Resistance for What and How!

Prafulla Kumar Mohanty

Resistance is built into the human condition. Nature has its own energy to achieving equilibrium after mutually stultifying clashes. But man, in the history making process of his long march into civilization has not accommodated his aggressiveness in his quest for order, balance, harmony and progress. For thousands of years oppressive regimes of chieftaindom and kingship refused to acknowledge the freedom of fellow human beings. Discrimination in the name of race, creed and colour, even language, segregated weaker segments of humankind as though they are non-human or of a different stock. Personal liberties, economic opportunities and political rights were denied people who compulsorily accepted the philosophy of tolerance, fate and destiny. But man’s resilience as well as resistance to forcefully imposed political and moral values slowly but steadily challenged oppressive regimes in all civilizations. Democracy replaced authoritarian empires, the free movement of ideas and goods, free markets replaced controls and public distribution, and liberty of the individuals was grudgingly recognized. Fences and walls were broken creating openness and a liberal temper softened all arguments around power, rights and entitlements. But the champions of liberalism also used oppression, like the ancient counterparts, to convert stubborn adherents to alternative ideologies, which resulted in rebellion, protest, terrorism and guerrilla warfare. Resistance to change also became bloody insurgencies.

Three important things happened in mid twentieth century Europe. Before that in 1776 the American Independence had almost done away with slavery and the built in hate of the racial system. In 1939 the Second World War was fought to defeat for all time to come Fascism. In 1945 fascism ended but Communism continued which had flourished since 1917 Bolshevic Revolution. In 1968 with Perestroika the beginning of the end of communism was officially declared and liberalism was finally accepted as the chief value for man’s honourable survival on earth. Many thinkers, poets and futurists were ready to declare the end of history: But the liberal story did not have a well conceived plot nor a language palatable to everyone. In the early1990s a total break away from the past seemed possible by the new package of democracy, human rights, free markets (Globalization) and several welfare schemes of elected governments. But the schemes did not percolate down to the historically suppressed segments of the society. To add to these woes religious fundamentalism, caste conflicts, ethnic discriminations and now emmigration have emerged as the new menace to the ideological framework of the new history in the making. Nationalism has now entered in a big way disorienting all balances into tilting upheavals. Trumpism and Brexit too have come as a rude shock to the vision of the human species. Nostalgic dreams of reviving some golden Utopia in the past in each country chases away all isms: liberalism, communism and humanism. As a result of all these the communities which feel sidelined claim their identity and right to live as civilized human beings. This claim is no more verbal. They rise in revolt to proclaim their authority and often take to arms. To support their claim to power, authority and well being they create a literature which at best is of negative emotions of hate and protest. Naxalites, Dalits even terrorists  have their literatures.

The resistance literature does not have any definable character as it does not celebrate man or life. Instead it is against man and his civilizational paradigms. It highlights poverty and deprivation, and condemns citadels raised by other men who have dominated life systems in the past. The Black movement in America had started it. The Palestinian poets wrote of hate and revolt. The urge to express one’s identity is now contagious and affects all subalterns equally. Islamic State is a fight for world domination; naxalite-dalit movements too are a fight for physical capture of state power. But the basic difference between mainstream literature and dalit or subaltern literature is that man is no more a hero, he is a dark operator scheming to kill or destroy. But as inequalities increase protest literature too becomes more and more anti heroic and at times desperately anti human. Protest has its own place in life but protest in the name of group identities destroys all virtues. We must remember that the arch of history is long but it always bends towards morality. In the absence of universal morality any movement by groups which feel deprived of their share of national or regional wealth and glory is at best identity seeking and at worst nihilistic.

Poetry all over the world has almost lost its moral authority: Now it is losing its aesthetic charm and imaginative content. Hate cannot replace love, as death cannot replace life. What matters in literature of this kind is a bold projection of self without soul values. Denigrating historical memory and demolishing myths long respected by men this literature does not celebrate anything except negatives like anger, hate and sarcasm. While we admit what Appadurai says, ‘Globalization (or liberal values) being a force without a face, cannot be the object of enthnocide’ we must also admit that ethnic issues cannot be a force against liberal civilization.

This conflict between liberal and soul values like love, courage, compassion, heroism and inferiority, self-loathing hate and revenge will never end. The present surge in dalit or subaltern literature will also become passé once social- political justice reaches all sections. But new issues will crop up. The process of life is endless till the end game is played out on man. I will close this very brief presentation with the lines of Aime’ Cesaire’ where the truth of human situation is honestly presented:

            For it is not true that the work of man is done

     That there is nothing more for us to do in the world

            That we leech off the world

     That we should be content to be brought to heel by the world

            For the work of man is only just beginning

     And it falls to man to conquer every latent restraint

              Retrenched in the recess of his passion

     And no race has a monopoly on beauty, on intelligence and on strength

      And there is room for us all at the rendezvous of history.