The Body of the Woman as a Contested Site

The opening passage of Shehr e Afsos tells us a lot as to how the body of the woman is associated with honor. In the context of the story there is a very strong relationship between violence and sexuality. In times of war and violence, the female body becomes a contested site subject to assault and conquest. It serves as a trophy of victory or a blot on the collective honor. It goes to show that in times like these and especially during Partition, it was not the Hindu or the Muslim women who were raped, it was rather humanity. It does not matter who was the perpetrator or who instigated the violence. This was also manifest in the case of Sakinā in “Khōl dō,” who was apparently raped by her own fellow Muslims who were supposed to be her savior. 

On exile

The film depicted different experiences of exile through its many characters. Salim Mirza’s exile was particularly disturbing because he was made to feel like an outsider in his own homeland. His exile was deeply disorienting for him because his sense of loyalty to India was far greater than his religious identity; Pakistan had never been an option for him. In fact, throughout the film, he keeps referring to Gandhi’s ‘martyrdom’ and how it would not have been in vain, showing that he tries to identify himself as inherently Indian (he never mentions Jinnah). But despite this, he is being uprooted. His homelessness somehow seems a lot more acute in comparison to the others, especially when he is bereft of their haveli and then the factory; he’s the one person who literally has nowhere to go. Also, I thought that through him, the film was trying to show the exile of an entire class as well- the shareef Muslim in particular. There is no place in new India for these upright moralists. Belonging to a shareef gharana is no longer a grounds for claiming superiority of any kind. For now atleast, post-war India is a place without class. Even the tonga-wala can refuse to give them a ride. The hostility they now receive is very poignant- the rest of society is aggressive towards them in a very overt way. The Hindus seem to be reveling in the sense of belonging that new India now accords to them. The contrast between them now is stark; the shareef upper class male is not just driven away from his home but also from his livelihood, making him an unproductive member of society.

Kazim’s exile is strange too. He went to Pakistan with his family, effectively giving up his right to call India his home. Therefore when he comes back, he cannot simply assume that things will be same as when he had left. He cannot resume his life here in India, not even with Amina, because he can’t fulfill his promise of marriage to her. He’s stuck in limbo, reluctant to go back to his new home, unable to belong in the one he left behind. His exile is tragic because even though technically he has a home and isn’t homeless in the same way that Salim is, it just isn’t in the right country.

For Dadi Amma, homelessness quite literally means being taken away from the home of her ancestors. For her, the departure from the haveli is akin to her identity being taken away. It’s a very personal kind of exile because no one else goes through the kind of extreme displacement that she feels. She can’t understand the concept of invasion, this sudden encroachment of warring ideologies upon her family home. Whatever she cared about and held dear to her is taken away from her, and her distress over this is portrayed heartrendingly through the pitiful attempts she makes to hide in the store room.

Tonga Scene in Garam Hawa (Independence)

The second tonga scene in Garam Hawa reveals how independence has become part of the communal life in India. Without state’s directives coming from the top, people have arrived at their own terms of trade, which as discussed in class, do not favor the Muslims. The sequence starts with the tonga driver saying that he’ll take 2 rupees for “cham cham galli.” This charge is considerably higher from what Salim Mirza normally pays for the same route: “ye kya baat hui? Hum to hamesha aath aaney dete hain.” The tonga driver replies that “tumhara time khatam ho gya hai. Aath aaney mien jaana hai to Pakistan jao.” This marks not only the continuous stifling of the Muslim experience but also the expanding Hindu control and dominance in India. Further, it also projects the understanding of Pakistan as being the ideal home for the Muslim. 

Pyaarelaal tries to resist the driver saying that: “Hindustan Pakistan karna hai to tonga kyun chalatey ho? Leadery karo leadery.” This remark is interesting because it points to how people, especially Muslims, view the narrative of imposing partition of the Hindus and Muslims as being reserved for the politicians. But the driver, much like the lenders and contractors, seem to be representing themselves when they decide economical matters with the Muslims.

