for that evening. He asks the people in the street to bring everyone they can find to the meeting.

Nathu leaves. On the way, he sees a naked man lying on the ground. He worries that the man might be a dark magician. In order to avoid being cursed, he gives the man a coin. He goes to the bazaar, gets drunk, and watches the busy people at the market. Murad Ali appears. Nathu, in his drunken state, approaches him and tells him that he did the job he was hired for. Murad Ali moves on quickly, not responding or acknowledging him. Nathu goes home to his wife. She is angry with him because she didn’t know where he was all night, but she forgives him quickly and they begin to make love. But soon Nathu notices a red glow across the ceiling—it is light from a nearby fire. Then he hears the temple bell ringing. Afraid, his wife gets out of bed and goes to check on their neighbors.

The bell wakes Liza and Richard up as well. Richard tells her that she doesn’t need to worry. As long as the Hindus and Muslims are fighting each other, they won’t fight him and his government. Liza finds this view cold and inhuman, but does not say so. The telephone rings as the chapter ends. 

A man named Lalaji is looking for an axe, in case he needs to fight to protect his family. His wife says their son, Ranvir, donated the axe to the arsenal that was being amassed. Rioters have set the grain market on fire. Lalaji goes to his rooftop to see the extent of the burning. He is worried about Ranvir and hopes that he has not gone to the center of the riots. Finally, he decides he must leave to search for him, despite his wife’s fearful protests. Lalaji summons a servant and gives him a letter. It is addressed to Lalaji’s in-laws and asks for them to help him get his family out of the city. Suddenly they hear someone yelling for help outside. Lalaji returns to the roof and sees three men watching a young man run away.