Scope And Plurality of South Asian Literature
Author:- Sahar Saleem
Keywords:- South Asian Literature, history, culture, religion, geography, region, colonial, women, subcontinent
Abstract
This paper discusses the expression of South Asia, its geography, scope, and plurality of South Asian literature. The expression of the term South Asian is captivating on various grounds. Firstly it denotes a region where several religions may be recognized with various civilizations that have been connecting, potentially challenging the idea that a region forms a cultural realm. The second ground is the ambivalent role of the Britisher’s strategy about the colonization that laid the foundation for a mental depiction of the region through its unification policies and on the other side it has contributed to creating boundaries between distinct states and between common cultures during independence. The third reason deals with the subcontinent, a more close term for ‘South Asia’ that has been characterized by a painful history that observed several partitions rendering notions of region and regionalism particularly subtle.
South Asia as an expression of a regional construct
South Asian means India and the entire Indian subcontinent. The South Asia is considered an expression of a regional construct. South Asian is the name given to the region of the Indian subcontinent. It comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The term South Asia has been originated in the 1950s in the German academic circle, as a replacement for the term ‘Indian subcontinent’. It gained recognition and was adopted by Western countries and finally, South Asia gained legitimacy as a country in the South Asian region to begin to widely use it. If we talk about the geography of this expression, we find that the Indian subcontinent encompassed the British colonial administrative unit called India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Till 1936, Burma was also a part of British India but was not considered part of the subcontinent.
South Asian signifies the region extending from Afghanistan in North West to Bangladesh in the East and from Nepal in the north to Sri Lanka in the South. This region is well represented by the regional organization that is SAARC, established in 1985. South Asia extends from the main part of the continent of the Indian Ocean. The principles boundaries of South Asia are Himalayas and Afghanistan. All countries of North Afghanistan were once part of the former Soviet Union. South Asia experiences a dry season during the winter months. In the South Asian region, English become a more prominent language. The first book of South Asia was Travels (1794) by an Indian Muslim Sake Deen Mohammed. Language is probably the most pervasive way that Europeans affected South Asia.
Asia can be classified as
North Asia: It is known by the term Siberia; the population is large of European stock. This country was under Russian control. Russia is a European country.
East Asia: China is a major country. Japan and South Korea come under this region.
West Asia: It comprises Arab countries. West Asia is many of the countries in the Middle East. Iraq, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Christianity and Islam are the major religion of this region. Arabic is a major language. Arabic poetry is dominant in this region. Ghazal becomes a crowning figure of this region.
Central Asia: It refers to a place where most of the invasion took place. Central Asia is a region in the Asian continent that extends from the mountains of western China to the shores of the Caspian Sea. It was located on what was known as the Silk Road between Europe and the Far East. It has an extremely varied geography; it includes ranges such as Tian Shan, Hindu Kush, and the Pamirs. Most Central Asian Muslims are Sunnis. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan come under this region.
The idea of Continental Shift
Geography plays an important role in understanding and interpreting literature. Asia is the most populated country, it comprises different languages, regions, etc. The idea of Continental Shift is there which implies that at a certain point in the history of mankind, all continents are one but started division and separated from each other by the sea. On the border of the continent particular kind of climate, sea life, flora, and fauna are there. At one point in time, they were united, the idea of oneness was there but boundary marks the demarcation.
Scope of South Asian Literature
The scope and the purpose of South Asian literature are very vast. South Asian writers used European techniques like modernism and post-modernism and modify or inflect them in unique ways. South Asian literature has a universal perspective. India has become the center for West Asian studies. South Asian literature emphasizes the question of canonicity. South Asian literature is the representation of the historical events of the 20th century such as the moment of Independence for India and Pakistan, it comprises partition literature.
In English and various other Humanities departments South Asian literature become an important part of the syllabus and still, researchers are working on this authentic literature. This literature also the depiction of issues that has happened between India, and Pakistan. This literature also talks about women’s oppression. Several authors of South Asian literature must deal extensively with the question of women’s status in South Asia, and there is an important aim to criticize the mistreatment of women in South Asian countries.
Tunko and Hiko become the two important forms that come from Japan. Because of the translation various works have appeared. This literature impacts the travel of ideas. Orality is an important feature of this literature. South Asian literature in English has become the new form of expression of diaspora. Most of the relevant themes like experiences of migration, gender bias, racism, and wars are quite prevalent in this writing. In South Asian literature, national self-assertion is very much present. The process of protest, revolution, resistance, and finally the appropriation of their dialects, and idioms are present in the writings of South Asian writers. The basic themes of South Asian literature are the conflict or clashes between different cultures, colonialism, pride in one’s own culture, and issues of identity and nationhood.
A plurality of South Asian Literature
South Asia always consisted of a multiplicity of peoples and cultures in communication with each other. In South Asia; Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism are all multi-vocal religions. South Asian literature in its many voices, and languages underlying cultural connectivity. The Diversity and plurality of South Asian literature are wide in scope, it brings together publications in anthropology and sociology, alongside international and political relations expressing themes of historical and contemporary relevance. This diverse literature in the social sciences and humanities is investigating the plurality of social groups, and ideologies. It is interrogating the plurality of key issues like gender, caste, region, and religion but it also comprised political variations and different variety of cultural ideas and expressions within South Asia. Oriya, Punjabi, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Urdu, Tamil, and Kannada are the important languages of South Asia.