The sequence ends with Salim Mirza saying to pyaarelaal: “chalo pyaarelal. Nayi nayi azaadi milli hai. Sab uska apne apne dhang se matlab nikal rhe hain.” This dialogue appears to have a double meaning. Firstly it means that people are interpreting their new-found independence in their own ways. It also probably implies that people are using independence for their own gains (matlab serving the two meanings in Urdu: meaning and purpose). Either way, Salim Mirza it seems, is not supportive of the independence which seems to have led to such a growing divide between the community. 

White- the color for a widow.

It is interesting to note that white color has been used to symbolize a widow several times in the texts provided in this course. Intezaar Hussain in his novel 'Basti' describes Sabirah wearing white a lot after the partition- that is after Zakir migrates to Pakistan. In 'Garam hawa' we see Amina wearing pure white clothes when her beloved is deported back to Pakistan.

Intezaar Hussain presented Sabira as a symbol for the 'widowed' nation that being Pakistan. This could be interpreted by the fact that she was described as dressing up as a widow. Similarly, in 'Garam Hawa' we see Dadu wearing white when she has to leave her Haveli unwillingly. Also, the setting of the movie describes the post partitioned era; it deals with describing India as a widowed nation too.

Dignity equals not migrating?

Steering away from stereotypical imagers of loot, rape, bloodshed and train carnage, Garam Hawa targets a different kind of, yet similarly torturous pain suffered through Partition. The loss of ideals, the torture of difficult decisions and the dissolution of ‘home’ are all the results of Partition suffered by even those who didn’t to choose to move or were living in communities where the fear of violence was relatively low. Ad mist all this turmoil is a man Saleem Mirza who is trying desperately hard to solve desperate circumstances with dignity and hope with self-confidence believed that after Mahatma Gandhi’s martyrdom, there will be no bloodshed in Agra out of respect and solemnity.

Garam Hawa pushes Salim Mirza as a sort of ideal—a man who refuses to lose hope within his homeland, suffers his losses with dignity and points his finger to the heavens when asked how he plans to survive these hard times. His brother Haleem Mirza accuses him of being obsolete; “Aap na jaane kis zamane ki baatein karte hain, kis duniya main rehte hain! (I don’t know how you think or what planet you live on!)” however Saleem Mirza battles on quietly suffering immense losses such as the loss of his haveli, the burning of his factory, his mother's death, his daughter's suicide and his youngest son being unable to find a job despite a college degree. 

Under the shadow of the ideal Saleem Mirza who stays on in Agra even after deciding to move to Pakistan, somehow everyone who migrates to Pakistan including Saleem Mirza’s brother Haleem Mirza, his son Bakr and his daughter’s courtiers Kazim and Shamshad are shown to lose some sort of dignity. Haleem Mirza is shown as an egoist, shady businessman and a lying leader who is forced to run to Pakistan after his shady dealings are revealed. His wife and his son are shown in the same light; his wife extorts money from Saleem Mirza while Shamshad, Amina's courtier, fails to marry Amina despite his obsessive courtship and numerous promises. His son Bakr fails Saleem Mirza as a son when he loses all hope in his father's business and takes his son and wife away to Pakistan. Kazim is again, a failure as a lover because he too fails to marry Amina once migrated to Pakistan. Is Pakistan really the refuge of the shameful losers? 

While I enjoyed Garam Hawa immensenly, the moral of the story seems to unsettlingly be: Don't leave your  home, even if you have to suffer because if you do then you will fail to be an upright and trustworthy human being. 

Parallels between Garam Hawa and Basti

I'm particularly interested in exploring any parallels that can be drawn between Basti and Garam Hawa and something that I've found extremely moving in both the book and movie is the event of Partition. We may always talk about the consequences borne out of partition in a given place at a given time but what the Partition itself meant is somehow always glossed over. Partition for a lot of people whether they were Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs was an extremely, extremely difficult process in which entire families and households were uprooted and in a sense exiled from their 'Basti'. This narrative is starkly different from the modern day narrative that we've grown up with, of Partition as necessary and important for our survival, but we've never been asked to think about the true necessity for it.

