Revisiting Bengali History in Tahmima Anam's The Good Muslim

Abstract

Anam's novel The Good Muslim is a representation of the fragmented society after the independence war of Bangladesh.Maya is the central character and she is projected as a very rebellious and dynamic character in the novel. She fights against the ideology of patriarchal society which imposes authority on women even when they have fought for the sake of state in the independence war of Bangladesh. Maya has challenged the absurd characteristics of soldiers.The major thrust of the thesis is to explore how Anam projects the idea of equal rights and justice for both male and female as they have equally participated in the war. The researcher in order to justify the claim draws on the theoretical insights of Stephen Greenblatt"Practicing New Historicism". New Historicism interrogates the official history and explores the history of margin. Tahmima Anam raises questions to the state that why the state ignores the presence of female in the independence war of Bangladesh instead of honoring them as male. Anam opposes the trend of male centric history writing tradition in the past in this novel. Maya struggles for the position of women participated in the independence war of Bangladesh. Anam fights for both male and female for equal rights, justice and honor in the independence war of Bangladesh. Key Words:New Historicism,Independence war of Bangladesh, Marginalization Justice, Equality, Gender roles.