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Tripti Aggarwal

English Honors, Third Year

283

Ms. Trisha Mitra

30 March 2019

Juxtaposing Antharjanam’s “A Leaf in the Storm” and Bedi’s “Lajwanti”

“Today, I call Waris Shah

“speak from inside your grave”

and turn, today

the book of love’s next affectionate page

Once, one daughter of Punjab cried;

you wrote a wailing saga

Today, a million daughter

cry to you, Waris Shah.”1

Amrita Pritam’s dirge calls upon Sufi poet Waris Shah to record the predicament of women

during partition as he did for Heer, who moaned for her love. Rajinder Singh Bedi, Saadat

Hasan Manto, Bhisham Sahni, Lalithambika Antharjanam, Amrita Pritam and many other writers

across country emerged as Waris Shah, who bemoaned and Chronicled the lament of women,
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violated during communal riots of Partition of India. From not so vast oeuvre of women’s

partition narrative, I want to juxtapose Rajinder Singh Bedi’s “ Lajwanti” and Lalithambika

Antharjanam’s “ A Leaf in the Storm” to decipher the grim realities of violation subjected to

women during partition. My selection of writers is based upon their positionality with respect to

partition. Rajendra Singh Bedi had witnessed partition directly as he had to migrate from Lahore

to Bombay whereas Antharjanam, a Kerala born writer, could get glimpses of partition

happening at North-Western and Eastern part of the country by hearing men of the family and

news around.

Both stories delineate over women who were abducted during riots and later recovered

through Central Recovery Operation of Indian government. For Bedi, violence on women and

their subjugation is one of the consequences of the partition whereas for Antharjanam it is the

major theme of her oeuvre and Partition becomes an occasion for it. Their works represent

gendered narrative of Partition, an alternative to the official history. Alok Bhalla rightly asserts,

“The best fiction writers about partition are not concerned with merely telling stories of violence,

but making a profoundly troubled enquiry about the survival of our moral being in the midst of

horror.”2 This is evident in both the stories as we come across morally complex characters like

Jyoti in “A Leaf in the Storm” and Sunder Lal in “Lajwanti.”

Lalithambika Antharjanam, a Malayali writer, who struggled hard to write besides no

formal education. She says, “There is no Shakespeare or Kalidasa among women because the

best years of our life are spent in bringing up children and looking after our men.” With

rebellious nature she wrote against orthodox patriarchal Namboodiri men “for restoration of

values to the community and respect for their women.”3 “A Leaf in the Storm” bears context of

Partition, different than her usual themes. It is about women who were recovered from Pakistan
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and kept in refugee camps. The story focuses on rebellious, unmarried Sikh woman Jyotirmoyi

Devpal. She hates her existence after being pregnant due to brutal rape. She tries to abort the

child whose “source of that blood is hate not love,” but eventually newborn's innocence wins her

heart. Amidst the emergence of motherhood which triumphs over hatred, Antharjanam portrays

doctor who coaxes Jyoti to drink milk and encourages her with nationalistic catchphrases:

“Bharat will endure, are you not a woman of India? ”

Rajinder Singh Bedi was a Progressive writer of Urdu fiction who later wrote dialogues for

great films in Bombay. In an interview he says, “I must write about the people I was raised with,

life as I had lived.”4 He was awarded Sahitya Academy award in 1965 for Urdu novel I take this

woman, which depicts the dilemma of a widow. In “Lajwanti”, he draws upon the life of

recovered woman Lajwanti. Her husband, Sunder Lal, a Hindu man is resident of Mohalla

Shakoor. He is secretary of Rehabilitation campaign for abducted women; he wins by 11 vote

because his own wife was abducted. So he was thought fit for sharing emotional trauma of other

men who have lost their wives. One day his own wife Lajwanti returns, his ambiguous emotions

seems hypocritical. “He didn’t however; say anything to her because he had sworn not to

chastise her.” He pedestalised her as “Devi” instead of accepting her as “Lajo” with old love and

vigour. He did not let her speak about the pain she endured: “Let us forget the past!”

