Economic oppression refers to the restriction, deprivation, or control of economic resources in ways that undermine an individual’s economic autonomy. This paper examines the representation of economic oppression in L.H. Pde’s U Raimon bad ka Dashisha, with particular attention to the experiences of Kong Jngen and Dashisha. Using qualitative textual analysis, the paper examines episodes in which property documents, land, and inheritance-related resources become objects of control and conflict. The analysis is informed by scholarship on women’s economic empowerment and economic abuse, particularly the work of UN Women, Sundari Anitha, and Adrienne E. Adams and her co-authors. The discussion shows that the novel represents economic oppression not simply as the loss of material resources but as a form of coercive control that can be reinforced through intimidation, physical violence, and psychological suffering. Kong Jngen’s experience centres on the alteration of land-ownership documents and the attempted sale of property, while Dashisha’s experience involves pressure to surrender documents connected with her mother’s property. These episodes demonstrate how struggles over property can affect women’s autonomy, security, and dignity within family relationships. The paper argues that the novel complicates any simple assumption that a matrilineal social context automatically protects women from economic control, while avoiding the broader generalisation that all women in matrilineal societies experience oppression.
Economic oppression; economic abuse; women’s economic autonomy; property rights; coercive control; Khasi literature; L.H. Pde
Pynkmenhunlang G Sohtun. Representation of Economic Oppression: A Critical Analysis of L. H. Pde's Novel U Raimon bad ka Dashisha. Indian Journal of Modern Research and Reviews. 2026; 4(9):330-333
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