Thesis Summary - the Annual of Urdu Studies

ULRIKE STARKThesis SummaryTage der Unzufriedenheit: Identität und Gesellschaftsbild in den Romanenmuslimischer Hindischriftsteller (1965–1990) [Days of Dissatisfaction:Identity and Society in the Novels of Muslim Hindi Writers(1965–1990)], Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1995.IN VIEW of the growing Hindu-Muslim antagonism and its increasinglyviolent manifestations, the situation of Indian Muslims represents one ofthe most controversial and complex social issues in present-day India.While political and social sciences have shown a considerable interest inthe country’s largest religious minority, research in modern literature haslargely failed to take notice of “Muslims in India today,” be it as a literarytheme or with regard to the producers of literature. Focusing on thetheme of identity, the present thesis is concerned with the question ofhow contemporary Hindi writers belonging to the Muslim communitydepict the Indian Muslims’ historical and social destiny in their novels.The underlying observation that in modern Hindi novels Muslim life isalmost exclusively dealt with by Muslim writers indicates that the wideningchasm between the two religious communities has spread to literatureas well.The thesis examines the following ten Hindi novels publishedbetween 1965 and 1990: Nafis Afridi, Khule hue Darµce (Delhi: IndraprasthPrakashan 1977); Badiuzzaman, Ch≥ko kµ V≥psµ (Delhi: RadhakrishnaPrakashan 1975); Abdul Bismillah, Jhµnµ Jhµnµ Bµnµ Cadariy≥ (Delhi:Rajkamal Prakashan 1986), Dantkath≥ (Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan 1990);Manzur Ehtesham, S∑kh≥ Bargad (Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan 1986); RahiMasum Raza, ¥dh≥-G≥v (Delhi: Kamal Prakashan 1966/RajkamalPrakashan), ºopµ Sukla (Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan 1969), Dil ek S≥d≥K≥gaz (Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan 1973), AsantoΩ ke Din (Delhi: Rajkamal251

252 • THE ANNUAL OF URDU STUDIESPrakashan 1986); Shani, K≥l≥ Jall (Delhi: Akshar Prakashan 1965/NationalPublishing House 1986).In view of the authors’ openly expressed secular if not irreligious outlookand their leftist leanings, the categorization of them as “Muslims”can only refer to their Muslim family background and cultural affiliation.The writers’ critical intellectual distance, however, is taken to qualifythem as important “participant-observers” of their own social and religiouscommunity.The study is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 serves as an introductionto the complex question of Muslim identity in India, pointing tothe fact that Indian Muslims are a heterogeneous and highly diversecommunity. The term “identity” as used here is based on E.H. Erikson’sconcept of “subjective experience of continuity,” 1 the role-and-interactionmodel of sociology, 2and Erving Goffman’s three-fold typology ofidentity as social, personal and ego identity. 3 The writers are then introduced.Although not viewing themselves as a distinct group, they areunited in challenging the distorted picture of a Muslim identity definedexclusively on religious grounds. Chapter 2 gives a short summary of eachnovel. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with content and themes, focusing on thefactors that emerge as constitutive features of Muslim identity as well ason the political, social and economic circumstances that, according to thewriters, have posed a threat to this identity in the recent past. Two mainidentity-related phenomena can be distinguished in the novels: an externalmenace to identity due to general developments in Indian society, andan internal process of identity change within the Muslim community.Hence the separation into an outer (ch. 3) and an inner world (ch. 4).Chapter 5 deals with the symbolic and metaphorical representation ofboth shattered and preserved identity in four specific novels. Chapter 6 isdevoted to questions of literary aesthetics and narrative technique, i.e.narrative structure, point of view, style and language. Against the backgroundof the Hindi-Urdu controversy, the section on language combines1 Identity and the Life Cycle: Selected Papers, New York 1967 (1959).2 Krappmann, L., Soziologische Dimensionen der Identität. StrukturelleBedingungen für die Teilnahme an Interaktionsprozessen, Stuttgart 1973; Berger, P.L./Luckmann, T., Die gesellschaftliche Konstraktion der Wirklichkeit. Eine Theorieder Wissenssoziologie, Frankfurt a.M., 1980.3 Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, Englewood Cliffs,N.Y., 1963.

