OBJECTIFICATION AND MALTREATMENT OF FEMALES DURING THE PARTITION ERA IN CRACKING INDIA (1988) BY BAPSI SIDHWA

Abstract

The most shocking incident in the history of the Indian jetty was that the country was divided into two separate nations (i.e. India and Pakistan) at the end of the colonial era. Human rights were badly violated by the fanatics and their heinous acts of sectarianism. Although women were hardly given any opportunity to be part of freedom fighting, they became the worst victims of partition fierceness. Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India which is one of the most remarkable works based on the Indian partition provides us with a sincere representation of the terrible impact of it on people of the subcontinent especially on the women. It gives a pictorial account of exploitation, male gaze, eve teasing, lust, rape, murder, abduction, and specifically assault on the private parts of the women, and amputation of their breasts which happened to be very common during the time of partition. Here, the character Ayah is an analogous figure representing the nation as a woman or a mother. The molestation of Ayah’s body and the depiction of other minor female characters can be equated with the molestation (partition) of India. This present paper will foreground the dimensions of gender relations to victimize and oppress women. It will take up a feminist approach to show oppression and exploitation against women as portrayed in the novel to drive home the conclusion and will suggest possible ways for the emancipation of women.