SULTANA

“They were picked up from near the explosion site and locked up together. That police post did not have a separate arrangement for ladies. She was hungry and bone-weary after that little chase. A hefty, rotund cop with a baton in hand came into their lockup again that night. Sultana could no more stand that sight. She fainted and collapsed on the floor. The cop withdrew. Manzar was still bleeding and writhing with excruciating pain. He dragged himself towards an earthen pot in that dark corner to fetch water to sprinkle on her face.” 

Sultana is the story of an Indian Muslim girl caught in the crossfire of post-partition incertitude. It is virtually like an insider account of things that the Muslim community has grappled with for a long time after the partition of the Indian Sub-continent. A peep into their dilemmas, the challenges, the social dogmas, and a bit of fear psychosis. In parts, a telling commentary on human apathy and social retrogression.