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.
