Building an ideological nation-state: migrancy and patriarchy in Khadija Mastoor’s Novel, Zameen

ABSTRACT

The subcontinental divide in 1947 left deep scars on South Asians, especially the generation that went through the bloody transition during the immigration process. Its impacts can still be seen in literary and political discourses on both sides of the border. This study examines the text of Khadija Mastoor’s Urdu novel, Zameen with the uncertainties, and mendacities the process of migrancy created. It also analyses the deeply rooted patriarchal structures, reinforced by state ideological thrust, that impacts millions of Pakistani women, as delineated in the novel. First, it establishes conceptual underpinnings within the context of feminist struggles against the subjugation of women in the new state. Secondly, it appraises the ubiquitous nature of mendacities triggered by migrancy along with its related bearings on Pakistani society. The study analyses the novel’s text as a research methodology for comprehending the trauma of partition conveyed through its plot and characters.