Whispers of Urdu: Language Politics and Non-Hegemonic Masculinities in Anita Desai’s In Custody

Abstract

The paper intends to discuss the decline of the composite linguistic/literary cultures fostered by Urdu, in terms not merely of a narrative of linguistic deterioration but as a potent metaphor for the disintegration of traditional masculine roles in post-independence India. In doing so, it will attempt to read Anita Desai’s In Custody (1984) vis-à-vis the disempowerment of a once-glorious linguistic and cultural ethos fostered by Urdu. With the expansion of British colonial power, Urdu, previously the language of the elite nawabi circles, yields to English, signifying the decline of Muslim cultural legacy. The consolidation of nationalist forms of cultural self-expression foregrounded Hindi as the venerated language of the nation-in-the-making, relegating Urdu to the periphery. Desai’s novel is a poignant reflection of the absolute impossibility of cultural reclamation contingent upon the emergence of communalized power structures and linguistic hegemony. Through the figure of Nur, an ageing Urdu poet, Desai portrays a world where language is inseparable from personal and collective selfhood. The displacement of Urdu serves as a powerful metaphor for the emasculation and cultural alienation experienced by men like Nur who once found status and meaning through their embodiment of a flourishing linguistic tradition. Nur’s passage into oblivion mirrors the broader vulnerability of men who are unable to adapt to the new linguistic and socio-political order. Urdu, positioned in the novel as the language of poetic creativity and masculine prestige, becomes a site of nostalgic mourning and symbolic disempowerment. Desai’s narrative thus dramatizes the intersections of language and gender, illustrating how linguistic shifts dismantle deeply entrenched notions of masculinity.