The Cost of Living in a Conflict Zone: A Study of Shahnaz Bashir’s Scattered Souls

Abstract

Art and conflict share filial affinity with each other. Art has been used as a perennial tool to fight the oppression and to give voice to the voiceless. Where ever the menace of occupation digs its roots, art comes as a handy tool of resistance to fight back against the oppressor. Art, in conflict zones, shoulders the burden of a witness to highlight the innumerable crimes committed against humanity. For long, Kashmir has borne the trauma of conflict. This has not only caused the human rights violation but has amounted to almost a psychological rape of the local people who live in a constant state of siege and anxiety. The pain and misery of living in a conflict zone is reflected in the literature produced by the natives. Aga Shahid Ali has been followed by writers like Mirza Wahid, Basharat Peer, Rahul Pandita, Siddhartha Gigoo, and Shahnaz Bashir. The aim of this paper is to study Shahnaz Bashir’s Scattered Souls (2016) as a text which tries to reflect the day to day miserable life of a common Kashmiri who lives in a constant state of pain and anxiety.