ULRIKE STARK • 253an analysis of the authors’ individual literary language with the content-relatedquestion of how language is depicted as a central identityfactor in the novels.The novels clearly attest to the existence of an identity crisis amongIndian Muslims. The partition of India and the foundation of Pakistan in1947 are shown to be a crucial turning-point and traumatic rupture intheir experience of continuity, resulting in individual suffering, the breakupof families, the sudden loss of social status, and political disorientation.While the Muslims remaining in India are depicted as the realvictims of Partition, those who migrate to Pakistan meet with disappointment,since Pakistan cannot fulfill the dream of a new homeland,even though it may provide security and material comfort. The youngerwriters are concerned with the difficult historical legacy of Pakistan: thestigmatization of Muslims in India, due to persistent suspicion of theirnational loyalty, is seen as one of the gravest consequences of Partition.Deeply resentful of this mistrust, the authors challenge it by assertingtheir genuine commitment to India and emphasizing the Indian Muslim’sright to his hereditary homeland.The majority of the writers express a pessimistic view of society, seenin the protagonist’s social failure and the lack of a happy ending. In anumber of novels a “frustrated young man” serves as a paradigm for theprocess of disillusionment that Indian society underwent soon afterIndependence. Frustrated hopes and a thorough disappointment with thepolitical and social structures of postcolonial India lead this characterfrom committed idealism either to resignation or into the hands of thefundamentalists. Those novels that in the tradition of progressivist writingdeal with the living conditions of the Muslim proletariat show an onlysubdued social-reformist optimism. With Marxist ideology no longerregarded as a path to salvation, the writers demand reforms from withinthe Muslim community and stress the need for education if social conditionsare to be changed. The struggle for jobs, economic resources, andpolitical dominance fought between castes and religious groups appears asan up-to-date variant of the class conflict. It leads to a continuous fragmentationof Indian society into different interest groups, a processperceived as dangerous. In this context, the novels aim to show thatHindu-Muslim conflicts, seemingly motivated by religion, are, in actualfact, part of this larger power struggle.The frustration with the political establishment and the deep lack ofconfidence in the state expressed in the novels is very pervasive in modernHindi literature and does not reflect a specifically Muslim viewpoint.

254 • THE ANNUAL OF URDU STUDIESIronically distorted or reduced to a caricature, the stock character of acorrupt politician lusting for power mirrors the failure of political partiesand the decadence of political culture in India today.One central theme emerging from the novels is the deterioration ofHindu-Muslim relations. The destruction of traditional structures ofpeaceful coexistence serves to exemplify how the virus of communalismhas spread in both public and private life. Love relationships betweenmembers of the two different religious groups are generally foredoomedto failure. In their plea for mutual tolerance, and in depicting both modelfriendships between Hindu and Muslim as well as the absurdity of commonprejudices and the mechanism of communal agitation, the novelstake a clear stand against communalism. While openly condemning violence,the authors describe the dubious role of politicians and fundamentalistorganizations in instigating communal conflict. It is not religiousdifferences, but the failure of politics and state organizations, economicproblems and the machinations of criminal elements that are shown to bethe real reasons behind so-called communal riots. The more recent novelsbear witness to the increase in violent confrontations and depict theMuslim’s fear for his life as a new aspect of endangered identity.Several novels treat the social decline brought about by political andsocio-economic changes as an important aspect of the Muslim identitycrisis. As a simultaneous loss of property and of social status, this declinetakes an especially drastic form in the case of the former Muslim élitegroups, viz., the north Indian landlords and the educational élite, recruitingitself from lawyers and court officials. The vast masses of the Muslimpopulation naturally appear excepted from this particular identity crisis.They are shown, however, to be afflicted by poverty and social misery.The wide-ranging attention paid by the authors to social, economicand cultural factors of identity contrasts with the comparatively scanttreatment of questions concerning Islamic faith and dogma. The authors’attitudes towards religion are summed up in a critical inquiry into themeaning and function of religion in a society marked by severe socialproblems. The portrayal of religious identity, now objective, now ironicallydistanced, focuses on everyday religious life and customs, thus creatingan image that contrasts with official, “high-tradition” Islam. Religiousfestivals, fairs, and devotion to saints and martyrs serve to exemplify theIndian Muslims’ roots in indigenous religious traditions and the synchretisticcharacter of their religious identity.In discussing the hierarchical social stratification of the IndianMuslim community several authors describe a phenomenon unique to

ULRIKE STARK • 255India, though contrary to the basic tenets of Islam. While depicting affiliationto caste or status group as a main factor of social identity and aneffective way of in-group ranking, the authors condemn or ridicule allnotions of caste superiority. Élitist insistence on superiority of birth isperceived as a hindrance to the community’s progress and contrasted withthe actual moral decadence of the groups ranking at the top of the socialhierarchy. The gradual decay of this hierarchy is shown to cause seriousidentity problems in the case of the Sayyid élite.The writers’ look at the inner world focuses on the changes theMuslim family is undergoing. A mirror of society, the family appears nolonger able to provide the individual with security, orientation or a set ofvalues. Sacred notions of family life are systematically destroyed in someof the novels. Through the example of archetypal role-conflicts betweenparents and child, husband and wife, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law,the authors show how traditionally sanctioned structures of power andrepression encourage moral misbehavior, lead to the inner decay of thefamily, and bring forth individuals with problematic personalities.The situation of Muslim women receives special attention in thenovels. It is conspicuous that the authors accord only a secondary role tocontroversial Islamic themes such as πal≥q, purdah or polygamy, andinstead focus on general manifestations of injustice against women in apatriarchal society. The portraits of female characters in the novels illustrateboth the tedious everyday life of traditional women who submissivelyacquiesce in their age-old role, as well as the changingself-perception of a new generation of young Muslim girls who boldlyquestion the traditional role model. The endeavors of these girls toachieve independence and self- determination in their love relationshipsinevitably lead to a clash with their tradition-bound environment. Theauthors make concessions to reality and prevailing moral standards bygenerally letting these young women fail in their aspirations or havingthem meet with a tragic end. Nowhere in the novels, however, is there anexplicit condemnation of behavior that could be regarded as “disobedient”or “immoral.” Instead, the authors clearly support women’s rightto self-determination and emphasize the importance of education inimproving their lot.Endangered identity as a central individual and collective experienceof Indian Muslims is represented by different kinds of symbolism in thenovels of Raza, Ehtesham and Shani. With their common negative connotationsthe symbols of Moharram, black water and the dried-up banyantree reflect cultural and social decline, the uprooting and insecurity of

