Trauma of “the Other” in Nadeem Zaman’s In the Time of the Others

Abstract

Since its inception by Freud, trauma studies have been dominated by Western experiences. However, recently there has been an emerging discourse to decentralise the concept of trauma and transfer it to peripheral narratives of conflict. Of these peripheries, Bangladesh has been almost entirely neglected despite its traumatic birth in 1971. Meanwhile, the Liberation War has become an increasingly appealing topic to Bangladeshi authors writing in English. Why are these authors going back to the history of 1971 and how do their works engage with trauma? This paper will attempt to answer these questions using Nadeem Zaman's novel In the Time of the Others (2018). Additionally, while dominant narratives of 1971 War surround that of the freedom-fighter, Zaman's novel focuses on controversial roles such as the perpetrator Captain Shaukat. This paper will also look at the trauma of the perpetrator through the character of the Captain.