Beyond the Elite Gaze: A Comparative Study to Unveil the Subaltern Voices Through Gurdial Singh’s The Last Flicker and Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance

In every society, there are some segments of people who are wealthy and have supreme authority over the means of production. They tend to exploit those with limited or no access to socio-economic opportunities. In postcolonial terms, these people are referred to as subalterns who are systematically excluded from a society's established structures. It also speaks about those people who are discriminated against based on race, gender, caste, status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religious affiliations. Literature plays a pivotal role in subaltern lives by providing them assistance through which they can express themselves freely. The present study tries to explore the voices of subaltern subjects by bringing on surface the oppression, violence, and suppression through Gurdial Singh's The Last Flicker (1964) and Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance (1995). Though these writers come from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities, their works depict the mutual concept of the inhuman treatment of the subaltern subjects. Their protagonists are unconventional and rebellious. They make their own identity even though consistently suppressed by dominant ideologies. The author's concern for the downtrodden and subaltern characters is visible through their writings. Both authors explore themes of marginalization, socio-political issues, and the impact of power structures on subaltern groups.