• P REKA PRABA
• DR K M SUMATHI

Women oppression and suppression have been taking in so many variant forms and women have been reduced to mere objects or non-human beings in the later centuries. The position of women has not been changed palpably till the end of 1980s. The various forms of feminism though speak on women’s liberty, empowerment and individuality, it is clear that even now the status of women remains the same with a little visible development found among the socially fortunate women. The need for women’s liberation and development has been resulted in formulating the concept, ‘Feminism’. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, being a postcolonial diasporic writer, focuses most of her writing on the problems faced by women immigrants. She also focuses her writing on gender issues, social inequalities, ideological structures and biases. Divakaruni’s Sister of My Heart is about the life of two protagonists namely Anju and Sudha and how they assert their individuality, overcoming the circumstances and situations they are placed in. The other women characters like Pishi, Gouri, and Nalini are also studied to see the position of Indian widows and how they manage their lives without male counterparts. Selfrespect and independence are the two qualities both Anju and Sudha have been brought up with. They are strong and bold from the beginning but thwarted due to patriarchy and male domination. But they assert their individual ‘self’ after overthrowing the oppressive forces.

Feminism, oppression, suppression, mental turmoil, patriarchy, amniocentesis.

"Forming and Reforming Identity in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Sister of My Heart ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 4, page no.565-569, April-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2104077.pdf

"Forming and Reforming Identity in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Sister of My Heart ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 4, page no. pp565-569, April-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2104077.pdf