• Ms. Saritha Samuel

Ruskin Bond’s Novella ‘A Flight of Pigeons’ (1975) is a historical fiction set in British-India Shahjahanpur, against the backdrop of the chaos of 1857 rebellion. The author reconstructs the historical tale of Ruth Labadoor and her family’s escapades during the massacre that took place during the first war of Indian Independence in 1857.. The narrative reflects the chaotic socio-political conditions of the day originated due to colonial exploitative hegemony over Indians. The novella focuses on the turbulent times prevailing during the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny in India and depicts the traumatic and painful experiences of people –both the natives and foreign origin people with their families. The historical reconstruction of the turbulent era was done in the novella through the characterization of Ruth and Mariam Labadoor. In his The Flight of Pigeons, Ruskin Bond depicts the socio-psychological trauma of the people and political turmoil during the phase of anti-colonial struggles in India in the mid-decades of the 19th century. This research explores how the-then socio-political turmoil was reflected in the novella through the characterization of Ruth and Mariam Labadoor, how colonial oppressive hegemony over the native Indian people by the British boomranged, causing miserable plight in the lives of their people settled in and around Shajahanpur. This paper aims to explore the impact of anti-colonial struggles on the psyche of the colonised.

Political hegemony – economic exploitation – conflict of cultures – historical authenticity – anti-colonial struggles – social unrest – socio-psychological trauma.

"‘Socio-Psychological trauma of the people during the anti-colonial struggles in India: A Study of the major characters in Ruskin Bond’s A Flight of Pigeons’", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 1, page no.e550-e560, January-2023, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2301475.pdf

"‘Socio-Psychological trauma of the people during the anti-colonial struggles in India: A Study of the major characters in Ruskin Bond’s A Flight of Pigeons’", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 1, page no. ppe550-e560, January-2023, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2301475.pdf