The Portrayal of the Politics of Partition in Chaman Nahal’s Azadi and Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man (Cracking India): A Comparative Study

Arabati Pradeep Kumar

doi:10.24113/ijellh.v10i1.11235

Abstract

It is a known fact that the socio-political and historical issues of any country can attract the attention of creative writers, and they reflect the same in their works of art. One such significantand heart-rending issue is the Partition of India. This research article portrays the political issues in particular and other related issues in general, making a comparative study of Chaman Nahal’s Azadi and Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man (Cracking India). The reader of these two selected novels can understand how the British rulers used the ‘divide and rule’ policy, two-nation theory, and Machiavellian trickery in dividing the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan. As this tragic event of Partition was politically motivated, it upset the religious and cultural harmony among the Indians. It will be explored how these two celebrated novelists have dealt with the politics of Partition, focusing on the role played the Congress, the Muslim League, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, etc.It will be specifically explored how M.K. Gandhi exerted an impact on these two novelists while writing their respective novels on the theme of Partition.

Highlights

Being the most effective and useful genre of literary expression currently, fiction has attained a prominent place in Indian Writing in English
While depicting Partition as a theme, the writers have appealingly portrayed the role of the towering politicians like Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Rajaji, Allama Iqbal Khan, Subash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabbhai Patel, etc., who were held responsible for Partition.This research article focuses on Chaman Nahal’s Azadi and Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man (Cracking India) selected to make a comparative study of these two novels portraying the impact of Mahatma Gandhi in particular and other e-ISSN: 2582-3574 p-ISSN: 2582-4406 DOI:10.24113/ijellh.v10i1.11235
As the ghastly tragedy of Partition was politically motivated, it caused a lot of disturbance tothe religious and cultural harmony among the Indians

Summary

Introduction

Being the most effective and useful genre of literary expression currently, fiction has attained a prominent place in Indian Writing in English. Naik mentions: “One of the most notable gifts of English education to India is prose fiction for though India was probably a fountainhead of story-telling; the novel as we know today was an importation from the West”. The Partition of India(1947) was such a huge and noteworthy event that every writer wanted to thematically deal with it in their works of art. While depicting Partition as a theme, the writers have appealingly portrayed the role of the towering politicians like Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Rajaji, Allama Iqbal Khan, Subash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabbhai Patel, etc., who were held responsible for Partition.This research article focuses on Chaman Nahal’s Azadi and Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man (Cracking India) selected to make a comparative study of these two novels portraying the impact of Mahatma Gandhi in particular and other e-ISSN: 2582-3574 p-ISSN: 2582-4406.

Discussion

Conclusion