The Culture of Speed and the Counter Culture of Slow Movement

 The Culture of Speed and the Counter Culture of Slow Movement

Hello Readers!

Today I'm going to write about The Culture of Speed and the Counter Culture of Slow Movement task given by our Professor Dr. Dilip Barad sir. So Let's see....

WHAT IS THE SLOW MOVEMENT?

 “Is it possible in today’s superfast world to live slow? Would I be able to keep my job? Provide a good living for my family? Does being ‘slow’ mean low efficiency, low effectiveness?”

– G. Berthelsen

“…perhaps, the most powerful reason — why we find it hard to slow down is the cultural taboo that we’ve erected against slowing down. ‘Slow’ is a dirty word in our culture. It’s a byword for ‘lazy,’ ‘slacker,’ for being somebody who gives up. You know, ‘he’s a bit slow.’ It’s actually synonymous with being stupid.”
– C. Honore

The Slow Movement aims to address the issue of 'time poverty' through making connections. If we think about the following trends. Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the world today. People are turning to organic food in droves. Schools are in turmoil. 

How slow can you go? Home schooling is becoming commonplace. People are downshifting. The Slow Food movement is gaining popularity with 811 convivia worldwide.

Stress is leading to unprecedented health problems. “Stop the world I want to get off” is a feeling we all have sometimes.

Why is this happening? What is wrong? What are we searching for? The one thing that is common to all these trends is connection. We are searching for connection. We want connection to people - ourselves, our family, our community, our friends, - to food, to place (where we live), and to life. We want connection to all that it means to live – we want to live a connected life.

This desire for connectedness is not new. Traditionally, in times past, our lives were connected. Most traditional cultures still have these connections. 

Cultures with connection These people are connected to their culture, to people, to place and to their lives.

It is not so long ago that the extended family was a real live entity with the extended family often living under the same roof. Children grew up knowing their cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and other relatives. These children felt connected.

In these not too long ago times people were connected to their food. Most people grew their own vegies and some fruit. Backyard vegie gardens were the norm not the exception. Many families had a house cow for milk, cheese, butter and cream. Most families also had poultry or other meat animals. When visitors came unexpectedly, dad would be sent out back to kill the chook for dinner. Families used fresh produce and meat to make traditional recipes. Everyone was involved in cooking and mealtimes were a social event. When the meal ended most of the family was involved in cleaning up and washing up. How different is the situation today?

Our fast paced life has weakened these connections. Technological advances have meant that the work we do is different from work in the past and it is less connected to living and life than it has been in the past.

Technological advances have resulted in labour saving devices for the home. Who would complain about vacuum cleaners, electric stoves, hot water systems, flush toilet, or the bread maker, but have these technologies really given us more time to enjoy life as was their claim? Or have we used this time to become even more busy. We are engaged in constant fast-forward motion whereby we are often over scheduled, stressed and rushing towards the next task. This rushing is not restricted to our work environment. We rush our food, our family time and even our recreation.

This website supports a growing cultural shift towards slowing down. On this site we discuss how we have lost connection to most aspects of our life and to the natural world and rhythms around us, and how we can reconnect – how we can live a connected life. The Slow Movement is a worldwide movement to recapture

Meaningful Connection this state of connectedness. The movement is gaining momentum, as more and more people recognise their discomfort at the fast pace and disconnected nature of their lives.

Recognising the disconnection and pace of our life as an unwanted state of affairs is an important first step in re-establishing the connections and slowing the pace. What we all want to know is how do we reconnect? whilst at the same time meeting our most important responsibilities?

This website tells us how. It is gives examples of ways to live slow and be part of the slow movement. It points out the areas of our life that have become disconnected. We are often unaware of just what it is that isn’t ‘right’, we just know that something is ‘not right’. 

Time to rethink priorities This website tells you where the disconnections lies and, more importantly, it shows you how you can reconnect. It provides you with tangible, easy-to-do steps to becoming a practicing slow mover, and member of the Slow Movement. You will find the sanity you so desperately crave.