Another interesting parallel that I could find between both the novel and the movie, are the characters of Abba Jaan in Basti and Saleem Mirza in Garam Hawa. Both father figures are the archetypal patriarchal figure, who expound a strong shareef Muslim identity and slowly these figures see a diminishing of their former economic and social conditions. Abba Jaan has to leave Rupnagar for Vyaspur, Saleem Mirza has to leave his Haveli and rent out a house. Abba Jaan slowly becomes a silent character with no agency towards the end to the novel, whereas Saleem Mirza keeps repeating that Allah will take care of everything (even when he could have taken the Haveli from Haleem Mirza).

Attitudes

An important aspect of the film that struck my mind was the sudden change in attitudes after the partition of 1947. This is particularly important in the context of the Sharif family which had to bear its consequences.  It is depicted in the start where Salim Mirza is asked by the tonga guy to pay more than the usual fare. Here we see him endorsing a nationalist perspective but the one that strictly excludes Muslims from its sphere. Salim Mirza is asked by him to go to Pakistan if he wants to pay less.  

On the other side, we have Ajmani Sahab, a person from a higher economic and social class, but displaying the same attitude as that of the tonga guy. The body language of Ajmani Sahab in the start, when he visits the shoe factory of Salim Mirza, is an expression of authoritative attitudes of non-Muslims towards Muslims in India. So now he gives a clear ultimatum to Mirza to deliver the order in a week, despite knowing that Salim Mirza can’t do that.

These shifts in attitudes seem to be the results of ideological wars that Muslim League and Congress were fighting with each other. So we see the overnight change, bring enmity between people who used to have harmony.       

"Kamray kum nhi, Yeh ziada hai."

This movie shows the after- effects of partition on the Sharif class. Within the movie there is the subplot of Amina’s love story. Amina falls in love with her cousin Kazim but he migrates to Pakistan, leaving her behind with nothing to hold on to but letters. The crisis however becomes apparent along the movie when we realize that this isn’t only Amina’s case. We see the aunt and Amina’s mother discussing how there are no men left in India and how “itni kawari larkiyan hain har ghar mein” almost as if some misfortune had fallen each home. The older women are constantly worried about the future prospects of the younger girls, and we even see them advising one of the younger girls to sit in “maiyon” soon. The Dadi tells Amina how in their age marriage was convenient and easy, how they married at an early age before they got wrinkles. The grandmother’s taunts put emphasis on the bleakness of the marriage prospects of not only Amina but all the young girls who are left behind. The hopeless situation is highlighted when we see Amina making a very rational and practical decision when she accepts Shamshad’s proposal even though she doesn’t love him and says “mein dosray kou nhi urnay dungi.”  However the most poignant moment is when the family shifts into a smaller haveli and there aren't enough rooms and Amina’s brother comments “kamray thoray nhi hian, yeh ziada hai.”Although he comments in a very light joking manner, it highlights the predicament they are facing and the viewer then questions if there is a larger narrative at play. The subplot seems to question the fate of the Muslim woman in India. At first we see a lot of inter- family marriages most likely because they want to maintain the economic and social status as people are leaving and choices are being narrowed down. Then the men of the family start to leave as well, leaving a large Muslim feminine body in India which is useless since now it can’t reproduce and so they can no longer belong to or participate in the large mother India. Not only can they not reproduce, but they also don’t participate in the business world or any economic activity “yeh tou mardon k kaam hain, wohi jaanein.”

The uselessness of the feminine body left behind leads one to question what kind of future does this class now have?  With the Haveli gone and the men leaving, the idea of the traditional home seems to be lost. The “pinjra” like new house, the restricted movements when it is too expensive for them to ride a tonga, the failure to reproduce and with no one to look after the businesses, the Indian Muslims are constantly being driven into smaller places. So the movie uses the Muslim woman as an instrument to produce a larger narrative that highlights the hopeless situation of the Indian Muslims and hints at how Pakistan is the only option left for them.

Depiction of muslims

The Indian, Hindu filmmakers of the movie “Garam Hawa” make their views about muslims leaving India after the partition pretty clear. Halim Mirza, who leaves for Pakistan is shown in very poor light and Salim Mirza, who shows resolve to stay in India is depicted as the bastion of morality.