The former has bleak future for the single mother and the “war baby” but ray of hope and

happiness still persist whereas in the latter at the outlook of happy Union, there lies broken

relationship without any possibility of amendment owing to patriarchal notions of purity and

chastity of women’s sexuality. Both the stories narrate grim circumstances of individuals like

Lajwanti and Jyoti but they stand for many other women who faced similar brutalities during

partition riots. Women who were never part of political decision making had to suffer the most.
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Women’s body were infested with honour of men, community, and nation. Their bodies were

seen as “enemy territories” to be plundered and violated by impregnating them to carry the next

generation of the enemy. “About 750,000 women were thought to have been abducted and raped

by men of religion different from their own ( and indeed sometimes by men of their own

religion).”5 According to the report of the Muslim Leagues attack on Hindus and Sikhs 1947,

“women’s breast, noses and arms would be lopped off. Sticks and pieces of iron would be thrust

into their private parts, sometimes the bellies of pregnant women were ripped open.” Rapist

carved their name on women's bodies to immortalize the brutality they inflict upon them. In “A

leaf in the Storm” Jyoti and other sikh women were helped by Muslim friends to escape

Pakistan but on the way they were abducted and raped: “ from amongst the bundles of hay

fifteen women were dragged out one by one rose flowers fell…”

The Central Recovery Operation was passed as a resolution in November 1947 by All

Indian Congress Committee. “Approximately 30 thousand women Muslim and Non-Muslim

were recovered by both countries over 8 years.”6 The recovery bill offered no choice to women

whether they wanted to return to their original country or not. The clause in the bill states:

“conversion by persons abducted after March 1947 will not be recognized and all such persons

must be restored to their respective dominions. The wishes of the persons conceived are

irrelevant and consequently no statement of such person should be recorded before magistrate.”

Sunderlal who campaigns about rehabilitation of abducted woman is aware of the choice-

lessness for women. Seeing Lajwanti physically healthier, he questions “if she had been

comfortable and happy there why did she agreed to return?” then he wondered “perhaps she had

been forced to return by the Indian government.” Reality of recovering abducted women was

sordid. At Wagah Border women were examined as per their reproductive prowess and physical
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appearance. Beautiful young women like Lajwanti were demanded. Recovered women were

exchanged like merchandises; this facet of Recovery Operation is contrary to the so called

humanitarian approach by the government.

Women across both countries were first battered through gory acts of violence and then

bartered as merchandises. This objectification of women emerges through symbolism of nation

as woman. Partha chatterjee relates emergence of Bharat Mata symbolism with rise of Indian

nationalistic rhetoric. “The new patriarchy advocated by nationalism conferred upon women the

honor of new social responsibility and by associating the task of female emancipation with the

historical goal of sovereign nationhood bound them to a new and yet entirely legitimate

subordination.”7 The doctor at the camp encourages Jyoti by using rhetorics of nationalism :

“Bharat will endure. are you not a woman of India?”. Women are entrusted with the duty to

nourish the citizens of the country and get violated by the same men when circumstances arise.

Sunder lal like political leaders summons example from Hindu scripture Ramayana and

compares abducted woman to Sita who was abducted by Ravana. He asks, “Did Sita commit any

sin? Wasn’t she, like our mothers and sisters today, a victim of violence and deceit?” Our holy

scriptures are testimonies of the violence against women as Neki Ram’s speech which was full of

quotation from scriptures “ended up making a case against the cause he meant to plead for.”

Even Sunder Lal is shown as hypocritical reformist, who earlier shouts slogans for rehabilitation

of abducted women, could not accept his wife with old dignity and passion. Poulomi

Chakraborty reveals his intention as “the only way Sunder Lal can accept the abducted and

recovered body of his wife back is by inventing the logic of this victimization to re-turn her body

to that of goddess,”8 and silencing her forever like an idol of goddess who can be reverred but not

heard.
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Women who were least involved in political happenings were most affected by it. Paulomi

Chakraborty uses Dorothy Smith's concept of “ “Everyday world” of women affected by major

events of political sphere of men.” Jyoti and Lajwanti were two lively girls one rebellious and

other conformist, whose lives were shattered by Partition violence. Jyoti, a self-assertive girl,

fought for her education, gave up purdah, spurned potential marriage proposal. “ The freedom

she had earned was not only for herself… she wanted to free the bonded… she hopped in vain

that she could knit together a net of silver threads.” Lajwanti was a girl who adored a marital life

with brutal husband. She was beaten for petty reasons but she endured it happily as she was born

out of patriarchal order where “ like other girls of the village, she knew that all husbands beat

their wives.” Partition violence shattered the love of Lajwanti and Sunder Lal’s conjugal

relationship and forced Jyoti into an unwanted pregnancy, in other words destroyed wifehood

and motherhood.

