History as the Culprit of the Fractured Pastand Presentin Gulzar’s​Two

Abstract

Seventy years after the subcontinent went under the blade of History to suffer the Partition, a sensitive poet like Gulzar feels compelled to write a novel on the same subject. Partition Literature has a long tradition in various genres and Gulzar himself has authored a number of poetic and non-fiction writings on the Partition. Yet, the subject remains beyond artistic representation and once again the pain and suffering of millions as a repercussion of the event force the literary artists to arrest and assess the problematic with new perspectives. In Two, Gulzar takes up the historical event as a subject of his fictional art and depicts History as a protagonist still actively working on it without becoming history. The present paper attempts an analysis of the novel Two as a Partition novel and the author’s treatment of History in relation to the individuals victimised in its course.