Mother of 1084

Title: Mother of 1084
Original Title (in Bengali): Hajar Churashir Maa
Author: Mahasweta Devi
Genre: Political drama / Feminist literature / Social commentary
Published: 1974
Setting: Calcutta (now Kolkata), India; during the Naxalite movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s
Tone: Emotional, intense, and critical
Narrative Style: Third-person; partly from Sujata’s perspective

Sujata: The protagonist; a middle-class mother who begins to question her role and her society after the death of her son.
Brati (Son No. 1084): Sujata’s revolutionary son; killed by the police as a suspected Naxalite.
Dibyanath: Sujata’s husband; a rich businessman who prioritizes social image over truth.
Nandini: Brati’s girlfriend and fellow revolutionary; helps Sujata understand Brati’s ideals.
Sons and Daughters (Other than Brati): They represent the conformist, upper-middle-class lifestyle and hold traditional views.
Police & Government: Represent state oppression and violence.

Motherhood and Grief: Sujata’s pain becomes the voice of many mothers who lost their children in political violence.
Political Repression: The novel criticizes the state's brutal handling of the Naxalite movement.
Class Conflict: Highlights the divide between the rich, indifferent class and the poor, oppressed masses.
Alienation: Brati is alienated from his own family because of his revolutionary beliefs.
Women's Awakening: Sujata transforms from a silent wife to a questioning, independent woman.
Hypocrisy of the Middle Class: The elite care more about status and reputation than justice or truth.

The novel opens with Sujata recalling the day she found out her son Brati had been killed—he was found in a morgue, labeled “Corpse No. 1084.”
Her husband and family try to erase the shame associated with Brati’s political involvement.
Over time, Sujata begins to ask questions: Why was her son rejected? What did he stand for?
She seeks out Brati’s former companions, especially Nandini, to understand her son’s political ideals.
As Sujata uncovers the truth, she realizes how corrupt, insensitive, and unjust her own class and family have been.
The novel ends with Sujata finding a new identity—not just as a mother, but as a thinking individual.

“She was not just the mother of Brati... She was the mother of Corpse No. 1084.”
– Emphasizes how society stripped away Brati’s identity and reduced him to a number.
“I want to know my son. I want to know what made him a stranger to his own family.”
– Sujata's quest for understanding shows her emotional and intellectual awakening.
“They killed him. But he died my son, not theirs.”
– Sujata claims emotional ownership of Brati’s truth, even if society rejected him.

The novel is a powerful critique of social injustice and state violence.
It is also a deeply personal story of a mother trying to make sense of her son’s death.
Through Sujata, Mahasweta Devi gives voice to silenced women and grieving mothers.
It questions what it means to truly understand a loved one beyond societal labels.

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