Humanizing the Line: Indo-Pak Border in Ashvin Kumar’s Little Terrorist

Abstract

India and Pakistan are neighboring countries in the South Asian region, bearing centuries of united history, culture and collective struggle against colonial rule. The end of the colonial era of this subcontinent with partition to adhere to the separate nation demanded for Hindus and Muslims created massive havoc to these countries that were once united. Furthermore, the partition of the sub-continent has become the genesis of the severed relationship between these nations. This article delves into discussing the idea of the India and Pakistan border visualized in Ashvin Kumar’s critically acclaimed Hindi short film Little Terrorist (2004). The film presents an alternative viewpoint to the presence of borders and the separation of humans based on nationality by showing the border villages of India and Pakistan. The short film forges a path for friendship between the two nations by reminiscing the shared history through the characters Jamal and Bhola. The film, by showing the border village, is subverting the idea of the Indo-Pak border for the people who once lived together. This article analyzes the concept of borders in the film using the research on Indo-Pak border studies.

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

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Notes on contributors

T. S. Gangothri

T. S. Gangothri is a PhD Research Scholar in the Department of Indian and World Literature at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India. She is pursuing her research on the ‘Refugee Literature’ with a particular focus on the ‘Refugee Children’s Fiction’. Her areas of interest include Refugee Studies, Childhood Studies and Children’s Literature. Email: [email protected]

P. Boopathi

P. Boopathi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Studies at the Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, India. He teaches and researches in the areas such as Refugee Literature, Life Writing Studies, Literary and Cultural Disability Studies, and Cultural Studies. His articles have been published in the journals Life Writing (T&F), New Literaria, and Languages in India. His articles have been accepted for publication in the Journals Biography (University of Hawaii Press), IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies (International Academic Forum, Japan), Short Fiction in Theory and Practice (Intellect) and Literature and Aesthetics (Sydney Open Journals). He has contributed chapters to the edited volumes published by Routledge and Peter Lang. He has been funded by New Literary Observer, Moscow, and European University at St. Petersburg, and the German Historical Institute, Warsaw, Poland to present his research papers at their conferences. He has widely lectured upon invitation at various universities and colleges in India in the areas of disability studies and Refugee Literature. Email: [email protected]