Cross-Referencing Historical Traumas and Decentering Eurocentric Narratives: Multidirectional Memory in the Narrative of Feroza

Abstract

The current research investigates constructing multidirectional memory and reclaiming marginalized histories in Pakistani literature by delving into the life of the main character from the novel The Begum and the Dastan (2021) by Tarana Husain Khan. Applying Rothberg’s (2009) multidirectional memory framework for the analysis of the selected text, this study examines how the narrative cross-references multiple memories, foregrounds marginalized histories and decenters Eurocentric historical approaches. Furthermore, this research is qualitative as it discusses how the selected text portrays multidirectional memory in the colonized communities of India. Through multidirectional memory, the current study presents how personal and collective traumas intertwine, shaping the narratives, actions, and identities of the character. Moreover, the study also investigates how the novel critiques the dominant narratives of the history by amplifying the voice marginalized by the traditional historical narratives. Employing thematic analysis method, this study highlights the non-competitive nature of memory in the narrative of the selected character. The study also illustrates how the narrative contributes to post-colonial memory studies by applying Rothberg’s (2009) theory to Pakistani literature, offering insights to how the silenced past is highlighted in fictions and its creation of empathy in global memory landscape.

Keywords: multidirectional memory, marginalized histories, historical trauma.