Axis of Resistance: A Study of Despair, Melancholy, and Dis-Heartednessin Shahnaz Bashir’s Novel The Half Mother

The article depicts the current position of the people of Kashmir. It is the study of Shahnaz Bashir's novel The Half Mother. The novel satirizes the political and bureaucratic system, India's tyrannical role and the Military oppression in Kashmir. While the title of the paper itself signifies that it is dealing with the resistance literature. It can be said that numerous research fields might have valuable concepts, insights, and theories to contribute to resistance studies but this study for practical reasons maintains a focus on the resistance literature of India with special focus on the despair, melancholy, dis-heartedness, despondency, oppression, plight, struggle, brutality, and resistance movement of Kashmir. Kashmir is witnessing an intense pain and suffering from the last thirty years because of turmoil, uncertainty, confusion, chaos and conflict prevailing therein. This has left scars, wounds, and abrasions in the hearts of the victimized people of Kashmir. This unlawfulness, draconian laws, harsh treatment, killing, murder, and displacement gives rise to a mass movement, against the government, army and bureaucracy of India, which is called terrorism by Indian government and Jihad by some orthodox religious people, but actually it is neither Jihad nor terrorism, it is resistance against all the brutalities, harms, killings, displacements and disappearances.