Sectarian Violence and Fictional Reality: A Dual Theoretical Reading of Taslima Nasrin's Lajja

<p>This research article focuses on the narrative integration of New Criticism's close reading methodology and New Historicism's contextual approach that resulted in a complex narrative paradigm. The merged approach is seen in the author’s view where she captures historical events and created that through fictional characters. Taslima Nasrin's novel, Lajja, exemplifies this approach in which she masterfully humanise and personalize the suffering of the people through the fictional Dutta family. By weaving together the historical facts into the fiction, Nasrin crafts a powerful narrative that illuminates the far-reaching consequences of sectarian violence, rendering Lajja a poignant and  provoking literary work. The author creates fictional characters to portray human suffering during the period of Babri masjid attack. Yet, the characters usually over shadow the historical elements and it unconsciously suppresses the reader in understanding the reality. This research article, illuminates how the author mends the New Criticism and New Historicism approaches by reflecting the unsung trauma of the Hindu families in a Muslim country during the Babri Masjid demolition.</p>