BA English Short Story'The New Constitution' by Sadat Hassan Manto

The New Constitution   

Sadat Hassan Manto

A nation may be weak or backward but national liberty is very sacred to it. Foreign rule
is always condemned and hated. Foreigner rulers should, therefore, never expect love
from the ruled.

Once the English were very fond of ruling over the world. At those times, India was one
of their colonies. The English rulers in India were quite callous and cruel to the natives.
In turn the natives, also hated them from the cores of their hearts.

The New Constitution; by Manto also exposes the same. It was being expected that
Government India act, 1935, would bring about great political and social changes for
the Indians. This story was written in 1938, and by hen it was fully realized that the
new Act of 1935 had brought nothing to change.

 The story proved that Manto joined
anti-imperialist struggle by establishing the fact that the British were hated in the
United India because of their unjust racialism, bigotry and highhandedness
Ustad Mangu whose reputation as a knowledgeable man was well established among
his fellow tongawalas waited anxiously for the promulgation of the Act to celebrate his

freedom from the British. He thought that his rights as a human being as well as a
citizen of India would be recognized and accepted.
Ustad Mangu was a completely illiterate person, still he was considered to be the wisest
person among his fellows. It was because that he was always able to satisfy them about
what was happening in the world. He hated the British because he believed that they
were ruling the country against the will of the Indians. 

The gora soldiers of the cantonment area were responsible for his poor opinion of the British. They treated him
worse than animals. He hated them very much. Once he had a bitter quarrel with a gora
soldier, he remained depressed for many days. He could not bear even sight of them.
One day , he picked up two fares from the district courts. He gathered from their
consversatin that tere was going be a new Act for India which would be enforced from
the first of April.

At last first April came. He was very excited. He prepared his Tonga and went out on the
roads of Lahore.He wanted to see the changes with his own eyes. Ustad Mangu was a
person who could not afford to wait. He just could not wait for things to take shapes. He
wanted everything to happen quickly. When he was going to have his first child, he was
unable to sit quietly and wanted to see the child even before it was born.

He was busy in tanking about the changes which the new act would bring about when
he saw a gora soldier standing beside the lamp post. Ustad Mangu thought that it was
the same gora who abused him last year. He wanted to take the revenge. He looked at
the gora with great hatred. They exchanged a few unpleasant words but then Ustad
Mangu raised his hand suddenly and gave him a terrible thrash. 

    The gora could not
believe that it was really happening. A crowd had gathered there. Two policemen also
arrived there and they rescued the gora. Ustad Mangu was taken to the police station.
All the time he was crying, "New Constitution, New Constitution."
" What rubbish are you talking? What new constitution? It is the same old constitution,
you fool", he was told. Then they locked him up.

      Discuss Mangu as a type character?

Ustad Mangu is type character. He is the representative of the common Indians. Like the commoners, he was very happy, when he heard about the new constitution. He thought that new constitution would bring a lot of changes in the whole of India. So he waited impatiently for the 1st April.

At last the 1st April came. On that particular day, Mangu rose earlier, set his Tonga and went out on the roads of Lahore. He wanted to see the changes with his own eyes. He had a fare to be dropped in the cantonment .There he saw a gora soldier, standing beside the lamp post. Ustad Mangu recognized that it was the same gora who had insulted Ustad Mangu publically.

 Now he thought that it was the best time to take revenge. He went near to him and exchanged some hot words with him. Suddenly, Ustad Mangu raised his hand and gave him a terrible thrash. The gora cold not believe that it was really happening. In a state of helplessness, the gora started screaming. A crowd had gathered there. Two policemen also arrived there and they rescued the gora. Ustad Mangu was taken to the police station. All the time he was crying, "New Constitution, New Constitution."

“What rubbish are you talking? What new constitution? It is the same old constitution, you fool", he was told. Then they locked him up.

Important Questions

1.Give the character sketch of Ustad Mangu(Reproduce the summary)

2. Ustad Mangu is painted as a fool. Support or refute the statement?

3.Describe the encounter between Ustad Mangu and the gora Soldier?

4.Fight with the gora soldier is the climax of the story ...discuss?

5.Why was Ustad Mangu so excited about the implementation of the new constitution? What did he expect of it?

6.The New Constitution’ was no more than a piece of April foolery. Elaborate

The New Constitution

By Sadat Hassan Manto

                                    Points to Remembers:

1.      Sadat Hassan Manto was born in 1912 and died in 1955.He was an Urdu fiction writer

2.      This short story has also been translated from Urdu to English

3.      In this Short story , “The New Constitution” Manto talks about the bitter truths of British Colonial system

4.      He very successfully projects the highhandedness, cruelty and callousness of the British soldiers on the common Indian including the Muslims

5.      Ustad Mangu, the Tonga wala is a type character, he is illiterate but know much of political changes occurring in that era

6.      From a fare he hears that a new constitution is being promulgated on 1^st April 1935 in India

7.      Mangu becomes so enthusiastic that he shares this news with all his friends

8.      He starts waiting impatiently for the appointed date, he also weaves some dreams in his mind

9.      His thinks that this cruel colonial system would end on the day when this new rule would be enforced

10.  Ustad Mangu hates the British soldiers from the core of his heart and he wants to get rid of them

11.  On the 1^st April ,he rises earlier than usual, sets his Tonga and comes on the roads of Lahore

12.  He sees no particular change, but he is still hopeful about the new constitution

13.  Under the pretext of new constitution , he picks up a row with the ‘gora’ soldier who had insulted him publically last year

14.  He lashes the gora soldiers mercilessly assuming that he is no more in rule as after some time a new constitution is going to be implemented

15.  He is arrested and is taken to the police station and is locked up. But all the time he is yelling ‘new constitution, ‘new constitution.’

16.  His all dreams shatter badly when he is informed by the officer that there is no new constitution but the same old constitution

                  Read MCQs of The New Constitution