Chaos, Identity Crisis and Nationalist struggle in Sunlight on a Broken Column

Attia Hosain"s Sunlight on a Broken Column is a culturally rich canvas portraying pre-partition and post-partition times in a unique way. The novel was published in 1961. One might find hard to categorize the novel into a particular ruling theme. It is a supreme example of aesthetically rich work. The novel covers a very volatile and captive time period in the history of Indian sub-continent. Journeying from 1932 to somewhere around 1952, one can experience the major socio-political changes with „Partition" and „Self" in the backdrop. It is a story about human struggling at personal, social and national front. The fight for freedom was not just limited to British"s rather it invaded the psyche of every single native and became their dream state. The time was tough and negotiations with power and pressure were on. Congress, Muslim League, Taluqdars and Princely states were trying hard to secure their fronts to gather maximum support in order to strike the best deal. However, there was one more section of society, which was not directly involved in the nationalist struggle of independence but was feeling the need for change and recognition. The air was charged with the thoughts of freedom and against long-denied rights. It threw open the door of numerous households and the women started to question the patriarchal ways and double standards within society. Sunlight on a Broken Column is one such rare amalgamation of various sub-stories that manages to keep moving without overshadowing one another. It has chaos and confusion on all three fronts: personal, social and national. All these elements made the position and circumstances critical in those times. People faced an identity crisis and failed to recognize their true self. The difference between their personal and social position varied and generated conflict in mind. Amid nationalist struggle, the story Sunlight on a Broken Column gives the glimpse of changes and personal fight that an influential Muslim family goes through via the eyes of an adolescent female family member, Laila. The present paper aims an in-depth critical study of the text in modern times.