The Possibility of Liberation of Female Subalterns in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India

The purpose of this paper is to examine the possibility of liberation of female subalterns in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India, based on Spivak's article, “Can Subaltern Speak?”. What Spivak is trying to argue is that the female subaltern has lost her voice in another language system that can speak beyond the existing language system of the ruling class. They cannot speak unless the subaltern is defined as a dominated group and possesses a language system of power. Subalterns cannot escape the regime itself, but nevertheless, they can create cracks and change the system by constantly resisting it. The female characters in Cracking India are victims of the colonialist ideology that has been denigrated because of their ethnicity and religion, and at the same time they are victims of the patriarchal ideology. I intend to pay a special attention to the voice of Ayha, a woman who is constrained by the ruling system and the target of oppression due to the political and religious divisions in India. Ayha is in a state of double bondage due to the tragic social environment of religious rifts and the authority of the patriarchal ideology. Nevertheless, Indian women who Lenny sees do not remain victims like Ayha and give in to men. Typically, Lenny's mother, Seti, is portrayed as a woman who has the power to oppose the power of men. Breaking away from the typical female role of the patriarchal ideology, she does not remain silent to help women in need, and tries to change, showing an independent female image to help women in need. In conclusion, through Cracking India, it can be seen that female subalterns are in a state of double bondage due to the tragic social environment of religious rift and patriarchal ideology, but the desire to recognize the self and the possibility of their liberation through the process of evolution goes on