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.