Representation of Violence In Manjushree Thapa's The Lives We Have Lost

Abstract

Manjushree Thapa’s recent text Lives We Have Lost is a questionable depiction of the politics of violence in Nepal. The author of this text is an ardent supporter of democracy. She believes in the constant and subsequent development of democratic norm and principle in Nepal. It is this deep faith in the universal principle of democracy that makes her to write this work. She argues that every conscious citizen of a country has the responsibility towards the political history of violence. It is natural for citizens to be optimistic about the future. But the author contends that a politically conscious citizen wills justice to the political future when and only when he fulfils his duty towards the political and cultural past. By reminiscing and recalling the disasters and catastrophe of the past the probable mishaps can be averted. Thapa argues that human rights were mostly violated during Maoist insurgency from both side-one from the side of the underground insurgents and the second is the state-sponsored counter insurgency. By being familiar with these gruesome details of the ugly political past, the politically incorrect representation of violence can be amended.