Rajwanti By Hindi Singh Bedi Analysis

Sanskriti Merchant
Roll number 345
UID Number 141256
A ENG 3.02

CIA 2
Partition Literature

The overlapping social issues of eras could sometimes define how far we’ve come. The story ‘Lajwanti’ shows us a brief spectacle of exploitation of women whilst restricting itself from straying away from the main theme which is Partition. Rajinder Singh Bedi, an explicit storyteller of Sikh history, deviates from the norm of shying away from sharing gory details. A rare exception to his counterparts, he breaches upon a topic that has until recently been shunned away from Indian history. A first hand encounter of the partition is reflected in all his stories. He grew up with an overlap of Sikh and Muslim cultures and was finally compelled to live in
Even though many men had given up the hope or the courage to bring their wives back, he continued to look for her. He was put at the forefront of the The Rehabilitation Hearts Committee. The menial name to some extent could symbolize the sort of casual outlook towards the movement. Over a period of time however he gave up hope of ever finding her and considered it a lifetime loss. An immersion into social service gave his life some meaning. This aspect gives us an idea of the character trying to pay for his sins in some way. The sins are then introduced to us. He used to beat his wife and treat her in an abusive manner. A significant aspect of this is an indication of sexist mindsets of the age. Bedi gives us a clear depiction of how women accepted that it was their husbands’ right to hit them, even regarding it as a sign of manhood. Bahadur Lal changed his view on this front when he lost his wife promising to treat her with respect and urging all men to disregard the abduction in order to cause less mental pain. This sort of reversal of the character gives one a sense of
However, this helps him to give us an unbiased opinion on the events transpiring in the story. Bedi brilliantly raises the problem of the inability of survivors and perpetrators of violence to talk about what happened which is a common theme in partition literature. The partition led to many adverse effects most of which could have been easily controlled. Literature played a great role in lending voices to those who could not be heard or to those who have been ignored for years. These stories mean much more than just words on a page, they are pieces of art based on reality. They tell us the real and often, gruesome