Approaching Raja Rao's Kanthapura as a subaltern narrative in the context of Indian independence historiography.

Thesis statement

The narrative presented by Raja Rao in Kanthapura could be argues as an 'alternative history" when one places its setting within the context of Indian independence struggle. And therefore this essay will propose a discussion that Rao's novel can be treated as a voice of the subaltern and the landscape in which they met the independence movement of Indian and the wave of change it ushered in to rural Indian society.

Introduction

Among the works of literature highly acclaimed as being monumental in charting Indian historiography that came in to being in colonial India Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru's The Discovery of India occupies a special place of importance. It is widely regarded as authoritative, and giving a nationalist's vision of how the independence movement of India was creating history. And one could also argue that in mapping the history of the Indian independence movement the historiography found in Pundit Nehru's magnum opus would provide an account of how the movement can be placed in history in terms of the people involved and also the institutions concerned.

But in charting history and giving it definition within the political context of Indian independence from British rule, The Discovery of India does relate to the plight of certain poverty stricken masses and the abject conditions they were in. The infamous slums of Calcutta are vividly described with references to the national economics that affect certain segments of impoverished society. Yet when the juncture of M.K. Gandhi's advent, in the eyes of political figures such as Pundit Nehru is looked at one may question as to whether such key events were reflective of a collective sentiment or a select group.

"And then Gandhi came. He was like a powerful current of fresh air that made us stretch ourselves and take deep breaths; like a beam of light that pierced the darkness and removed the scales from our eyes; like a whirlwind that upset many things, but most of all the working of people's minds. He did not descend from the top; he seemed to emerge from millions of India, speaking their language and incessantly drawing attention to them and their appalling condition."(Nehru. p303)

By the above passage from The discovery of India the light in which Gandhi is seen and presented to the reader by Pundit Nehru may seem as the national sentiment where the disposition does not vary and holds absolute consensus. However as a historian Pundit Nehru may project an elitist outlook in terms of gauging the people's sentiment. Being a Kashmiri Brahmin educated in the finest fortes of education of the English speaking world, and amply versed in politics, his generalization of his disposition towards Gandhi could exclude sentiments on (more or less) the same matter held by a rural rustic Indian, whom we may treat as a subaltern.

A glimpse at the 'Subaltern'

The'subaltern' may be identified in opposition to the 'elite' if one is to be very brief in placing him in the schema of social stations. Dr Nirmal Kumara Welgama of the Colombo University's department of History and International Relations has expressed (in his lectures to undergraduates) that the position of the subaltern is seen as 'a shifting position.' A farmer who is privileged in his village set up may find himself disempowered before the country's President and be reduced to a subaltern. Therefore a subaltern may be understood in the context of power relations. Marxist theoretician Antonio Gramsci brought in a discourse of the'subaltern' which finds bases of class and power. And what he expounded has contributed to Indian discourses on subaltern studies and the subject of historiography.

"Gramsci remains relevant because he tried to explain the nature of political power (much before the meaning of power was investigated, somewhat tangentially by Michel Foucault and Derrida), from the perspective of what he called the'subaltern' perspective. The usage of the word'subaltern" itself is interesting- it establishes a historical relationship between various, otherwise disparate classes. The short lived Indian school of historiography initiated by Ranajit Guha- the subaltern school of historians took off from Gramsci's concept of the subaltern, employing it almost interchangeably and therefore restrictively with the 'peasant.'

(http://readerswords.wordpress.com/2007/04/26/antonio-gramsci-and-india/)

Shireen Moosvi in her piece titled "OPEN DOOR" IN INDIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY (which is available as an internet article) discusses the negation of subalterns and their place in the scheme of Indian historiography, and points out the questionability of present accepted discourses of Indian history and its mapping in terms of encompassing a sense of nationality. Taking into consideration Marxist stances on defining the subaltern and conceptions of 'nationhood,' Moosvi believes that (Indian) subaltern perceptions would not be fully complicit with that of the educated elite on the idea of nationhood.

"Their perception of the nationalist elite is, then, practically identical with that of their Cambridge friends. In more recent days, therefore, the Subalterns have found regionalism and communalism to be more authentic expressions of subaltern consciousness than the dangerous phenomenon of nationalism. It becomes a matter of wonder how India at all exists, and how people (including "Subalterns") still identify themselves as "Indians"!"

("OPEN DOOR" IN INDIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY)

The above extract from Moosvi's piece may give valid reason as to why the plethora of characters found in Rao's novel appear to be concerned with their communal set up and the ramifications it faces in the face of nationalism and the independence movement headed by the elite such as Gandhi, Nehru, Ali Jinnah and the like.