Some of the things I talk about are easy to do – some are not so easy. Perhaps the hardest thing to do is to change our attitude and mindset. We have to rethink our priorities and rethink the way we approach life and all thing in it.

Some of us may take the step of downshifting. Downshifting is a fast growing movement of people who choose voluntary simplicity in all aspects of their life. Down shifters go beyond materialism – beyond the fast life. They downshift to a slow connected life.

Green Damselfly is an Australian business supporting eco ethical enterprises to alleviate poverty in developing countries.

What is culture of speed ??

This disapproval doesn’t always amount to a direct rejection of the value of speed. If Aesop’s tortoise enjoys moral approval it is, ultimately, because he won the race: it is the hare’s overconfidence and subsequent indolence, rather than its innate dynamism that is disapproved of. ‘More haste less speed’, in a similar way, warns against a certain type of ill-considered and counterproductive disposal of energy and effort rather than attacking the goal of speed itself. 

Indeed, on the other hand, there is a wealth of positive associations which reach back to the archaic meaning of speed as success or prosperity – as in ‘God send you good speed’ – and of ‘quick’ as meaning ‘alive’ – as in ‘the quick and the dead’. This association with vitality and life energy is the one that has survived most into contemporary language.To be quick – quick witted, quick on the uptake – is to be lively, alert, intelligent. Such a person is liable to succeed in life – to have their career ‘fast-tracked’ and, perhaps, to end up living life in the fast lane. If we aspire to this sort of career success and prosperity we need to get up to speed with the latest developments in our field. Clearly the underlying cultural metaphor here is of life as a competition, as a race to achievement.We may, of course, disapprove of this sort of attitude to life, regarding it as part of the insidious ideology of western capitalist-consumerism, or more simply as a rather unreflective ‘heads down’ conformity to the modern rat-race. And, indeed, if this were all that was implied, a life lived at speed could scarcely be deemed a particularly rich or virtuous one. However, this would be to neglect the deeper existential associations – though frequently cashed, it has to be said, in the vulgar currency of material accumulation – of speed. 

For example, to ‘quicken’ is also ‘to give life or vigour, to rouse, to animate, to stimulate’ (OED). In an archaic usage it is to kindle a flame, to make a fire burn brighter – in a sense, to bring light into the world. When the Virgin Mary ‘quickened in her womb’ she reached the stage in her mysterious pregnancy at which the first movements of the foetus – of a biological life which was to become a principle of spiritual life – could be felt.These associations are, to be sure, slightly remote from the contemporary discourse of speed, but they nonetheless point us towards a significant evaluative connection between speed, energy, dynamism, vitality and (pro)creativity. There may be something rather particular to the Judeo-Christian tradition here. It is notable that sloth – ‘laziness, reluctance to make an effort’ – makes it into St Thomas Aquinas’s list of the seven deadly sins, while there is no specific censure of impatience or impetuosity. (Although to be quick tempered gets dangerously close to the sin of anger and certainly does not imitate the forbearance of God who, viewing things sub specie aeternitatis is, of course, ‘slow to anger’.)

Beyond these particularities, however, the association of speed with vigour and vitality seems to be quite general. Speed as a measure of physical prowess and sporting achievement has been common in most cultures. Running was originally the single event of the ancient Olympics. But more significantly, to maintain a certain brisk pace to life itself, in the sense of making the most of the enigmatic finite gift of existence, or of actualizing our human potential – at least of not squandering it in brutish indolence – has been widely considered a virtue.

Whilst it may be unwise – hasty, even – to draw any strong lessons from these commonly expressed cultural values, they do point us towards two other important questions. One of these is the question of how values and attitudes towards speed may be changing, of how older implicit senses of the appropriate pace of life may be losing ground to new sensibilities and even associated senses of social virtue. This is something we shall considerlater in the book. But, more immediately, there is the question of how these diverse, ambivalent and frequently contradictory common attitudes and values have been shaped into more or less coherent, if generally implicit, narratives in the complex cultural discourse of modernity.

