Ideological Conflict as a Marker of Change: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Naseem Hijazi's novel “The Last Fight”

Abstract

This research paper aims to find out how the two main groups of the subcontinent namely: Hindus and Muslims, face a clash of ideologies at the same time, what were the effects of this clash of ideology on their social lifestyle values and code of conduct as depicted in Nasim Hijazi’s novel “The Last Flight”. How perception about religion and power imposing groups have changed through a chain of events. In this study, the “Last Fight” (translated version) has been keenly analyzed by keeping in mind the subcontinent's historical perspective and relating these ideologies with the present time. The framework of Van Dijk's ideology and discourse analysis (2006) with reference to social, cognitive, and discursive components is employed to investigate how language is used to understand and communicate ideologies and their impact on the thought processes of groups, systems of beliefs, values, cultural manifestations, and society altogether. This paper is significant in portraying the framework and implications of ideology and discourse analysis. However, the text under consideration can be analyzed and explained in other multiple dimensions.