Summary
The short story “The Dutiful Daughter” by Saadat Hasan Manto deals with events that take place soon after the partition of India. While the partition takes place, people move from India to Pakistan and the other way around, according to their religious beliefs. During that time, volunteers offer to rescue women and children abducted by either the Indian or the Pakistani.
The narrator thinks about the difficulties of rescuing these women, who are sometimes lost without a trace. Other times, when volunteers find them, the women refuse to return to their families. The narrator also thinks about the fact that some of these women might be pregnant and that the children’s religious and cultural identity will be difficult to determine. Furthermore, the narrator is convinced that s...