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This was arguably exacerbated by the ideologies of colonialism enacted by the 
British Empire during their reign over the Indian Empire, which indoctrinated the 
sense of inferiority and male insecurity amongst the public that was later  
weaponised. 
Jain also stages the problematic concept of “honour killings”, where women are 
“murdered in the name of upholding family honour” (Chapman 2014: 51),  
particularly in response to or to prevent the marriage of women outside of their 
caste or religion, an increasingly popular occurrence due to high volumes of  
abductions. Jain stages this as the public beheading of multiple young women, 
held by Sardar Virsingh in his mansion. He propagates that “the community shall 
not let [their] women fall into the hands of Muslims”, reassuring the women that 
their sacrifices will make them martyrs. These public deaths are visualised in dim 
stage lighting as the women stand in a single-file line holding clay pots in front of 
their faces, which are then broken by Virsingh’s sword to represent the  
beheading. Whilst the manipulation of the concept of “honour”, particularly by 
men, in response to the religious tensions of the Partition resulted in severe  
gendered violence towards women, Vimla’s final line of the play still suggests hope 
for the reclaiming of female identity. Despite the hardships she faced, her  
statement is empowering: “The partition, for some, has stolen the ground from 
under their feet, but for others, it has also given the opportunity to form our own 
identity again.” 
Scholar Amanda Kearney writes on the impacts of “cultural wounding”, arguing 
that “strength for such ethnic groups resides in the recognition of historical  
experiences” (2014: 611). Aur Kitne Tukde exemplifies that postcolonial and  
anti-colonial theatre can act as a form of this “recognition of historical  
experiences”, challenging not only the “canon of western art”, but challenging  
remaining colonial ideologies as well. Through the lenses of feminism, Kirti Jain 
produces powerful female characters, whose experiences, narratives, and  
anecdotes shape a theatrical landscape which pushes back against patriarchy, 
misogyny, and gendered violence, instead advocating for the rightful reclaiming of 
a woman’s identity within her cultural context. 

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