Tamas 1988

Nathu, a Chamar, is finishing his work in his shop when the thekedar walks in and asks him to kill a pig for the veterinary doctor who needs it for medical purposes. Nathu declines, saying he has never killed a pig before and doesn’t possess the necessary skill, offering instead to tan the hide if the piggery people kill it. The thekedar presses him, hands over 5 rupees, and walks away, promising that by morning the jamadar will come to take the carcass.

Early the next morning, Bakshiji and a small band of political supporters go to a Muslim mohalla to clean drains as propaganda, singing patriotic songs to win goodwill. The residents welcome them and join in the communal cleanup, but the mood shifts when an old Muslim man asks them to leave for their own safety. Soon, stones fly from neighboring houses and the party members flee in confusion. The attackers later discover someone has thrown a pig carcass at the steps of a mosque, deepening the tension and fear around the neighborhood.

Fearing wider unrest, Hayat Baksh, the spokesman of the Muslim League, and Bakshiji visit Deputy Commissioner Richard at his home and urge preemptive measures to restore order. Richard, however, refuses to deploy police or impose a curfew, telling the party leaders to urge their communities to maintain peace and calm instead. This decision props up a fragile sense of normalcy that soon shows cracks as rumors and suspicions spread.

Nathu, having seen the pig carcass and witnessing the growing unease, wonders whether it was the same pig he killed the previous night. When he encounters the thekedar in the street, the man dashes away, a moment that confirms Nathu’s guilt in his mind. He returns home and confesses everything to his pregnant wife, Kammo. From a distance, the scene shows burning houses and the couple’s fear and shame, underscoring how one act of guilt can inflame an entire town into violence.

With danger looming, Nathu decides to flee the city, taking Kammo and his aging, crippled mother along. Their march is brutal and heartbreaking: the mother dies during the journey and must be burned in the forest without proper funeral rites, a cruel blow that brutalizes Nathu’s conscience and deepens his sense of responsibility for the unfolding disaster.

In a nearby village, Harnam Singh and his wife, Banto, the sole Sikh family, seek safety as they too travel toward a Sikh village. They find shelter briefly in the home of a Muslim, Ehsan Ali, but are forced to flee again when they are discovered by Ehsan’s son. They continue their journey with Nathu and Kammo, eventually reaching a gurudwara where Jasbir and other Sikhs have taken refuge.

Inside the gurudwara, the tension rises as the Sikh leadership, headed by Teja Singh (the leader of the Sikh council), learns that Muslims are arming themselves and advises arming the Sikhs in return. A junior granthi informs Teja Singh that the Muslims know the Sikhs are outnumbered and proposes a truce for a hefty price—2 lakh rupees. The council deems the demand unacceptable and sends the granthi and Nathu to negotiate with the Muslims. From the terrace, the leaders watch as the negotiation turns violent: the Muslim mob closes in, and the Sikhs are forced into battle, shouting their slogans in defiance. In a desperate act of courage and despair, Jasbir guides Sikh women to a tragic collective suicide by leaping into a well, some with their children in their arms.

Later, Deputy Commissioner Richard addresses a gathering of city leaders, outlining relief measures and proposing the creation of an Aman Committee to promote peace. Bakshiji and Hayat Baksh are named vice presidents of this committee, signaling a shift toward reconciliation even as the city remains scarred by fear and division. The film then pivots back to the fates of those who sought shelter and safety as the conflict rages—the thekedar’s calls for communal harmony echoing despite the violence around him.

At the refugee camp, the fates of Nathu, Kammo, and their companions become starkly personal. Harnam Singh, Banto, and Kammo await news of Nathu, hoping to be reunited with him; a government employee is asked to help locate him. Kammo, peering through the rows of dead bodies, recognizes Nathu’s corpse and collapses in grief. Her labor begins moments later, and she is rushed into a hospital tent by nurses. Outside the tent, the muffled cries of a newborn mingle with distant cries of “Allahu Akbar” and “Har Har Mahadev,” a haunting reminder of the violent collision of faiths that has engulfed the community.

In the end, the film lingers on the human cost: guilt that gnaws at those who survive, the brutal toll on families who lose loved ones, and the uneasy aftershocks of communal hatred that refuse to fade. The final images reveal a country divided and the fragile thread of peace stretched to its limit, the echoes of suffering and resilience resonating long after the flames have died down.