THINNER THAN SKINOST-PAHALGAM TRAJECTORIES IN INDO-PAK RELATIONS

Abstract

This research paper investigates the evolving nature of class and identity in Pakistan, particularly in contemporary socio-economic transformations, in Uzma Aslam Khan’s novel Thinner Than Skin (2012). This study blends the theoretical contributions of Pierre Bourdieu and Antonio Gramsci to explore how cultural capital, social capital, and symbolic power shape class identities in complex ways. Bourdieu’s concept of habitus examines how individuals’ social and cultural positions influence their preferences, behaviors, and worldviews. At the same time, Gramsci’s concept of hegemony analyzes the role of ideology and cultural practices in maintaining and transforming class hierarchies. By analyzing Thinner Than Skin, this study investigates how class identity is constructed and contested through representations of migration, environmental conflict, and interpersonal relationships. It also considers how these portrayals challenge traditional understandings of class by intertwining the personal with the political. Additionally, the impact of state policies, economic globalization, and grassroots social movements on class formation in Pakistan is explored. Through a critical reading of Khan’s novel and an engagement with popular culture and media, this research seeks to deepen the discourse on class identity in Pakistan, offering a more profound perspective that moves beyond traditional Marxist paradigms. By doing so, it aims to explore the back-and-forth of power, inequality, and resistance in shaping contemporary social realities in Pakistan.

Keywords: Class Identity, Habitus, Cultural Capital, Social Capital, Symbolic Power, Hegemony, Popular Culture, Globalization, Social Movements