On this basis the course charted by Rao in the fictional Kanthapura may find strong linkage with that of a subaltern narrative, and treatable as representative of an 'alternative history.'

The foci of Kanthapura citizenry and dispositions towards Gandhian politics.

Some interesting terms frequently used in the course of the narrative in Kanthapura are "GanhiGanhi man," "Gandhi men" "Gandhi affair." One may be propelled to infer the tone detectable in these phrases and the contexts they are found within, as placing the subject of Gandhian politics as distant to their understandings or at least outside topics of concern. And one is unlikely to feel that the tone denotes the subject as one that is endeared. How strongly has the drive towards Indian independence really touched Kanthapura? The figure of Moorthy stands to represent, and in fact personify Gandhian ideology within his village. But the dispositions, the populace, of the little Indian hamlet bear to a proponent of radical change who seeks to actuate it in the name of the bigger picture, or the greater concern which is 'the nationalist struggle to free India from British rule' lack complicity in sympathy with the cause.

The intellectual proximity the people of Kanthapura bear to the Gandhian movement is evidently varied with figures such as Moorthy being fully immersed in it whilst gossipy characters like Waterfall Venkamma may not relate to it at all, and see the acts of change perpetrated by Moorthy and Rangamma as scandal. The maturity of the political consciousness level of Kanthapura people may be treated as a factor which has created divides in gauging national level politics and how it beckons change to their very secluded existence.

The foci one finds in the elaborate descriptions of the village its topography and communal life indicate a strong sense of intimacy with the set up and how the system works. The life and ways presented through the narrative voice acquaints the reader with aspects of village life that seem significant to the inhabitant, native voice. The many religious poojas, described which are based on a great deal of Hindu mythology also constitute a spinal frame of communal life. Society in Kanthapura rely on region in its multi faceted manifestations to drive what is social in their set up. Be it the 'Ganesh festival' or the 'Krishna festival' it shows a rallying point for the people. And in this sense of communalism which relates to what Moosvi said of a subaltern's consciousness in the earlier citation, one may find ground to place the Kanthapura folk and its narrative as being subaltern. The opening presentations of Kantahpaura to the reader is filled with folk lore and mythology. Religion is paramount in understanding the collective mindset of the village; social politics in the segmented and hierarchical setup also must be read in terms of religious foundations. The caste system is a creature kept in motion by Hinduism, and it is on that platform it preserves its validity, and power.

Partha Chatterjee in the essay 'Whose Imagined Community' takes a critical look at the conception points and factors of the nation notion. And the mental construct of 'nation' which is founded on a vast range of experiences, commonalties, beliefs of people appears contestable on a number of fronts. An interesting theory is how print media becomes a factor of 'nation creation.' The circulation of the news paper is viewed as a means of connecting people through time and space. And what form of literature would be predominantly brought into focus in Rao's novel which circulates among the folk of kanthapura?For one, the festivals and religious ceremonies which include a considerable amount of chanting bhajan could be considered as an instance of literary discourses being shared by a group who relate to the experience with a sense of commonality. The idea of the 'religious nation' may be a stronger sense of nationality to the kanthapura folk than the concept of a statehood nationality, which calls for reformations in socio structures and propounds new means of polity, and economic structuring, which the rural secluded villagers may feel distanced from their experiences and understandings. The super structures of the independence movement of India did not seem to be part of the ethos of the likes of kanthapura. The idea of 'the mahatma' is related to them in media of religious and spiritual narratives by elevating the mahatma (and possibly what he stood for) on to a platform of (some what) divinity. The idea of 'the divine' is a sentiment base possessed by the populace to which Moorthy attempts to channel new ideological change. And the adoption of the 'Gandhi idol' in religiously charged narrative is a sanctification of what may be objectionable to the existing order.

The idea of the 'communal' is a far more dominant consciousness than the proposition of nation among the majority of the characters who would relate once again to a quality by which the subaltern may be understood. However when Rao provides a narrative of dimensions which may seem very distanced from what 'main stream' historiography would represent, he has provided ground to explore the mind set of the subaltern and how in the annals of history their perceptions would be woven in their voice.

R. Radhakrishna in the essay 'Nationalism, Gender, and the narrative of identity' says the following.

"Are the people the means or are they the end in the nationalist struggle? The contradiction lies in the fact that unification of the people is going to be undertaken not in their own name, but in the name of the emerging nation state that is to follow. The subaltern valence of the people has to be reformed as a prerequisite for their nationalization. The people thus become a necessary mean to the superior ends of nationalism."

