Are you craving Independence literature – when fiction & history meet, they create magic. We might have the perfect novel to feed you!
A Promised Land opens with a scene that snatches you out of any reverie you thought you would dreamily sink into when reading about the past. At the Walton refugee camp in Lahore, an elderly man screams endlessly and tears his hair as his daughter is abducted.
A young woman, Sajidah, who wants to find a way of offering him solace, is furious when a young male official from the Department of Rehabilitation taunts the old man:
“‘Baba! Who is this daughter you cry for? That was no daughter, Baba! That was the most valuable of looted goods. Your screaming won’t bring her back. Your voice cannot reach her!”’
Nazim in A Promised Land
Sajidah wants to “slap the evil man across the face”. Instead, she ends up marrying him.
‘My mother pushed me into a kafila. “Go to your country,” she said, “and grab the hand of an honest man.” Then she disappeared, grasping the hand of the man who wore a steel bracelet.’
Taji’s riots narration from The Promised Land
Do you wonder about the struggles of our forefathers in the times before and after achieving independence? Have you ever thought of yourself as a refugee at the time of independence? Oh well, all your questions will be answered through the journey you are about to take!
Introduction
the sacrifices for your land!
“Everyone here is obsessed with waiting as though they’re standing on a train platform.”
Sajidah’s thoughts-while she was living in the refugee camp.
This novel was first published in 1987 in Urdu as “Zameen,” but later, its English version got published in 2019 by penguin publishers. This book is perfect independence literature with a heavy sprinkling of history by an astonishing writer Khadija Mastur. Moreover, the book has been excellently translated into English by Daisy Rockwell. This novel revolves around a female refugee (Sajidah) who migrated from that the land that is now India, to Pakistan, with hopes for a better future.
Main Characters
Sajidah is the lead female character in this book, and she is a head-strong woman. She hails from a financially stable family and married Nazim.
“There are some things you’re scared to admit even to yourself. You run from them your whole life and all the same they stick to you like a shadow”
Sajidah from The Promised Land
Nazim is the lead male character of the story. He is an intelligent man. He comes from a well-settled family as well. He is an educated man yet not free of misogynistic opinions – he ends up marrying Sajidah, the same woman he brings home from the refugee camp.
About the Story
Writer Khadija Mastur has interwoven a story of the birth of new nations along with the gender struggles that are part of their legacy. People were not just battling poverty, homelessness, high-handedness, lawlessness and being uprooted from their homelands – women were also fighting (and suffering) a whole lot more. When history is recorded, we need to acknowledge this loose thread – the stories of these women are as pertinent of those of the heroes who gave us a new nation – their lives are the price upon which we walk the road to freedom.
The novel opens with Sajidah and her father arriving at the Walton refugee camp in Lahore. Later, when Sajidah’s father dies, she is dragged by a worker from the Department of Refugee rehabilitation called “Nazim” into his house. Sajidah arrives in a household where some women are victors and others, victims. Moreover, each woman is living with the hope of betterment despite the catastrophic events that have occurred to them. Sajidah also observes (and challenges), the men’s superior status in the house and how ruthless men behaved around the women.
“The whole house has become echoing and empty. It feels as though ghosts live here and this room is dressed up like a bride. The drawing room must be even more lovely, and Nazim and his bride’s bedroom more spectacular than that.”
Sajidah thoughts – In Nazim’s household.
The plot takes a high jump when Taji, a servant victim dies. The main focus by writer Khadija Mastur was that, even after achieving independence, life is not perfect. Women are yet to free themselves from the bondage of misogyny and patriarchy. Over all, it’s a perfect novel for you to read and learn about the struggles faced by people post independence.
Personal Experience
The formation of Pakistan and India had numerous tragic events on both sides. Millions of people from India arrived as refugees with hope for a better future in their hearts. Sajidah, our protagonist, also believed that the horrific events suffered by womankind were only present on the Indian side of the border. But, with time, she realizes that where male patriarchy & misogyny flourish, womanhood can never rise and live freely.
“The hell of hatred is more horrifying than the hell itself.”
Amma Bi to Sajidah from The Promised Land.
The timeline of the events spans a period from 1947 till 1954 with a consistently swift pace to keep you engaged. After reading this novel, I am moved by events that occurred in the lives of thousands of females during and post independence. Khadija Mastur has opened a window into the trials of women, and the essentialness of their empowerment despite the era in which this book was published.
About the Author-Khadija Mastur
Khadija Mastur is one of Pakistan’s most powerful Urdu writers of all time. She was an excellent short story writer and novelist. Khadija’s literary masterpiece ‘Aangan’ is one of the best-selling novels of Urdu literature. Also, Aangan, in the English version is ‘The Women’s courtyard.’ Up till now, Khadija’s five books comprising short stories and two novels have been published.
About the Translator
Daisy Rockwell holds a degree in Hindi literature and is a phenomenal artist, writer, and translator. She has published her novel called “Taste” and has also written a biography named “Upendranath Ashk: A Critical Biography”. Rockwell has done a marvelous job translating many books of Hindi and Urdu literature into the English version.
