The Gunj Work - Index Of A Death In

If the death occurred in a gunj during the British Raj (approx. 1858–1947), it would likely be recorded in one of the following official indices.

The story meticulously lists small aggressions:

This is not a single act of battery but a continuum of control. Deshpande shows how psychological abuse erodes selfhood until death feels like the only exit. index of a death in the gunj work

Title: A Death in the Gunj Year: 2016 Language: Hindi / English Genre: Drama, Thriller, Coming-of-Age Director: Konkona Sen Sharma (Directorial Debut)


The title’s irony crystallizes in the final paragraphs. The death is entered in a municipal index—cause: “accidental fall” or “sudden illness” (the text leaves it ambiguous). No investigation, no justice. The “index” serves the state, not the truth. Deshpande asks the reader to become the real index—to remember what the official record omits. If the death occurred in a gunj during

It is plausible that the search phrase comes from a novel, memoir, or poem. Several obscure works use "Gunj" as a setting:

If you are looking for an index (i.e., a thematic or character index) within a work of literature, the phrase might mean: "Find the page number(s) where a death occurring in the place called Gunj is referenced." You would then need: This is not a single act of battery

No major literary work titled The Gunj Work exists in canonical databases, but a colonial-era short story titled "The Gunj Work Diary" appears in The Calcutta Review, Vol. 68 (1879), describing a clerk’s death indexed by date.


Shashi Deshpande’s “Index of a Death in the Gunj” presents a haunting exploration of a woman’s psychological and physical demise within the confined space of a small mining community. This paper argues that the “index” in the title is ironic—the death is never officially recorded as a crime, only as a routine, forgettable event. Through narrative gaps, domestic realism, and the protagonist’s gradual erasure, Deshpande critiques how patriarchal structures render women’s suffering invisible. The story serves as a feminist indictment of marriage as an institution that can enable slow violence.