TRIBAL LIFE AND INSTRUMENTALIZATION OF HUMAN BODY: A NECROPOLITICAL STUDY OF JAMIL AHMAD’S THE WANDERING FALCON

Abstract

According to this study, the state, by placing differential values on certain populations, exposes them to death or near-death experiences. This exposure is a necropolitical practice that marginalizes certain groups by enabling their exclusion from positions of power. Jamil Ahmad's (2011) novel The Wandering Falcon is a fascinating literary portrayal of necropolitics in the tribal cultures and border regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. This paper analyzes the complex relationships between power, sovereignty, and human existence, employing Achille Mbembe’s (2003) Necropolitics as the primary theoretical framework. It highlights that the intricate relationships between tribal customs, governmental entities, and marginalized populations lead to material destruction because the instrumentalization of such indigenous populations is not possible. Nomadic tribes' fragile existence serves as an example of how fleeting life is in such circumstances. Nativity and tribal values haunt governmentality, so the state will always institutionalize them for better control. Violence, eviction, and displacement are some other necropolitical technologies discussed, and how they are frequently reflected in this fiction. This research explores why modern post-colonial states invariably sacrifice segments of their people using various necropolitical technologies under neo-colonial and imperial powers and why this political calculation of life and death is considered necessary for democracy to work.