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Partition LiteratureArticle 2 · Vol. 1, Issue 5, September 2026 · pp. 10–21

Gulzar’s Two Appeals: Let Us Live Our Lives in Peace Not in Pieces

Abstract

Iyanla Vanzant has said: “Live your life in PEACE, not in Pieces.” Why break the world into fragmented pieces? Is there any end to the greed for power? War accompanies violence, aggression, hatred, jealousy and might, and has at any cost disturbed global peace. The serenity of this world has been disturbed by wars, partitions, separations, slaughters and upheavals; whether between nations, in civil wars, rebellions or terrorism, all have curbed humanity. When literature is the reflection of life, it could not leave this painful aspect out of its vicinity: Indian writers such as Mulk Raj Anand, Khushwant Singh, Manto, Bhisham Sahni, Chitra Divakaruni, Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh have penned masterpieces showing this brutality and its aftermath. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipient Gulzar has enriched Partition literature with his debut novel Two (2017), which reflects the continual pangs of separation and the loss of one’s land. Its characters are forced to leave Campbellpur and find shelter, and the story takes us through the refugee life of sustenance and survival, showing how the lives of innocent people are torn apart by a line on a map. The world today needs peace; as Aristotle said, “It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.”

Keywords:

PeaceHumanityWarBrutalityCruelty

How to Cite

Srivastava, S., & Malhotra, L. (2026). Gulzar’s Two Appeals: Let Us Live Our Lives in Peace Not in Pieces. Veritas: A Multidisciplinary Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1(5), 10–21. https://doi.org/10.67788/veritas.2026.1.5.002

DOI: https://doi.org/10.67788/veritas.2026.1.5.002

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