The only main character to leave for Pakistan, Halim Mirza, is ridiculed at several points during the film. To begin with, his promises to his followers to never leave India are replayed over and over again and brought his hypocrisy into greater focus (and served to make the views of the creators clear ). Apart from that, we hear sarcastic applause every time his picture is displayed and are made to watch a close-up of him stuffing his face with a piece of chicken. All of these not-so-subtle signs make the creator’s views about emigrants pretty clear.

In contrast, Salim Mirza is shown as extremely upright and decent to the point where it is to his own detriment. His obvious displeasure at his son admitting to bribing officials for the sake of business, his non-confrontational attitude at being slighted by the tonga driver and him being upfront about his religion on when trying to get a room for rent are just a few of examples of his decency.  

Garam Hava and Pakistan

Garam Hava directly deals with the plight of Indian Muslims who chose not to immigrate to Pakistan after partition and instead remained in India. The movie begins with the opening lines: “The land is divided, lives are shattered. Storms rage in every heart; it’s the same here or there.”  Through these lines the movie at first attempts at an unbiased narrative of the events following the partition. However, we know that the movie is directed by a Hindi film producer and made in India. The pertinent question to ask then is: What is the agenda of the movie?

The conversation between the tangewala and Salim Mirza ,after Salim drops his elder sister to the station headed towards Pakistan, hints at this agenda. This incidentally is also the only instance where the title of the film “Garam Hava” is being referred to.  The conversation is as follows:

Salim: There are uprooting many flowering trees.

Tonga wala: They’ll wither in these scorching winds… if they’re not uprooted. There is a saying: “Fidelity begets cruelty”. What are you and I doing here?

In my opinion, the plot suggests that the fate of Indian Muslims would only be “scorching winds” (garam hava) if they chose to reside in India.  The circumstances facing the Mirza family are an indication of this agenda. After the emergence of Pakistan the Indian Muslims are continually discriminated against. Salim Mirza is unable to secure bank loans for his shoe factory and therefore looses the family ancestral home (haveli). This is a devastating blow to the Mirza family.  As the story progresses, the camera shows Salim Mirza and his family in smaller spaces. For instance, the dadi refers to the new rental house as “pinjra” (cage). It seems that the Indian Muslims are continually being driven out of India.

Migration to Pakistan is thus depicted as the only solution to all Indian Muslim problems. It is the solution to the higher charge of the tangewala who charges Salim Mirza two rupees instead of the standard eight annas. When Salim objects to this the tangewala tells him to go to Pakistan where he can ride for eight annas. More importantly, it is also the solution to Aminah’s heart break. Aminah (Salim Mirza’s daughter ) and Kazim (Halim Mirza’s son) are in love and are likely to marry. But in the aftermath of partition Kazim moves to Pakistan with his father. The move dampens Aminah’s marriage prospects. And this leaves her no option but to accept Shamshad’s advances. Assuming that Salim Mirza moved together with his brother Halim perhaps Amina’s future would be different and she would have been able to marry whom she loved.

Through the Mirza family, the movie depicts Pakistan as the solution to the plight of Mirza family and the Indian Muslims residing in India. The faith of Indian Muslims would only be scorching winds if they decide to remain in post-partition India. The agenda of the movie seems to be to drive out the Indian Muslims from India.

Garam Hawaa

Did you know this was actually a pretty influential movie of it's time? Apparently it caused "a wave of Art Cinema in India." A quick Wiki run proved more enlightening than I expected (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garm_Hava)

So the one thing I love in this movie are the costumes. They are this great throwback to the 70's and really get the whole shareef family vibe going. Kind of reminded me of a few outfits I used to see in my grandmother's paitee. Critically speaking though, I felt the costumes were important in depicting what was essentially a comfortably well-off family, bent on safeguarding its morals and values. The elaborate ghararas, the sherwaani and topis, the white dupattas all point to a community that literally wears its sharafat. And I think that is one of the larger narratives in this film; it is the precedence that communal values take over nationalism for the Mirza family, while the world crashes around their ears. There is a religious responsibility that each member feels, from Dadda to Salim Mirza and they all seem to have this acute divine sensibility that drives them forward. Dadi is a particularly obvious symbol of this, hiding in the woodshed and crying about what "jawaab" she will give to her husband in heaven, while being carried out of the haveli- the symbol of their ancestry. One would think that some family member would get with the program. But as far as I can see, most characters are passively accepting their fate, save for Amina who won't let a new opportunity fly away in the form of a potential new man. Go girl.