256 • THE ANNUAL OF URDU STUDIESMuslims in India. An entirely different picture emerges from a novel byBismillah, where the religious symbolism of weaving is used as an illustrationof asserted identity and as an aesthetic counterpart to the criticalsocial content of the novel.The writers share roots in the tradition of literary realism. This isreflected in a common aesthetic approach: depiction of reality that laysclaim to documentary truth, love of realistic detail, emphasis on everydaylife, and commitment to social themes. The novels show a clear preferencefor scenic representation with its aesthetic effect of immediatenessand authenticity; the influence of regionalism is noticeable in a concept ofspace limited to the representation of one’s own private sphere of experience,i.e., a specific microcosm. Apart them these similarities, however,considerable differences can be noted regarding the artistic expressivenessand the authors’ theoretical claim to the narrative structure of the novel.Specific novels are analyzed with a view to the aesthetic implications ofcompositional techniques and narrative discourse. Particular aspects thatare discussed include the aesthetically effective harmonization of contentand form, the extreme condensation of the time-space structure as aformal expression of existentialist concepts, the conceptualization of thetime problem by means of an adequate discursive time structure, but alsothe lack of artistic dexterity in applying basic narrative techniques.Several novels serve as examples in the discussion of how specificnarrative perspectives and points of view are found suitable for the representationof reality and, especially, the treatment of identity as a literarytheme. Multiple perspective conveyed through a combination ofthird-person narrative, interior monologue, direct speech and style indirectlibre appears as an effective device in the authentic and direct representationof a subjective world view. First-person narrative with its proximityto autobiography and inherent scope for self-reflection is shown to beespecially suited for the depiction of problematic or shattered identity. Aninteresting exception is the use of a self-conscious narrator in Raza’snovels, ironically pointing to the fictitiousness of the novel. Here, in acurious fashion, autobiographical identity problems fuse with fictionalidentity problems.The Hindi-Urdu controversy and the decline of the Urdu language,which represents an acute threat to the cultural identity of the Muslims innorth India, form the background for the discussion of the authors’ theoreticalstance in the language controversy, the use of language in thenovels, and the treatment of language and identity as a thematic topic. AsMuslims who write in Hindi, the authors refute the widespread cliché

ULRIKE STARK • 257that Muslim identity finds its adequate literary expression in the Urdulanguage only. Instead, they argue for the co-existence and mixing ofHindi and Urdu and refuse to grant the language issue prominence as afundamental ideological theme. This conciliatory attitude is reflected inthe novels’ language usage, where Sanskritic and Arabo-Persian lexicalborrowings are employed in such a way that the distance between Hindiand Urdu appears to be bridged quite naturally.Raza and Ehtesham are found to be the only authors to deal with thediscrimination against and decline of Urdu as an aspect of the Muslimidentity crisis and as a paradigm of the north Indian Muslims’ socialcondition. The other authors direct their attention to changing patternsof language use and to the present linguistic situation. They are concernedwith the penetration into Hindi of English vocabulary and thepractice of code-switching as an indicator of the speaker’s aspirations for a“modern” identity. The issue of standard language versus dialect is givenprominence. It is reflected both in the narrative technique and the contentof the novels: while mimesis, the claim to authenticity, and localcolor govern the use of dialect in narration, dialect is depicted as a centralfactor in the characters’ regional, cultural and social identity. The use ofdialect is shown to foster emotional integration and community identity.Against this, the dialect-speaker’s marginalization and his exclusion fromthe official world of standard language are described as problematicaspects.The contribution made by Muslim writers to modern Indian literaturehas up to now been largely overlooked by modern literary studies.The present thesis is limited to the evaluation of a small group of Hindiwriters. While a more comprehensive examination is left to furtherstudies, it can be concluded that in attempting an honest and aestheticallygratifying portrait of the historical destiny, social situation and everydaylife of Muslims in north India, the authors discussed here have introduceda new theme into modern Hindi literature and made an importantstatement in the current debate on Muslim identity in India. ❐