Political involvement
When Uncle Hamid asks Laila her opinion of the student movements at her university, she says she doesn't have an opinion, which greatly disappoints him. Then at the end of the novel, Laila's husband is murdered because of a political uprising against Britain that left the Indian state split against itself. In other words, Laila is not immune to her political environment, even if she doesn't feel like a "political person." That doesn't mean Uncle Hamid was right to reject Laila of course; it simply means that there are good reasons to stay informed.
Death and tragedy
Laila loved her mother and father, but they died. She loved her grandfather who helped finish raising her and providing for her needs, but he dies too. Then when she gets married to Ameer, they are happy together until he dies. Laila is beset on all sides by the question of death. She suffers from extreme loneliness, because whenever she invests in a relationship, the relationship vanishes against her will.
Loneliness and identity
Laila's unique identity comes from her unique suffering in life. As an orphan, she was raised by her grandfather, who died, leaving her under the care of her uncle who misunderstands her. He rejects her for not being involved enough in national politics, but Laila's life is so shaped by death and tragedy that she doesn't care about politics whatsoever. Therefore, she is misunderstood by her political friends at school, so she doesn't really fit in. At home, she is either not traditional enough for her family, or she is not liberal enough for them. She finally marries someone she admires, but he dies, leaving her alone once more. No one understands her because of her unique suffering, and interestingly, the question of loneliness doesn't really get answered by the novel.
