Honor

While abru is one Indian word for honor, izzat is another. In the complex socio-linguistic terrain of Northern India, both words can be traced to Hindustani (a combination of Hindi and Urdu) and ancient Persian. Specifically, abru can be traced to Sanskrit (the language of Hindi religious texts), while izzat has traces of Arabic (the language of Muslim religious texts). In Honor, Meena names her child Abru in the spirit of her Muslim husband, Abdul, and his dream of a unified India. The word izzat is only used once in the novel, in an accusatory way: It is connected to the “honor” of “honor killings,” practiced by both Hindu and Muslim communities. When Smita’s Muslim family was assaulted by their Hindu neighbors, her father swallowed his pride and converted to Hinduism to protect them. This extended to him trying to sell the family’s apartment so that they could move to America. He bribed the man who assaulted his children and forced the family to convert in order to sell the apartment, but when his wife found out what he did, she was furious:

Zenobia had accused him of collaborating with their persecutor, the man who had terrorized their children.