Literature in English in South Asia is the product of complex determinants. The colonial encounter is the major determinant for emerging literature in English in India and the subcontinent. Additionally, the process through which the new nation comes into being and interact with each other, the trauma of partition, and the emergence of the national identities when there was political instability all contributed to a vast body of literature not just written in the English language but in other various regional languages as well. This literature examines the notions of nationalism, transnationalism, identity, and language. India offers tremendous diversity. We cannot answer this question how many languages do we have? India is a multi-diverse country. English connects people because it is an important link language. One remarkable statesman by S. Radhakrishnan is that “Indian literature is one, though written in different languages.”
Colonial Experiences
Each subcontinent has its unique history. In South Asian literature, there is a depiction of colonial experiences and how people resist them. This literature mainly deals with the question of identity, and nationalism. This unique literature also depicts the notion of multiculturalism. Most of the eminent writers from South Asian Literature are diaspora writers like Jhumpa Lahiri, Salman Rushdie, and Amitav Ghosh. These writers in their fiction talks about an identity crisis.
One of the important features of South Asian Literature is Sectarianism i.e., a political or cultural conflict between two groups often related to the form of government they live under. South Asian literature is like reading an ethnography done in the English language. The very scope of South Asian Literature is that South Asian literature has emerged as the new form of expression of diaspora, be it within South Asia or outside it. Experiences of migration, gender bias, and racism are quite prevalent in this distinct literature.
The most important term New Literature in English is considered appropriate to refer to the literary developments in South Asian countries. The term new is the distinction between the old British works that have been produced by those who were representatives of imperial power. And new literature is the representation of those who possess indigenous inhabitant. New literature in English is now used for earlier categorization of ‘Common Wealth’ or ‘Third World literature.’ New kinds of literature de-emphasize the colonial past. Ashcroft states the important feature of South Asia Literature
“What each of this literature from the South Asian region has in common beyond their “special” or distinctive characteristics is that they emerged in their present from out of the experience of colonization and “asserted themselves by foregrounding the tension with the imperial power and by emphasizing their differences from the assumptions of the imperial center”. (Ashcroft, p.1). Global South is a new term used for Third World countries.
Ismat Chughtai as a part of South Asian Literature concerning her short story Sacred Duty
Ismat Chughtai is a part of world Literature. She turned real issues and ideologies into fiction. Her tone is so sarcastic and realistic. As we all know that South Asia has a vast diversity, it comprises different religions and ideologies. Cultural clashes are the most important issue of this literature. I have taken Sacred Duty by Ismat Chughtai to depict what happens when there is a conflict between two different cultures. Ismat Chughtai is a very eminent writer for her feminist ideology.
This story portrays the religious and cultural conflict during the partition and it also shows the hypocrisy of the people. It glimpses light on the patriarchal order and how males dominated women. Samina’s character is very strong and can take her own decisions. This story tells us how a name of a person can trick us about his religion. The theme of religious differences is very much highlighted by two families Sethji Trivedi (Hindu family) and Siddiqi Sahib (Muslim family). Questions of marriage and religion are the dominant notions of this story.
Conversion
Both families never bothered about religious differences but when it comes to their own family, their outlook suddenly changed. They are forcing their children to convert according to their faith and children became puppets. We find that photos of the conversion of Samina to the Hindu religion leaked in the newspaper and it shows how people their family culture on the next generation. Siddiqi Sahib himself is considered progressive in his thinking but this unbiased stops when his daughter has married a Hindu boy she loves.
The presence of mothers of both families was not seen in the whole story except those cameos. One of the important statements shows the condition of women i.e. “One man’s testimony is equal to that of two women.” This shows gender bias. If we look at the other side Samina showed courage to elope with a person she loves despite of differences in caste. This story gives the idea that we all are children of the same god, there is no religion, no caste, and no traditions but humanity.
This story shows how people are jealous and consider their faith superior to others and impose their faith on others. It tells the situation after the partition the Hindu and Muslim conflict prevailed at that time of partition. One important message we can draw from this story is that our first sacred duty is to respect each other’s free will. We may belong to any religion but we first are part of humanity. Still, people have this kind of orthodoxical mind setting who shows their control by using religion. South Asian literature highlights many serious issues like the patriarchal era, gender differences, cultural and religious conflicts, and differences in perceptions due to the generation gap.
Conclusion
One function of the newly emerging literature is to challenge and extend the form of literature. Women’s literary writings have contested their marginal position to emerge as a key to literature. The position of women in literature in general and the very relationship between women and literature is a complex one in our culture. Women’s oppression, patriarchy, cultural differences, and the issue of identity are the dominant theme in this short story. To conclude we can say that South Asian Literature in English is, therefore, important and must be encouraged so that our cultures find understanding and recognition in the global context.
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References
Arif, Mohammad Aminah. “Introduction. Imaginations and Constructions of South Asia: An Enchanting Abstraction?,” Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 2014.
Aschroft, Bill, Gareth and Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Postcolonial kinds of literature. London Routledge, 1989.
http:// egyankosh.ac.in/ bitstream/1234567/ 222909/1/ Unit-4 Pdf. Accessed on 4 April,2021.
