WOMEN’S UNTOLD STORIES of PARTITION: A COMPARATIVE FEMINIST ANALYSIS of RAJENDRA SINGH BEDI’S LAJWANTI AND AMRITA PRITAM’S PINJAR
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Abstract
The partition of 1947 into two nations- India and Pakistan segregated the whole of humanity wherein millions of lives were affected. Hereto, women were victimized, abducted, raped and humiliated before the entire communities. Historically, war had been fought on women's bodies. The period of partition witnessed violence against women wherein women were killed and forced to take their life by suicide in the name of honour and chastity. Nevertheless, abducted women who returned home, were not accepted or their suffering and trauma remained unheard even after their acceptance. Hereto, Rajendra Singh Bedi’s Lajwanti and Amrita Pritam's Pinjar are a projection of women’s unexpressed trauma and suffering who were sufferers in the holocaust of partition. The present paper investigates the traumatic experiences of abducted women during Partition of 1947, shedding light on Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Lajwanti and Amrita Pritam’s Pinjar from a feminist lens. Besides, it touches upon the untold sufferings and resilience of the female protagonists, Lajwanti and Pooro with their different circumstances within the texts. It not only explores these women’s displacement in partition but also their strength and resilience in the course of their respective attempt to transcend their victimhood and to reclaim their identity after their abduction. Thus, the study is an in-depth comparative analysis of the narratives through the eyes of Lajwanti and Pooro. The paper also focuses on a close textual analysis unearthing gender-specific suffering, trauma and struggles faced by these women in the aftermath of partition. Apart from these, it discusses the significance of women’s self-assertion through the lens of Lajwanti and Pooro in particular and women’s rights and position in their societal context in general. In this way, through Lajwanti and Pooro’s voice, we hear those women’s silence and their untold narratives of sufferings who were the victims of the trauma and tragedy of Partition.
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References
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