Gendered Marginalisation and Violence in Chaman Nahal’s Azadi: A Critical Study

Abstract

Chaman Nahal’s Azadi (1975) is a significant fictional representation of the trauma, displacement, and communal violence associated with the Partition of India in 1947. Set primarily in Sialkot, the novel portrays the destruction of ordinary lives through communal conflict, forced migration, and social dislocation. This article examines the gendered dimensions of violence and marginalization in Azadi, focusing on Prabha Rani, Madhu Bala, Isher Kaur, Nurul Nisar, Sunanda Bala, Chandni, and Bibi Amar Vati. The study adopts a qualitative textual and interpretive methodology informed by feminist literary criticism, postcolonial feminism, and an intersectional approach. It argues that women in the novel experience multiple forms of marginalization shaped by patriarchy, caste, class, religion, displacement, and communal violence. Through representations of domestic subordination, reproductive expectations, sexual violence, forced migration, public humiliation, and social stigma, Nahal presents Partition as a deeply gendered catastrophe. At the same time, characters such as Sunanda Bala and Bibi Amar Vati demonstrate resilience, negotiation, and forms of resistance. The study extends existing scholarship by integrating gender, caste, class, religion, displacement, and agency into an analysis of women’s experiences. It argues that Azadi should be read not merely as a historical narrative of Partition but also as a critique of patriarchal structures that restrict women’s autonomy, dignity, and identity.