Retracing ‘Subalternity’ in South Asian Classical Literature: A Case Study of Shah jo Risalo

Abstract

The aim of this research is to retrace the concept of subaltern in 18th century Sindh. The term ‘subaltern’ was first coined by Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci and later Gayatri Chakravarty Spivak. While discussing the historical background of Sindh in the 18th century, this study focuses on the two main aspects of Shah Latif’s poetry. The first is related to the women in Shah Latif’s poetry in which it is argued how hegemonic power structure in a society dominated them and in spite of their struggle their voices remained unheard in the history. Secondly, it deals with the representation of the lower class and caste that formed the marginalized sections of 18thcentury Sindhi society. Shah Latif highlighted the miseries of the oppressed at the hands of the elites and powerful and encouraged the common people to battle against all types of manipulation and discrimination through his poetry. This study is an attempt to look at the classical literature with the post-colonial approach but it is limited only to the women and lower class/caste aspects in Shah Latif’s poetry.