TRAUMA AND FEMALE RESILIENCE IN AMRITA PRITAM’S PINJAR

International Journal of Computer Science (IJCS) Published by SK Research Group of Companies (SKRGC)

Abstract

This paper examines Amrita Pritam's Pinjar through the lenses of trauma, displacement, and identity reconstruction, arguing that the female body in Partition becomes a contested geographical site of violence. Tracing Puro's abduction by Rashid and her subsequent rejection by her patriarchal family, the study reveals how her transformation into "Hamida" constitutes not passive subjugation but a complex, subaltern reclamation of self. Her ultimate refusal to return home signifies a radical assertion of agency—choosing her reconstructed identity over a society that commodified and discarded her.

References

1. Bhasin, Kamla, and Ritu Menon. Borders & Boundaries: Women in India’s Partition. Kali for Women, 1998. Print.
2. Butalia, Urvashi. The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India. Penguin Books India, 1998. Print.
3. Didur, Jill. Unsettling Partition: Literature, Gender, Memory. University of Toronto Press, 2006. Print.
4. Pritam, Amrita. Pinjar: The Skeleton and That Man. Translated by Khushwant Singh, Tara Press, 2009. Print
5. Talbot, Ian, and Gurharpal Singh. The Partition of India. Cambridge UniversityPress, 2009. Print.

Keywords

Trauma, displacement, identity reconstruction, site of violence, radical assertion of agency