Year of Graduation
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MFA: Children's Literature
Directing Professor
Dr. Lisa Rowe Fraustino
Abstract
This abstract examines a creative and critical work centered on the 1947 Partition of India, which displaced approximately fourteen million people and caused one million deaths. The narrative introduces Laila, an anthropomorphized doll who functions as both witness and archive, embodying the memories and traumas of multiple child survivors. Through Laila’s journey across India, Pakistan, and the diaspora, the text explores themes of identity, belonging, loss, and intergenerational memory.
Blending personal family history with historical analysis, the author situates Laila within lived experiences of migration, silence, and religious marginalization, particularly as part of the Ahmadi Muslim community. The narrative foregrounds how silence operates both as protection and erasure in post-Partition families, while objects like Laila serve as vessels for storytelling and remembrance. Drawing on oral histories, including those documented by Aanchal Malhotra, the work emphasizes the emotional and psychological aftermath of Partition across generations.
The abstract also situates Laila within the tradition of children’s literature, comparing it to works such as The Night Diary and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It highlights the scarcity of Partition narratives for young readers and argues for the genre’s role in transmitting “narrative truths,” as theorized by Dan Bar-On. Laila’s transformation from an aristocratic object to an empathetic storyteller underscores the pedagogical and ethical potential of children’s literature in addressing historical trauma.
Ultimately, the work positions Laila as both a symbolic and narrative device that bridges past and present, giving voice to silenced child witnesses while fostering empathy, historical understanding, and healing in contemporary readers.
Recommended Citation
Malik, Maleeha and Malik, Maleeha Fatima, "Laila: A Doll Memoir of 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan" (2026). Children's Literature (MFA) Theses, Hollins University. 23.
https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/mfatheses/23
Contact Information
maleeha.malik@gmail.com
Purpose Statement
The purpose of preserving this thesis document is to provide a definitive record of student progress upon completion of the degree. This text will not reflect any revisions to the manuscript made after degree completion. For the most current version of the work, please contact its author.
Included in
Asian History Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Child Psychology Commons, Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Fiction Commons, Hindu Studies Commons, Human Geography Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons, Oral History Commons, South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies Commons