Apart from main protagonist both writers give glimpses of brave women who survived

even after brutal treatments. In “A Leaf in the Storm” there is an old woman who has seen her

“children being killed, the girls were abducted, her house was gutted.” But “she eats sleeps and

talks… Hope, Passion for life.” and other woman was raped in front of her family and was

rescued from railway tracks. In “Lajwanti” many recovered woman were spurned by their

families. “We don't want these sluts. They were defiled by Muslims… why did not they die?

clinging to life” these women who loved their life even after bearing violence were real brave

women of the country. Other hapless women were forced by men folk of their family to commit

suicide before their honour was defiled by men of other religion. Menon and Bhasin interviews

Taran, a Sikh woman, whose men relatives decided to kill the entire womenfolk. She says,

“Should I tell you what I felt when I heard this? I loved life. I was in love with it.”9 This was
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probably the last moment excitement in Jyoti when she was about to abandon her new born baby,

whose cry for life encouraged her to live. “It is not the voice of an individual but that of the

whole world.”

Women are victimized by men as well as women. In “A Leaf in the Storm” women in the

village do not support Jyoti’s liveliness and rebelliousness They taunted her as “may be now she

is paying too higher price for such indulgences.” In “ Lajwanti” after Lajo’s rehabilitation the

widow of 414 ostracized her and other woman who safely migrated from Pakistan looked at

abducted women with hatred. Hence women were victimized by country, state, community,

family and women around. Contrary to this mutual hatred, in “A Leaf in the Storm” we witness

love between Muslims and Hindus before partition. Jyoti was helped by her friend Ayesha to

cross the border. In camps, a Sikh woman consoles abandoned Hindu child. Partition led to a

battleground where alongwith physical bloodshed, emotional tussle between love and hatred took

place.

Bedi’s and Antharjanam’s narrative styles are different as the former gives direct

references to current situation and criticizes government plans whereas latter flinches while

doing it. Bedi directly give reference to Mridula Sarabhai, the chief member of Recovery Act.

Antharjanam uses the speech of a “distinguished guest” who encourages people to accept

abducted women and children born out of rape. This guest could have been Nehru, the then

Prime Minister, or Gandhi who gave similar speeches. Gandhi is represented as “toothless

grandsire” the difference between both writers’ stance is due to Antharjanam’s positionality as an

outsider, not directly a witness or victim of Partition violence.

“Do not touch Lajwanti for she will curl up and die”

Sunder Lal’s use of Punjabi folk song where women are compared to leaves of Lajwanti

plant is problematic enough as he is the one who “curl[s] up and die” when he has to accept his

abducted wife. The violators have touched and mutilated thousand of Lajwantis during and after

partition but they did not curl up and die. Instead, they retorted back with vigour of life and wish

to live like Antharjanam’s Jyoti and Bedi’s Lajwanti.

Notes

Lines of ‘A Leaf in the Storm” are quoted from: Antharjanam, Lalithambika. “A

Leaf in the Storm”. Partition Literature. Ed. Debjani Sengupta. Worldview Publications. 2018.

Lines of “ Lajwanti” are quoted from: Bedi, Rajinder Singh. “Lajwanti”. Tr. Alok Bhalla.

University of Hawai'i Press. Manoa, Volume 19, Number 1, 2007, pp. 21-32 (Article)

1. Pritam, Amrita. “Today I call Waris Shah”.

HTTP://QAUSAIN.WORDPRESS.COM/2009/07/17/AAJ- AAKHAN-WARIS-SHAH-NU/ .

2. Bhalla, Alok. “Memory, History and Fictional Representations of the Partition”.

Economic and Political Weekly.Vol. 34. No. 44 (Oct. 30 - Nov. 5, 1999). pp.3128.
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3. Singh, Siddhartha. “Female Body as Hieroglyphics of Partition violence: Reading

Lalitambika Antharjanam’s “A Leaf in the Storm”. Pune Research.ISSN 2454-3454. Vol

1, Issue 3. pp. 2.

4. Singh Bedi, Rajinder. “Mahfil”. Vol.8. no.2-3. Summer Fall 1972. pp.2

5. Butalia, Urvashi. “The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition Of

India”.Penguin. New Delhi .1998. pp. 3.

6. Menon, Ritu and Bhasin, Kamla. “Recovery, Rupture, Resistance: Indian state and

abduction of women during partition”. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol,28. No. 17

(April.24. 1993.) pp. WS-6.

7. Partha Chatterjee, “Colonialism, Nationalism, and Colonized Women: The Contest in

India”. American Ethnologist, Vol. 16, No. 4 (Nov., 1889, 622-633), pp.629.

8. Chakraborty, Paulomi. “Gender, Women and Partition”. Routledge Handbook. 18 feb

2014. pp.47.

9. Menon, Ritu, and Kamla Bhasin. Borders andBoundaries: Women in India’s Partition.

New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1998.