The Inheritance of Trauma: Partition, Children’s Identities, and Parental Grief

Abstract

The partition of India-Pakistan (migration) was one of the most violent and traumatic events faced by the people in contemporary time. Pali by Sahni is a story which explains the catastrophic fallout of Indo-Pak divisions which brings along with it, intense suffering on children, due to religious riots, and communal violence.  Pali experiences series of emotions from alienation to identity crises. Children as a result of such mass migration not only lost their sense of belonging but also face psychological displacement. Children who witnessed the horrors of partition struggled with their fragmented identities and in the later stage, the unresolved trauma becomes intergenerational. Cathy Caruth’s Trauma Theory is employed to explore how unassimilated traumatic events in consciousness lead to the manifestation of trauma, which parallels Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of the Third Space, where unresolved identities give rise to hybrid expressions. As a result, fragmented identities move to a liminal space and the Third space becomes a zone catering to fractured identities so both become a point of intersection. The trauma that is created by migration becomes collective and affects parents as well as disrupting fixed identities. The analysis demonstrates that cultural dislocation and unresolved grief lead to a liminal apace of existence proving the connections between trauma theory and third space. The torment experienced by Pali, remains deeply stamped and indescribable, symbolizing a plea for humanity amidst chaos. This study breathes new life into “Pali,” offering its enduring message to those striving to understand history and envision a compassionate, inclusive future.