Instrumental Rationality and Social Structure with Reference to Female Subjugation in Manto’s Short Stories. A Habermasian Lens

Proceedings of The 5th International Conference on Advanced Research in Social Sciences and Humanities

Year: 2022

DOI:

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Instrumental Rationality and Social Structure with Reference to Female Subjugation in Manto’s Short Stories. A Habermasian Lens

Tabassum Maqboo,and Ummi Farwa

ABSTRACT: 

This research paper deals with the textual analysis of Saadat Hasan Manto’s short stories in the light of Habermasian perspective. Manto’s views on societal dominance and female subjugation as well as liberation are highlighted in this paper. The primary concern of this qualitative research is to show the relevance of Manto’s insight in the present era with the theoretical framework of Habermas’ critical social theory. This research clearly demonstrates how social institutions’ instrumental rationality rationalizes and colonizes the lifeworld. Habermas thinks lifeworld is increasingly being taken over by the social structures like political and economic systems. He is concerned with the boundaries between lifeworld and system. Also, Habermas’ realistic goal for critical theory is that human liberation should be free from all the constraints of unnecessary domination. Saadat Hasan Manto’s short stories are taken from Manto’s selected short stories translated by Aatish Taseer and Mottled Dawn: Fifty Sketches and Stories of Partition translated by Khalid Hasan. This study leads to certain facts that Manto and Habermas both negate the oppression, unnecessary dominance and colonization of social structures. Both are in favor of maximizing human emancipation. The findings of the textual analysis are that Manto’s characters like Saughandi, Nesti, Raadha and Mozail refuse to be submissive and favor freedom from ideological, political, and social constraints.

keywords: Lifeworld and System; instrumental rationality; social structures; domination; emancipation.