Abstract
In this paper, Intizar Husain’s novel on Partition, Basti is examined which depicts the human denouement that followed Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. The novel looks back at the aftermath of Partition after more than two decades, talks about the turmoil caused by the socio-political situation in Pakistan and the realization that the Partition was an ever going on event. The process of separate homeland for Muslims, the chief motive that resulted in Partition, was reversed with the secession of Bangladesh. Partition and migration have failed to provide stability to the migrants. Intizar Husain has recaptured the agony of Partition after a lapse of two decades. The novel, dealing with the Muslim perspective of Partition, depicts the plight of the members of the community who crossed over to Pakistan with the euphoria of the creation of a separate homeland, fail to realise their hopes. Feeling of alienation has been delineated in a highly subtle manner.
Highlights
The 1947 Partition of the South-Asian subcontinent into India and Pakistan remains the most traumatic happening of the twentieth century
People were living in a make-believe world that after all, the division of the nation was a matter of politics and had little to do with the division of old and settled communities
©TechMind Research Society because as a Shia Muslim he finds in it an opportunity to undertake hijrat to the new holy land
Summary
The 1947 Partition of the South-Asian subcontinent into India and Pakistan remains the most traumatic happening of the twentieth century It was an explosive break which has left behind a permanent feeling of dislocation among the uprooted population who were forced to flee from their natal places, leaving behind their childhood and carrying along the memories for the rest of their lives. People were living in a make-believe world that after all, the division of the nation was a matter of politics and had little to do with the division of old and settled communities They had hoped that even if the country was divided, communities would not be made to move from their homes. ©TechMind Research Society because as a Shia Muslim he finds in it an opportunity to undertake hijrat to the new holy land He is filled with disillusionment as he reaches Pakistan. He oscillates between the past and the present and tries to find meaning in the present out of the disrupted past which always remains fresh in this memory
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