The conception of a nationalist struggle which calls for reformation of the existing order may be a struggle itself to subalterns, who are not versed with the ends that the 'elite' super structure and their politics. And it is with access and exposure to the men and spaces which promote such a concept and cause, that the subaltern may acquire propinquity with the super structure(s) and may find a shade of empowerment. The figure of Moorthy is very strongly a political force within the narrative of Kanthapura. Moorthy being a Brahmin and of an educated foundation may not seem very much the subaltern discussed in this essay. Yet he is an agent of change who operates in an arguably subaltern setup when looked at from a larger scope on the picture. Moorthy's approach to his fellow villagers on political indoctrination is shaped and modulated accordingly as discussed earlier. It is a localization process with a socio-cultural mechanization, that involves elaborate ceremonies that set the stage for political consciousness to be seeped in. And even in this 'mode development' one may argue that Rao has provided the reader with food for thought on how approaches may 'alter' and the narrative of history may encompass 'alternatives.'

The mahatma as a deity may seem closer to the experience and understanding of the kanthapura folk, yet the doctrine of this man made god is a threat which the subaltern mentality cannot embrace. And Moorthy who finds a following through his passionate commitment to bring reform to serve 'the national cause' may be an actuator of the 'alternative' as opposed to the 'main stream' nationalist activist who mobilizes masses.
As a revolutionary, Moorthy may be radical in breaking caste based norms of conduct. Yet as a subaltern he is unable to shed his communal consciousness completely, as it is shown thus at the first instance he is invited to par take in tea with pariahs. The sense of unintended reservation he may become conscious to could be argued as the ethos of the subaltern being present in his mind set which may find difficulty in adapting to the elitist discourse, which runs contrary to the religious foundations that his socio cultural identity is built on. Gandhian politics ran a course which strongly challenged the foundations of orthodox Hinduism. The caste concept is a foremost building block of the Hindu nation, and the call for the abolition of such a system would seem absurd to those who benefit from it. Thus is the case in kanthapura in the Brahmin quarter, where the new order disempowers the privileged of the existing order, resistance to and rejection of the beliefs of 'Gandhi men' is to be expected. While Moorthy and his like may seem progressive and the likes of Bhatta may seem reactionary, one may also consider that the Gandhian ideology which may demarcate the new scheme or frame work for change was expounded by a non Hindu. M.K Gandhi being a Parsee did not belong to 'main stream' Hindu society and its belief system as rigidly as a Brahmin would. And therefore one could argue that Gandhi could have believed in and related better to casteless equality more readily than one who carries the baggage and trappings of a traditional Hindu, and more so a Brahmin at that. And the subaltern found in kanthapura is bound to be in turmoil when confronted with the proposition of change, and 'an alternative' to the existing order.
Conclusion

Since 'main stream' historiography would have the tendency to negate what the subaltern may place importance on, the story of Kanthapura offers a kaleidoscope of Indian life at a crucial juncture of the country's history with foci on attitudes and actions which are unlikely to kind prominence in elitist historiography. Although the elite would conceive politicize and mobilize a 'nationalist struggle' the numerous folds of subaltern life which become part of the 'course of movement' would scarce find expression in the writings of 'main stream' historians. When their story in need told it would be contorted in to a voice of expression that finds more proximity to the elite historian and his mindset and its foci rather than the modes found in Rao's narrative which appears to attempt to capture the voice of the subaltern and thereby give an 'alternative.'

Bibliography

Nehru, Jawaharlal The Discovery of India. Meridian books Ltd: London 1946.p301-305.

Chatterjee, Partha 'Whose Imagined Community.' Mapping the Nation Ed. Gopal Balakrishnan. Veiso: London & NY. 1996.

Radhakrishnan, R 'Nationalism, Gender and the Narrative of identity' Nationalisms and sexualities ed. Andrew Pavlo et al. Rentledge. 1992.

Chatterjee, Partha 'The Nation and its women' The nation and its fragments Princeton university press. 1993.

Internet sources

http://readerswords.wordpress.com/2007/04/26/antonio-gramsci-and-india/

http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=193&issue=110

http://members.tripod.com/ahsaligarh/opendoor.htm

Written assignment

ENG 3252

Studies in contemporary South Asian Literature.

Lecturer – Supeshala Ekanayaka

Submitted by

Chamila Wijesekara

A 12208
