Manto's use of the Mad

It was suggested in class that the reason Manto conveyed his ideas through the mad in “Toba Tek Singh” is that he wanted to avoid controversy; that what he wanted to say was too provocative to have been put conventionally. Not only is this reading of “Toba Tek Singh” shallow, it also suggests that Manto was one to avoid controversy, which- after having had several stints in prison for his earlier writings- is clearly not the case.

The reasons why Manto chose the mad as his medium clearly run much deeper than his (non-existent) reluctance to stir controversy. He did so because that the mad are a much more effective medium for the ideas that Manto wanted to put forward. What the mad have to say is much more potent because the mad are innocent, untainted by society and its ideas. They have not been institutionalized the way most common people have (though they have been institutionalized in another sense of the word since they are residents of a mental institution). The popular rhetoric about partition and the need for a separate homeland for the muslims does not affect them(except in certain comical ways) and by using the mad as a voice, Manto is able to present the absurdity of the situation which he would not have been able to otherwise.