applied only in Sindh, feudal family, in order to retain lands. This condition is represented by Habib and Siraj Din who live in Sindh. Following Jafar’s death,
they determine to hold a great wedding ceremony of Zarri Bano to Quran. That ceremony later legitimates Zarri Bano as heiress in case she cannot marry.
“You know very well about our tradition, about the male dying and the eldest daughter becoming a Shahzadi Ibadat. I have no choice,
you must try to understand Qaisra: 51.”
And; “Sacrifice? He ejaculated, caught on the raw. How dare you say
such a thing? My daughter will become a Holy Woman, the most pure, devout, scholarly and revered by all…in his mind he recalled
the vision of another Shahzadi Ibadat frm his childhood. How fascinated he had been by that woman and the fane and reverence
she had elicited from everyone. Wherever she went, ‘Bibi, Bibi’, had echoed reverently around her Qaisra: 42.”
Another old tradition was the relationship between men and women before getting married. People in Pakistan, men and women, were not allowed to engage
or to have any contact or relation before getting married otherwise they would be considered as impolite people.
This condition mostly is represented by youths in this novel, like Khawar and Firadus, Sikander and Zarri Bano. As adults who are falling in love, they are
circumscribed to tradition, not to have any physical contacts. Firdaus, as the example, keeps distance from Khawar though they are going to get married.
“She drew her hand away and stood up. They were not married nor engaged. It was not right to be so physically close. She moved,
placing a modest distance between them Qaisra: 298.”
This tradition is also represented by elders in Pakistan who prohibit a conversation between men and women before marrying. One of the elders is
Kaniz. She is furious when her son is having conversation with Firdaus because custom there will consider him as bad-mannered person.
“Why did her son have to behave idiotically? It wasn’t right for a young single man to be alone in the fields having a cosy tete- a-
tete with a young woman, even by accident. It was the most improper thing to do. Kaniz must remind him about village
proprieties and social etiquette when she got home Qaisra: 14.”
4. Feudalism
Feudalism in Pakistan occured before Partition and continued up to now. Feudalism in Pakistan appeared in form of the existence of landlords in Pakistan
in some provinces like Punjab and Sindh. Those landlords possessed hundreds or even thousand acres of land Awami Manshoor, http
:www.revolutionary democracy.org
rdv10n1pakistan.htm This social condition is represented in this novel through characters Siraj
Din, Habib and Khawar. They are landlords in province Sindh but in different villages. Siraj Din and Khawar are landlords in Chiragpur while Habib is a
landlord in Tanda Adam. They become the proprietors of hundred acres of land in those villages.
Siraj Din is the eldest landlord possessing lands in Chiragpur gotten from his family. His family had been a landlord long before the Partition, and it means
indirectly he represents feudalism which had occurred in Pakistan before Partition occured.
Khawar, a young landlord, also possesses some lands in Chiragpur though not as many as Siraj Din’s and it makes him become the second landlord in
Chiragpur. Being a landlord, it means that he occupies people from his village, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
especially peasant, to plough his lands. Landlords did not give any contributions and everything was done by peasants. This situation is represented in the citation
below where the setting of the village is depicted. The hawali, the large house belonging to Habib Khan’s father, Siraj
Din, the feudal landlord, was located near the mosque and this enjoyed the most central position in the village. With its ample
grounds and a very large square shaped courtyard, it took up one quarter of the land occupied by the whole village Qaisra: 58.
Summarising, feudalist signifies authority, power, wealth and status. Because of those pleasures, people in Pakistan esteemed landlords and admitted
them as lord and master who influenced over the area or village as influencing policies in that area. They were the centre of that village.
Siraj Din and Khawar are the representations of this condition. Because of their status and their wealth, they become the school committee who determine
everything related to school in that place. Whenever the school has to change their headmistress, they are who determine the next headmistress.
Like Baba Siraj Din, in where footsteps Khawar was eagerly following and liked to follow, he had in the last year or so begun to
play a prominent role in the village management committee, overseeing and governing the school….As a founding member of
the school, he too, like Khawar, took a keen interest in the issue of Madam’s replacement. He wanted no ‘flighty’ miss from the city to
corrupt impressionable young girls in her care. Apart from Firdaus, there is no one else, is there? Siraj Din continued Qaisra: 61
However, because of power and wealth they had, landlords became conceited and selfish. They forgot about justice and love. Habib and Siraj Din are
characters who embody this condition in Pakistan. Siraj Din represents landlord who loves his lands more than anything. He puts his land above all he has, lands
are his life. He always chases after his lands and does not want to be separated PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
