Queer in Heteronormative World: A Psychoanalytical Study of Ismat Chughtai’s Lihaf

The umbrella term 'Queer' embraces all -Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, +(LGBTQIA+).In other words, it is attributed to the sexual orientations of all those people who lie outside of the mainstream heteronormative society.Since times immemorial, their rights and needs were seen as 'different' and invited ridicule in South Asia.The Indian Progressive woman writer, Ismat Chughtai challenged the patriarchal conventionalism of Muslim society through her revolutionary short story, Lihaf that brought to the forefront the sexual desires and needs of a woman ignored in her marital life.She was summoned to the court of law in Lahore on charges of obscenity for portraying homoeroticism but later acquitted.Through this paper, I intend to explore the subtle yet layered portrayal of alternate sexuality that has been humanized and provided a space to exist even if only under a quilt in the 1940s India.I shall also attempt to explore how Chughtai redefined women's desires, as they get intertwined with patriarchy, class, and gendered roles to find solace in the margins, thereby paving way for the emergence of new woman.