ABSTRACT
The title of Intizar Husain’s novel, Basti, refers to a place where a group of people live; a settlement. The novel shows how the essence of homelessness in the refugee diaspora of the newly formed Nations is related to their diasporic displacement. The novel deals with a diasporic nostalgia at the moment when national identity of individuals is at crisis. The novel therefore suggests that his internalization of Rupnagar’s culture and history is so strong that it is even more difficult for him to accept the new politics of otherization. Eventually such politically motivated self-formation where the political motivation is enforced by state-apparatus leads to a kind of effacement of individual identity and leads to a homogenization of collective self. Surendar’s statement regarding Sabirah being a historical relic gains ironic significance in the narrative since that is precisely how Zakir treats Sabirah.
