133. Sarat Kumar Jena

Abstract 133. Sarat Kumar Jena 

The Progressive Nation and its Muslim Women: A Comparative Study of Challenges of Domesticity and Identity Politics in Ishmat Chugtai’s Chhuimui and Lihaf

The late 19^th century colonial India, finds a different set of identity politics for the progress of Muslim women there by making a parallel move along with the Raj’s destabilizing of the traditional Hindu patriarchal codes. The Indo-Muslim community improvises its cultural schemes by internal reform. The middle class Muslim home becomes a socio-political space where colonial India’s largest sub-community perpetuates a cultural hegemony around the middle class Muslim house wife. Safeguarding of Muslim socio-political and cultural interests on the face of the Raj and to resist the Hindu misconception catered to the construction of a prototype of ideal Muslim house wife. The Muslim house wife became the symbol of cultural values and tradition and was subjugated to gender exclusion. Publishing of Urdu literature on Muslim family and home life in 19^th century in religious novels and household manuals by male social reformers confirms the Muslim community’s need to gain influence over colonial infringement. These moral tales were written by the majority of male writers and were intended for female readers, the usual pattern of narrative was a female character telling a moral story to other female characters. Ishmat Chugtai (1911-1991) looks into the other side of the moral tells of the Urdu literary tradition. During the progressive era she opens up the door of the Muslim middle class domesticity and in her writings liberates the economy of patriarchy, female desire and autonomy. Her short stories Lihaf (1942) and Chhuimui (1952) question the identity of Muslim women and their gendered space within a middle class house hold. This paper compares these two short stories of Ishmat Chugtai and finds the challenges of domesticity and identity politics in a patriarchal society.