Floating on Silent Waters: Religion, Nationalism, and Dislocated Women in Khamosh Pani

Citation:

Khan, Shahnaz. 2009. “Floating on Silent Waters: Religion, Nationalism, and Dislocated Women in Khamosh Pani.” Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 9 (2): 130–52.

Author: Shahnaz Khan

Abstract:

Drawing upon the cinematic narrative of the internationally acclaimed film Khamosh Pani, I relocate the issues it raises within a wider discussion about the gendered nature of conflict between religious communities during the chaos of the 1947 Partition of British India into India and Pakistan. I explore the ways in which state-sponsored Islam in Pakistan impacts the protagonist Ay esha and her son Salim. Further, I explore how the violence o/Partition as well as continued violence between Hindus and Muslims is remembered cinematically by Bombay cinema, the dominant cultural institution in the region. Finally, I interrogate Khamosh Pani's reception in India and speculate how it might influence the social constructions of Muslims in South Asia and elsewhere.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Religion, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India, Pakistan

Year: 2009

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