A STRUGGLE FOR SOCIAL RIGHTS: A STUDY WITH REFERENCE TO NAYANTARA SAGHAL’S 'FEMALE' (Pages 137-143) by Dr. Mythili. N in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

A definition of Human Rights run as, “…which humans have by the fact of being human, and which are neither created nor can be abrogated by any government. Supported by several international conventions and treaties (such as the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human rights in 1948), these include cultural, economic, and political rights, such as right to life, liberty, education and equality before law, and right of association, belief, free speech, information, religion, movement, and nationality.” Self identity and freedom to an individual in social, political and domestic milieu plays a prominent role for every human being. When these rights are tested to be bestowed on an individual, there arises the necessity to fight for conquering those rights. The great Miltonic verse from Paradise Lost assures the value of freedom, when Satan says, “Better to reign in hell than to serve in Heaven.” Highlighting the necessity of freedom to an individual, Nayantara Saghal pictures the struggle for social and domestic rights through her female protagonists. In this paper I would like to explore Nayantara Saghal’s venture in combating for the social and domestic rights of her women characters, who are the representatives of womanhood in the society. The quest for social and domestic rights is done through Saghal’s selected female characters such as: Rashmi in This Time of Morning, Simrit in The Day in Shadow, Anna Hansen in Plans for Departure, Sonali in Rich like us. All her female protagonists express their quest at different phases of their life. In Saghal’s fictional world presents the experience of conflict, frustration and a long drawn period of stress, through which characters mature and eventually find a stable identity of their own.efinition of Human Rights run as, “…which humans have by the fact of being human, and which are neither created nor can be abrogated by any government. Supported by several international conventions and treaties (such as the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human rights in 1948), these include cultural, economic, and political rights, such as right to life, liberty, education and equality before law, and right of association, belief, free speech, information, religion, movement, and nationality.” Self identity and freedom to an individual in social, political and domestic milieu plays a prominent role for every human being. When these rights are tested to be bestowed on an individual, there arises the necessity to fight for conquering those rights. The great Miltonic verse from Paradise Lost assures the value of freedom, when Satan says, “Better to reign in hell than to serve in Heaven.” Highlighting the necessity of freedom to an individual, Nayantara Saghal pictures the struggle for social and domestic rights through her female protagonists. In this paper I would like to explore Nayantara Saghal’s venture in combating for the social and domestic rights of her women characters, who are the representatives of womanhood in the society. The quest for social and domestic rights is done through Saghal’s selected female characters such as: Rashmi in This Time of Morning, Simrit in The Day in Shadow, Anna Hansen in Plans for Departure, Sonali in Rich like us. All her female protagonists express their quest at different phases of their life. In Saghal’s fictional world presents the experience of conflict, frustration and a long drawn period of stress, through which characters mature and eventually find a stable identity of their own.Keywords: International Conventions and Treaties, Human Rights, Education and Equality, Economic and Political Rights, Right of Association.