Class Struggle and Theocratic Subalternity in The Spinner’s Tale by Omar Shahid Hamid: A Postcolonial Marxist Analysis

Abstract

This study analyzes Omar Shahid Hamid’s influential work ‘The Spinner’s Tale’ through the lens of Postcolonial Marxism, highlighting the intersection of subalternity and theocracy in Postcolonial Pakistan. The research explores themes like power dynamics, class struggle, hegemony, state-imposed ideologies, and religion through two central characters – Omar Abbasi and Sheikh Uzair Ahmed. This study utilizes thematic analysis to explore class struggle, power dynamics, state-sanctioned ideologies, and theocratic subalternity. The study aims to highlight how state institutions like the police perpetuate social inequalities using Gramsci’s (2007) concept of hegemony and Althusser’s (2005) concept of Repressive State Apparatuses (RSAs). This class division assisted the rise of extremism as a form of resistance to gain control and agency. The research claims that the novel dismantles the dichotomy of elite and lower working-class people or the colonizer and the colonized subjects, revealing the amalgamation of violence, ideology, and identity. The findings reveal that subalternity is imposed on the lower class by the prevailing forces while aiding the interests of the elite. This research contributes to the broader postcolonial narratives by enlarging the concept of subalternity beyond oppression through economic means and placing it in a theocratic framework. Finally, The Spinner’s Tale reflects the fractured Pakistani society.