ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities

Landscape and Body as Sites of Trauma in Hijam Guno’s Khudol

The paper investigates the embodiment of trauma in both the landscape and the human body in Hijam Guno’s Khudol, one of the significant Manipuri literary representations of the civilian experience of the Second World War (WWII) in Manipur. Despite the Battle of Imphal being one of the deadliest episodes of WWII in South Asia, scholarly attention to Manipuri civilian experiences remains limited. Through a close reading of Khudol and drawing on trauma theories by Sigmund Freud, Cathy Caruth, and Judith Herman, the study examines how the novel conveys the psychological and corporeal aftermath of war. The scarred and depopulated landscape becomes a site of collective memory, while the protagonist’s disfigured body embodies the lingering effects of trauma. By foregrounding regional wartime experiences, the paper positions Manipuri narratives as vital counterpoints to dominant military and colonial histories, demonstrating how Khudol preserves and reimagines the traumatic legacy of WWII through its portrayal of wounded bodies and devastated terrains.