Garam Hawa

Dadi, in Garam Hawa, has over the years established an almost religious attachment with her house. For her leaving it mirrors abandoning any of her religious practices. She laments over how she will face her husband on the day of judgement if she gives up the house. For Dadi the house belonged to her husband and now belongs to her son, for her the concept of a third party claiming any kind of ownership is alien and she cannot comprehend it. Thus she is not only evicted from her own home, but also undergoes an exile as she is removed from the only place she knows and can call home. For her it matters little if the land outside her house is Pakistan or India, all that matters is the home of her husband and his ancestors.

Change!

Garam Hawa very beautifully depicts the condition of Sharif Muslim Household in post-partition India. Muslims were the rulers of India before the British took over, this 'ruling' mentality is never really eradicated and even in the time of the British, the Muslim elite or the "Sharifs" live a lavish lifestyle inspite of the fact that they never really work for what they consume. After partition the older generation still has the same mindset, they want the same lifestyle but not at the cost of changing the way they deal with others. This is where the problem arises. Hindus do not trust Muslims and they start really aggressive businesses as opposed to their Muslim counterparts. The movie shows it through the character of Saleem Mirza, but there is hope for the next generation who has less of that ruling mentality if not none at all. Change is always required to keep up with other nations which the Sharif Muslims understood after a very long time as the movie suggests. Even though this is a Hindu viewpoint of the story yet we cannot say that it is totally biased and without any truth.

Fitna Parast Phupha

Coloured Lens

The film Garam Hawa depicts a rapidly changing socio-economic milieu in the newly created Indian state. The shareef family is made vulnerable to a number of threats. Out of all the members of Salim Mirza’s family, I am most interested in the opportunists, found in the characters of Halim Mirza and his brother in law. The former soon moves to Pakistan after claiming allegiance to his political affiliations in India. Lured in by better economic prospects, he abandons his political career and moves permanently to Pakistan (contrary to the assurances he gives of returning). Similarly, his brother in law shifts his loyalty from the Muslim League to the Congress and is rewarded by a raise in social stature. What is noteworthy is the way the author/director chooses to portray these particular characters; Salim Mirza is the obvious hero while the others are depicted as being almost treacherous. This begs the question of whether there exists an ‘ideal’ Muslim in the mind of the author of this story/movie. In my opinion, the hero of this story is in fact more akin to a victim. The gaze on the story seems to come from a biased perspective that is hardly sympathetic to the plight of the disintegrating shareef household. 

Amina

Amina is an interesting figure in Garam Hawa as she is a character constantly awaiting departure. Her marriage would mean a departure from one home to another, even if earlier with Kazim this would only be a figurative one. She is constantly reminded of her presence as unwanted, her brother points out that it is not that there aren’t enough rooms but rather Amina who is extraneous. Her thoughts constantly punctuated by the sounds of trains also allude to her own state of mind, which is constantly burdened by her inability to get married.

Comic Relief

We can laugh all we want in the classroom setting but truth is that there are very few moments of happiness or light mood in the film that we have seen it so far. The film overall seems thematically very serious as it questions the fate of Muslims in India, their chances of livelihood, jobs and even marriage. But amidst this serious mood, the occasional light moments are rather fun to watch. Though Dadi is confined to the domestic household, the viewer immediately looks forward to her taunts or repartee. Whether she is just sitting in a corner giving instructions or making comments like “Joru ka ghulam” the viewer enjoys her performance most on screen. Even though her exhausted voice would make her seem week and docile, this matriarch draws attention because she puts everyone in their place and speaks her mind well.