Paul Virilio - Dromology

Dromology is derived from the Greek ‘dromos’: avenue or race course. The theory of dromology interprets the world and reality as a resultant of velocity. In Paul Virilio’s 1977 essay entitled “Speed and Politics”, the french philosopher makes a compelling case for an interpretation of history, politics and society in the context of speed. Extending the definition of “dromomaniacs”, Virilio argues that speed became the sole agent and measure of progress. He contends, that “there was no ‘industrial revolution’, only ‘dromocratic revolution’; there is no democracy, only dromocracy; there is no strategy, only dromology.”

Paper - 205 Assignment

Five Types of Cultural Studies

Introduction :-

As we are going to discuss five types of cultural studies before that we have to understand that What is culture ?? And what is cultural studies ?? So let’s discuss these both. First of all let’s talk about culture that what is culture??.

What is culture ? :-

·  The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively.

·  The ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society.

What is Culture? or Definition of Culture :-

Definition of Culture  :-

Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Today, in the United States as in other countries populated largely by immigrants, the culture is influenced by the many groups of people that now make up the country.

And there are some types of culture like,

Western Culture :- The term Western culture has come to define the culture of European countries as well as those such as the United States that have been heavily influenced by European immigration. Western culture has its roots in the Classical Period of the Greco-Roman era and the rise of Christianity in the 14th century. Other drivers of the Western culture include Latin, Celtic, Germanic and Hellenic ethnic and linguistic groups. Today, the influences of Western culture can be seen in almost every country in the world.

Eastern Culture :- Eastern culture generally refers to the societal norms of countries in Far East Asia (including China, Japan, Vietnam, North Korea and South Korea) and the Indian subcontinent. Like the West, Eastern culture was heavily influenced by religion during its early development. In general, in Eastern culture there is less of a distinction between secular society and religious philosophy than there is in the West.

Latin Culture :- Many of the Spanish-speaking nations are considered part of the Latin culture, while the geographic region is widespread. Latin America is typically defined as those parts of the Central America, South America and Mexico where Spanish or Portuguese are the dominant languages. While Spain and Portugal are on the European continent, they are considered the key influencers of what is known as Latin culture, which denotes people using languages derived from Latin, also known as Romance languages.

Middle Eastern Culture :- The countries of the Middle East have some but not all things in common, including a strong belief in Islam and religion is a very strong pillar of this society. The Arabic language is also common throughout the region; however, the wide variety of dialect can sometimes make communication difficult.

African Culture :- The continent of Africa is essential two cultures — North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The continent is comprised of a number of tribes, ethnic and social groups. One of the key features of this culture is the large number of ethnic groups — some countries can have 20 or more — and the diversity of their beliefs Northwest Africa in particular has strong ties to European and Southwestern Asia. The area also has a heavy Islamic influence and is a major player in the Arab world. The harsh environment has been a large factor in the development of Sub-Saharan Africa culture, as there are a number of languages, cuisines, art and musical styles that have sprung up among the far-flung populations.

Now let’s talk about cultural studies that what is cultural studies ?

What is Cultural studies ?

Definition :-

Cultural studies is an innovative interdisciplinary field of research and teaching that investigates the ways in which “culture” creates and transforms individual experiences, everyday life, social relations and power.

Cultural studies is an innovative interdisciplinary field of research and teaching that investigates the ways in which “culture” creates and transforms individual experiences, everyday life, social relations and power. Research and teaching in the field explores the relations between culture understood as human expressive and symbolic activities, and cultures understood as distinctive ways of life. Combining the strengths of the social sciences and the humanities, cultural studies draws on methods and theories from literary studies, sociology, communications studies, history, cultural anthropology, and economics. By working across the boundaries among these fields, cultural studies addresses new questions and problems of today’s world. Rather than seeking answers that will hold for all time, cultural studies develops flexible tools that adapt to this rapidly changing world.

