Social Inequality and Class Suffering in Siddiq Salik’s Novel Pressure Cooker: A Critical Study

صدیق سالک کے ناول “پریشر ککر” میں معاشرتی ناہمواری اور طبقاتی کرب: ایک تنقیدی مطالعہ

Abstract

This study presents a critical analysis of Siddiq Salik’s novel Pressure Cooker with a particular focus on social inequality and class-based suffering in Pakistani society. The novel foregrounds the lived experiences of marginalized individuals who are subjected to continuous economic deprivation, social injustice, and psychological pressure. Through the central character Fitṛat, Salik explores the silent accumulation of pain, frustration, and emotional repression caused by rigid class structures and moral decay. The metaphor of the “pressure cooker” symbolically represents the human psyche under relentless societal pressure, where suppressed emotions ultimately lead to psychological breakdown. The novel skillfully combines realism, irony, satire, and autobiographical elements to expose the harsh realities of poverty, exploitation, hypocrisy, and institutional injustice. This research examines the novel’s thematic depth, narrative technique, characterization, dialogue, and symbolic framework to demonstrate how Salik critiques class hierarchy and social imbalance. The study concludes that Pressure Cooker is a significant contribution to modern Urdu fiction, offering a powerful literary representation of class struggle and the human cost of social inequality.