The little boy, Munna is another reminder of innocence and petty expectations that children have even during grave times. He doesn’t care about partition or the radical changes that would happen but is only concerned about his passion: kite flying. His threats made to Kazim Mirza of telling his grandfather about Kazim’s stolen moment with Amina make the big adult crumble to the desires of a little boy. One laughs at the audacity of the young lad and here I must say that casting is excellent as the chap delivers his minor role effectively.

Then, the romantic scenes between Amina and Shamshad are indeed used to present the evolution of Amina as she moves from a point of rejection to rational choices. But some of their earlier scenes are rather enjoyable; Shamshad is the hopeless romantic who tries to woo Amina with poetry while she laughs at his attempts saying that he was probably born on 1^st April. Even later, Amina may come off as cold but Shamshad’s poetry and flirting continues and a romantic twist in which the lover becomes the “doosra kabootar” is all one needs to crack the audience.

And lastly, one must just notice the way Phuppa Jee laughs; one could just laugh with him regardless of reason or conversation. He would laugh when he is plotting, laugh when he is taunting and laugh even when the other person is in complete misery. Obviously, he does not come across as a character worth liking but the way he speaks just stirs the viewers as there is always cheerfulness in his voice. In other words, one could always call him a “meethi churri”.

These various cases divert our in some way linked to the glum story of Muslims in India or hint at the pathetic situation of Saleem Mirza’s family but they the audience survive a 2 hour movie with some laughter and smiles. This is clearly evident through....well through what has happened in A1 in the last two hysterical sessions.

Camera angles (and sound of applause)

Certain camera angles used in this movie are important in order to frame the viewer's reaction against a particular character or event. For example, Salim Mirza addresses the camera directly when asking for a loan or a place to stay. The effect of such a face-to-face talk with the viewer is that it gives the viewer a chance to observe his facial expressions and the change in them, from reliance in traditions and idealism to frustration with change and with Hindus' prejudice against him (which he feels is undeserved and unjust). His honesty thus comes across in his expression, and cements him as the character with which the audience feels they have a direct connection to as the protagonist. The camera angle perspective when Mirza is going around lookng for a new house to move in, that of a lonely street with only him wandering around, emphasizes his loneliness and separation from the rest of the community. Indeed, there is a lack of "brotherhood" here between the Hindus and Muslims which apparently existed pre-partition. The camera angle perspective when they've moved in the new house is a bird's eye view, through the barred roof, serves to show that the new house really is much like a cage. Finally, when Shamshad accompanies his sister Salma and Amina to the Tomb of Chishti, there are two scenes where ripples in water are created and the camera focuses on them, signifying change that is imminent (Amina's acceptance of Shamshad's proposal).

On a side note, I also found the sound of applause playing whenever any politician's portrait is shown to be very interesting. But the real significance of using such a sound effect becomes clear when the Mirza family move out of their haveli, and pack away Halim Mirza's portrait (of himself while addressing a political rally) in a tonga. It shows how mass populist movements, which are associated with such indistinct sounds such as applause, actually have little bearing on the lives of individuals and families. In this case, the movements which have led to Partition, have had a negative impact instead.

Representation of migratory figure

The representation of the 'type' of Muslims, according to their migration status in the movie, is something I find problematic. At various points throughout the movie, it can be seen that the Muslims who migrated to India are shown as greedy and cowards. In the movie, we see this  connotation through usage of various phrases like 'bhaag gaye' ( ran away). Also, this impression is built upon through the character of Kazim. He calls his father an opportunist, who looks for profit in every circumstance ( In this case, it is the migration).This is how the writer paints every migratory figure. 

The director also highlights the plight that the Indian Muslims face following partition. By virtue of not migrating in the face of hardships, the Indian Muslims are given a sympathetic role in the movie, or so it seems.

Now, this portrayal creates bad impression of the ones who migrated. Even though, the movie acknowledges that the conditions were not good. It can also be said that this issue is not only highlighted in terms of Pakistani Muslims but might also be visible in terms of Hindus who migrated to India. In one of the scenes in the movie,I feel,  the character of the contemptuous Hindu man who migrated from Karachi to India  is not shown in a favourable manner. In light of these observations, it might be said that it is not the Pakistani Muslim migrant only that the writer has issues with but maybe with the migratory figure in partition, in general.

