Geo-political and Sociocultural mystries of Southern Punjab in Laghari’s D Generation : A New Historical Perspective

Abstract

 The study investigates the relationship between the story and the society especially of Southern Punjab by examining D Generation (2023) through the prism of New Historicism (1980). The theory employed to unveil the mystries asserts that no text can be studied beyond its historical context.  By analyzing power structures in contemporary Pakistani society, marginalization of certain sections of society and the use of inter-textual references, the paper reveals intricate web of reasons which made that area suspicious as well as neglected. The study places the narrative within the larger historical framework of Southern Punjab by recognizing the famous work of Stephen Greenblatt (1980), emphasizing the significance of historical context for comprehending the sensitive issues related to politics and culture. The paper is descriptive and qualitative in nature, while findings show that power structure in the modern culture of Southern Punjab and bordering tribal areas are working on the mechanisms of control and power that function inside societal institutions whereas the real cause of conflict, as portrayed in the title, conveyed through the symbolic cover page of the text and context at the backdrop of the story.