• Alamelumangai K
• Dr. M. Shameem

Bapsi Sidhwa occupies a distinctive position in South Asian English fiction for her sustained engagement with women’s experiences within patriarchal, postcolonial, and communally fractured societies. This article examines how Sidhwa rewrites female identity by transforming women from passive objects of social control into active narrative subjects. Focusing primarily on Cracking India and The Pakistani Bride, the study argues that Sidhwa challenges dominant gender norms through her portrayal of women who resist objectification, negotiate agency, and articulate selfhood within restrictive socio-cultural frameworks. Drawing on postcolonial feminist theory, the article analyzes how women’s bodies, voices, and lived experiences become sites of resistance against patriarchy, nationalism, and communal violence. By foregrounding female consciousness and interiority, Sidhwa destabilizes traditional representations of women as silent victims and reclaims their subjectivity within history and narrative. The article concludes that Sidhwa’s fiction not only critiques gendered oppression but also offers alternative modes of female identity rooted in resilience, agency, and ethical witnessing.

Bapsi Sidhwa, female subjectivity, postcolonial feminism, patriarchy, Partition, women’s agency

"FROM OBJECT TO SUBJECT: REWRITING FEMALE IDENTITY IN THE NOVELS OF BAPSI SIDHWA", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 1, page no.d397-d400, January-2026, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2601345.pdf

"FROM OBJECT TO SUBJECT: REWRITING FEMALE IDENTITY IN THE NOVELS OF BAPSI SIDHWA", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 1, page no. ppd397-d400, January-2026, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2601345.pdf