The opportunist and the idealist

Garam Hawwa is based on the consequences of partition in terms of co-existence between Hindus and Muslims in India. It revolves around the story of a Muslim family that is led by two contrasting characters, the opportunist and the idealist.  Halim Mirza, the opportunist, is a member of the Muslim League. He made adamant claims throughout the course of partition to live in India irrespective of who migrates and who doesn’t. His views take a drastic change when after partition his political career ceases to exist in India. He sees the opportunity in Pakistan to improve his financial standing and decides to migrate despite of all his promises and previously held beliefs. Salim Mirza, the idealist, suffers the most after partition because he is a man of outdated principles, who is refusing to evolve with the changing circumstances. He is a man who firmly believes in God and leaves all his matters to Him. He is negating the religious discrimination against Muslims despite of being a victim himself. His living standard deteriorated immensely after partition; his house was taken over as an evacuee property, the moneylenders refused to loan him money, he couldn't find a decent house for his family and yet he never lost his serenity. He is refusing to acknowledge the need of the hour as opposed to his brother. Both of these reactionary attitudes in fact reflect the actual responses to the partition where the majority of migrants primarily aimed for an opportunity in Pakistan and the vast number of remaining Muslims in India left everything on God’s will, essentially because they had no control over the scenario.

‘Opportunity’ in Garam Hawa

What’s in it for Muslims living in India, to move to Pakistan, from the Indian Muslim perspective? The movie depicts Hindus’  growing dissent towards Muslims moving to Pakistan and a greater disregard for the Muslim minority that stayed behind. This anti-Muslim sentiment is quite justified because the religious ideology of the Muslims failed their community in India. Notice that the refusal of loans to Salim Mirza is primarily because the Muslims, who fled to Pakistan, in hope of better living conditions, left him with a forbidden reputation.

When we deconstruct the movie –Haleem Mirza’s emigration, Amina’s acceptance of Shamshad’s proposal, Ajmani Sahab’s takeover of the Haveli, Kazim’s scholarhip offer and marriage with the minister’s daughter are all matters of timely opportunity. This not only complies with the maintenance of the socio-economic status in society but also shows Muslims in a negative light. Is it wrong to adopt change and opportunity for better living conditions? Aren’t then Salim Mirza’s deteriorating conditions his own fault to a great extent? In its show of the differences and segregation that partition started, the movie also describes partition as a convenient process and mighty hopeful on the other side of the border. This reconciles the ideas of change with social displacement of some sort. Where part of the Mirza family sees economic elevation, the other half moves out of the big haveli to a small house, almost loses business and settles for Shamshad, whom we as viewers too, find an unworthy choice for Amina. One must consider that Amina’s acceptance of Shamshad’s proposal is the first time a woman depicts some sort of agency in the movie after Dada’s failed attempt to stay behind in the Haveli. This also shows that the youth is more flexible and opportunistic in this new India.

Muslims in "Garam Hawa"

As stated by Ma’am in class that “Garam Hawa” is not a movie with the best representation of Muslims and in my opinion this point can be understood by keeping Salim Mirza in mind. Salim is displayed as a character that is solely dependent on Allah’s decisions “Allah will protect us”. His wholehearted dependence on Islam is the reason for his failure. He refuses to move on and accept modernity.  His passiveness and disconnection with the outside world hurts his entire family. While on the other hand, Halim who goes for opportunities provided by this world, lives a successful life. Halim Mirza is an important Muslim party leader and declares at a speech rally: “Yahan ke saare Musalmaan chale jaayien toh kam se kam ek Musalmaan yahan se kabhi nahin jaayega aur us Musalmaan ka naam hai Halim Mirza. Yet in the following scene, he says to his wife: “Ab main bhi yahan nahin reh sakta…ab Hindustan main kise Musalmaan ke liye koi jagah nahin”! He chooses to leave India for his own benefit. He makes the right decision for himself and his family as compared to Salim whose family suffers. Halim compared to Salim has the strength to understand what the reality is and what will be the real outcome. But at the same time Halim as well, being a Muslim is depicted as someone who has borrowed money and run off.