Bringing the Subaltern into the Mainstream

Subaltern is the social group which is socially, politically and at times geographically outside of the power structures of society specially structures for political representation. Intezar Hussain in Basti brings out the subaltern in the context of partition. The novel in many ways goes to show that amidst all the high politics that was going on at that time, it was having an impact on the lives of so many people. The lives of the people were being changed by decisions in which those very people themselves had no say at all. The character of Zakir as a historian who is moving through different Bastis is an apt portrayal as to what was actually happening in the lives of the common people.

The act of bringing the subaltern into the mainstream can also be found in the works of other authors, the most relevant to our purpose here are Saadat Hasan Manto’s short stories. Many of his short stories highlight what was happening in the lives of the marginalized communities because of the decisions taken by others. Toba Tek Singh is one such story which tells us about the lives of the people in a mental asylum. Another example of such a work is ‘Ya Khuda’ by Qudratullah Shahab.

What all of these works have in common is the fact that they provide its audience with an alternative narrative in contrast to the dominant/national narrative being propagated by the state machinery and bring to light hard facts and harsh realities.