Impact of Insurgency on Women in Mitra Phukan’s Novel “The Collector’s Wife”

Abstract

The consequences of insurgency and armed struggles affect differently on men and women. The scar of insurgency is not the same for all. Women often become the silent victims of armed struggles and insurgency. The uprising and political tension in the region have turned the private life of women in the family upside down. “The Collector’s Wife”, is a novel written by Mitra Phukan against the historical background of Assam Student’s agitation of 1970s and 1980s. The novel emphasizes women as the victims of insurgency. The novel opens up the hard realities of insurgency and the way it influences women focusing on the character of Rukmini. Her life seemed safe and settled on the peripheral level, but faced turbulence and agitation, whenever there was an uprising in the district. This paper attempts to explore the impact of the insurgency on women, particularly on the protagonist in Mitra Phukan’s novel “The Collector’s Wife”. The paper analyses and describes the physical, social, mental, emotional, and psychological trauma of Rukmini and their resilience through the eyes of the author, Mitra Phukan.