SUBALTERN VOICES OF WOMEN IN THE NARRATION OF PARTITION OF INDIA: A STUDY OF AMRITA PRITAM’S “AJJ AAKHAN WARIS SHAH NU” AND URVASHI BUTALIA’S THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE

Abstract

This paper examines subaltern voices in the context of the Partition of India through a study of Amrita Pritam’s Punjabi poem “Ajj Aakhan Waris Shah Nu” and Urvashi Butalia’s book The Other Sideof Sile nce: Voices from the Partition of India. Both works focus on the marginalized experiences of individuals affected by the Partition, particularly women, and provide a platform for voices often neglected in mainstream historical accounts. Pritam’s poem, written as a poignant call to the Punjabi poet Waris Shah, highlights the deep emotional and cultural wounds inflicted by the violence of Partition of India and creation of Pakistan. It centres on the silence and suffering of women, whose voices were often suppressed or erased during the period. Butalia’s The Other Side of Silence: Voices from the Partition of India complements this by compiling the oral histories of survivors, shedding light on the lived experiences of refugees, women, and other marginalized communities during and after the Partition. The paper uses comparative study as a methodology to explore how both Pritam and Butalia challenge
dominant historical narratives, giving voice to the subaltern and focusing on the intersections of gender, trauma, and displacement. Through this analysis, the study emphasizes the role of literature in reclaiming silenced histories, offering new insights into the enduring impact of Partition on identity, memory, and social dynamics in the Indian subcontinent. Pritam’s poem was originally written in Punjabi, so spelling differs in English translation in different works.