CHRIST UNIVERSITY, BANGALORE 560 029

MID SEMESTER EXAMINATION: AUGUST 2016

III UG
PROGRAMME NAME: BA (EPH, MEP, ECOH, JOUH, PSYH) MAX MARKS: 50
COURSE: Reading India: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (LAN 305)

TIME: 2 hrs

Instructions:

Read the extract carefully. Answer the questions that follow the extract.
Answer to the point and avoid summaries
Answers that show good explication of ideas and critical reflection with extra textual
and inter-disciplinary references would be graded higher

Denial
Taslima Nasreen

India was no discarded paper that you had to tear to bits.

I want to erase the word 47
I want to wash away the ink-stain of 47
With water and soap.
47 the word pricks like a thorn in my throat
I do not want to swallow it.
I want to vomit it out
I want to regain the undivided soil of my forefathers.
I want Brahmaputra as much as I want Subarnarekha.
I want Sitakunda Hills as much as Kanchenjungha.
Srimangal as much as Jalpaiguri.

I want the sal forests of Bihar

As well as Ajanta and Ellora
If Curzon Hall is mine, Fort William belongs to me too.
That man who fought in 71 and won
That man who thrashed away the two-nation theory
He can never accept defeat at the hands of 47.

(From the selection Ay Kosto Jhenpe, Jiban Debo Mepe, 1994)

Answer any five of the following questions

1) Taslima Nasreen refers to a deep sense of loss of history and cultural memory when a
country is partitioned. What do you think happens to the feelings of togetherness
(which often leads to the emergence of nationalism) under such conditions?

Ans. A situation of partition leads to the following situations:

i.

A reformulation of national identity preceded by a profound confusion which often

results in chaos and communal carnage

ii.

A re-drawing of power structures which usually leads to the emergence of a new class
of elites

iii.

Questioning of extant political institutions and ideals such as that of secularism,

coercive power of the state, the role of political leaders and so on.

iv.

A reinforcement/crystallisation of other kind of identities (non national religious,

gender or caste/class based) which leads to other kinds of togetherness.

v.

The other concept which plays a significant role in holding a society together (such
as that of a common enemy or a common overview of life - like the construction of
the Occident and so on.)

vi.

In some cases, national identities and cultural markers associated with the national
identities get stronger for instance if there is a religious-linguistic affiliation to said
nationalism.

2) A nation is most often represented both symbolically and intellectually by its leaders,
at the same time the leaders are also measured against very high parameters. In the
light of the poem, analyse the role of political leaders in nation-making.

Ans. Political leaders play a dual role in the process of nation-making; they serve as
efficient agents of mass mobilization and also as cultural icons. Often they are thought
of as the agents of creating the nation and representing the nation. This may also
lead to the emergence of the cult of personality and the multiple hagiographies around
them. Leaders are also thought to belong to the ideal type category or often redefine
the ideal type. Their agency is perceived to be crucial and they are decisions and
actions are perceived to have grave impacts on the society, therefore the society places
a high level of moral and social responsibility on them. In the poem, Taslima Nasreen
refers to both Mujibr Rahman and Jawaharlal Nehru (and possibly every other Indian
and Bangladeshi leader) accountable for the partition of India and then the partition of
Pakistan. The two nation theory put forth by Choudhary Rahmat Ali and supported
and made popular by Jinnah and used by the British was indeed a major reason for the
partition of India, she holds the leaders involved in the movement responsible for not
contesting and busting the myth of the two nation theory. What is left unsaid but
implied in the poem are the stories of political connivance and negotiations which the
leaders were involved and Nasreen hints that the 1971 victory of the Indian army and
the subsequent creation of the nation of Bangladesh is an allusion to the possibility of
India existing as a single nation in 1947 if thenational leaders had willed it.

3) Tangible and intangible heritage are an integral part of displaying and reinforcing the
glory of any nation, but the same heritage is also caught in a tug of war of claims
and counter claims. Elucidate with reference to the poem.

Ans. The display of power is a significant aspect of reinforcing state authority. While
military exercises, parades, forts and major infrastructure projects (dams, bridges,
railways etc.) are overt displays of state power, other aspects such as education,
media-policing, commercial rules and so on are much more covert. Heritage is a
contested terrain which has both covert and overt elements of the display of power.
One of the most poignant examples of the same is the claims and counter-claims over
certain religious, public and strategic sites. (Example: Babari Masjid- Ram Mandir
Issue, Jerusalem, Kashmir, Alsace-Lorraine, South Kasai). It is not only about
acquisition of the actual site but about the symbolic and cultural content and its
attached meanings. This in turn leads to assumption and loss of power both at the
perceptional and tangible level.
Nevertheless, monuments and other aspects of heritage such as songs, cultural
symbols, folklore, oral traditions and so on form visible and approachable aspects of
national identity. Often these might not be even related to the recent/modern/national
history of the nation. (Ajanta- Ellora, Fort Williams etc.). But owing to their location
in the specific nation, they are thought to be entities which promote nationalism and
national integration. Taslima Nasreen makes explicit the claim over the past and
extant heritage by the nation and its citizens.
While heritage plays an important role in the construction of the glorious past of the
nation, it is equally pertinent to probe what is included under heritage and more
importantly, what is left out. In the case of a drastic event, like the partition, people
feel both attached and disassociated with certain types of monuments. Taslima
Nasreen calls for a more inclusive understanding of heritage where the diverse past of
the country is accommodated and appreciated.

4) The concept of political boundaries which are integral to a nation is often taken to be
a given; while in terms of ground reality they are not only drawn and re-drawn, but
are also understood and interpreted differently by nations/states. Agree or disagree
with the statement in the light of the partition of India and later on, the partition of
Pakistan.

Ans. A sense of geography, however vague, is integral to the concept of the nation. Maps
play an important role not only in giving one a sense of space, but also in cementing
national identities. The re-drawing of maps during partition can precipitate a situation of
crisis for even those who are not directly affected by it as it challenges and questions the

perception of belonging in terms that they identify as being included in the definition of
the national community.
While on maps, we have clear-cut boundaries between nations, on the ground, the lines of
demarcation in many places remain blurred, ambiguous and disputed. The classic
example is that of Kashmir where the boundaries of Kashmir are shown differently in
maps of India and Pakistan especially the region of PoK Kashmir or Azad Kashmir. For
the people living in the area, this leads to a situation of everyday confusion and
perplexity, but for those who live in other parts, it questions their
understanding/perception of the nation.
In the case of Indian partition in 1947, the division of the country which was a direct
consequence of communalism led to communal carnage, with thousands of deaths, lakhs
of people being displaced and a climate of open plunder and loot for about a month. A fair
amount of the disaster was caused was owing to the non-clarity about the boundaries with
people not knowing which side of the map they would fall in. The same situation was
repeated in the freedom movement of Bangladesh which led to the Partition of Pakistan
which was a non-contiguous country divided into East and West Pakistan into Pakistan
and Bangladesh. Social scientists such as Guha has opined that the carnage was a direct
reflection of peoples national identities being questioned and a different sense of the
other emerging in a very short span of time.
In the light of partition of India and later that of Pakistan, it can be argued that national
identity is heavily dependent on the idea of national boundaries and its political and
cultural meaning in the perception of the citizens.