Tamas

A group of Sikhs chants, prays and sings in a church known as a gurdwara. There are weapons assembled nearby as they prepare to fight the Muslims. There are rumors that behind the building, two lanes away, the Muslims have amassed their own arsenal. A holy man named Teja arrives to address them. Wielding a sword overhead, he claims that God demands sacrifice from them, and blood. He says that he has made every effort to contact a Muslim leader named Ghulam in order to secure peace, but they are unwilling to meet with him. A youth named Sohan stands and shouts that it isn’t true. He does not believe that Teja has tried, because he would prefer fighting to peace. Sohan himself claims that he has spoken with Ghulam and that the man is eager to have the meeting with Teja. The congregation begins to turn against the youth. A man slaps him.

Elsewhere, a Muslim man named Mir Dad is arguing with his neighbors inside a house. His greatest disagreement is with the butcher, who does not feel that they have been wronged by the English. Mir Dad says that they must not fight each other, but join forces with the Hindus against the English government.