اختر رضا سلیمی کے ناول’’جاگے ہیں خواب میں “کا نو تاریخی مطالعہ

A New Historicist Study of Akhtar Raza Saleemi's Novel Jaagay Hain Khwab Mein

Abstract

New Historicism views literary texts as cultural products that are deeply embedded in the historical, social, political, and ideological conditions of their time. Rather than treating history as a fixed and objective record, this critical approach examines the reciprocal relationship between literary discourse and historical narratives. Akhtar Raza Saleemi's novel Jaagay Hain Khwab Mein presents a rich tapestry of historical, mythical, religious, and cultural references that reconstruct the past through a contemporary literary lens. The novel incorporates historical personalities, folklore, regional traditions, and collective memory to explore questions of identity, power, and cultural consciousness. This study applies the principles of New Historicism to analyze how the novel reinterprets historical events and figures, revealing the dynamic interaction between text and history. It argues that Saleemi transforms historical material into a living narrative that challenges conventional historical representations and offers alternative perspectives on the cultural heritage of the region. The study concludes that Jaagay Hain Khwab Mein is a significant contribution to contemporary Urdu fiction, demonstrating how literary imagination reshapes historical consciousness through New Historicist discourse.

      References in Roman Script:

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2. Akhtar Raza Saleemi, Jaagay Hain Khwab Mein, Dastavez, Lahore, 2015, p. 14.
3. Ibid., p. 45.
4. Ibid., p. 74.
5. Dr. Anwar Sadeed, Urdu Adab ki Mukhtasar Tareekh, Aziz Book Depot, Lahore, 2006, p. 247.
6. Akhtar Raza Saleemi, Jaagay Hain Khwab Mein, Dastavez, Lahore, 2015, p. 177.
7. Ibid., p. 146.
8. Ibid., p. 104.
9. Al-Qur'an al-Majeed, Para No. 15, Surah Al-Kahf, Ayat 9–10.
10. Dr. Khursheed-ul-Islam, Tanqideen, Sarfaraz Qaumi Press, Lucknow, First Edition, 1957, p. 97.
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