Cultural life is not only concerned with symbolic communication, it is also the domain in which we set collective tasks for ourselves and begin to grapple with them as changing communities. Cultural studies is devoted to understanding the processes through which societies and the diverse groups within them come to terms with history, community life, and the challenges of the future.

Cultural Studies explores culture, power, and identity. In Cultural Studies, we analyze a wide variety of forms of cultural expression, such as TV, film, advertising, literature, art, and video games. As well, we study social and cultural practices, like shopping, cell phone use, and social justice movements. We are concerned with thinking about identity and social roles, including gender, sexuality, race, class, and nation. Cultural Studies research and teaching seeks to be self-critical, self-reflexive, and engaged. It challenges dominant or “normal” assumptions about who we are, in relation to others, and how.

“Culture has two aspects: the known meanings and directions, which its members are trained to; the new observations and meanings, which are offered and tested. These are the ordinary processes of human societies and human minds, and we see through them the nature of a culture: that it is always both traditional and creative; that it is both the most ordinary common meanings and the finest individual meanings. We use the word culture in these two senses: to mean a whole way of life--the common meanings; to mean the arts and learning--the special processes of discovery and creative effort.” – Raymond Williams.

“To educate as the practice of freedom is a way of teaching that anyone can learn. That learning process comes easiest to those of us who teach who also believe that there is an aspect of our vocation that is sacred; who believe that our work is not merely to share information but to share in the intellectual and spiritual growth of our students.” – Bell Hooks.

“It is the underlying philosophical nature that gives this program significance. What one thinks they know about popular cultural can become completely destabilized and reorganized to create an entirely different understanding of the world in which we live. It is in this way that cultural studies explore larger layers of significance and meaning in the world. It reveals aspects of the familiar that are hidden, confusing and meaningful.”

Cultural Studies traces the relationships among aesthetic, anthropological, and political economic aspects of cultural production and reproduction.  Cultural studies scholars and practitioners often begin their inquiries by questioning the common understandings, beliefs, and histories that shape our world.  This type of inquiry assumes that culture is not a fact to be understood and explained.  What demands attention is how culture constitutes diverse worlds and how it can be mobilized to change those worlds.

Cultural Studies relies on interdisciplinary research on the formation of knowledge, power, and difference.  Cultural Studies scholars and practitioners explore constructions of race, class, ability, citizenship, gender, and sexuality in their effort to understand the structures and practices of domination and resistance that shape contemporary societies. Many different topics surface as part of this exploration: everyday practices that structure the creation and reception of cultural artefacts; relations between producers and consumers in the circulation of global commodities; claims to membership in particular communities as they undergo transformation.

After discussion of What is culture? And What is cultural studies? Let’s elaborate types of cultural studies.

Five Types of Cultural Studies :-

As we know that

1. First, :-  cultural studies transcends the confines of a particular discipline such as literary criticism or history. Cultural studies involves scrutinizing the cultural phenomenon of a text and drawing conclusions about the changes in textual phenomena over time.

2. Second, :- cultural studies is politically engaged. Cultural critics see themselves as “oppositional,” not only within their own disciplines but to many of the power structures of society at large.

3. Third, :- cultural studies denies the separation of “high” and “low” or elite and popular (mass) culture.  Rather than determining which are the “best” works produced, cultural critics describe what is produced and how various productions relate to one another. Cultural critics aim to reveal the political, economic reasons why a certain cultural product is more baled at certain times than others.

4. Finally, :- cultural studies analyzes not only the cultural work, but also the means of production. Cultural studies joins subjectivity– that is, culture in relation to individual lives– with engagement, a direct approach to attacking social ills.

Five Types of Cultural Studies :-

1. British Cultural Materialism
2. New Historicism
3. American Multiculturalism

ü  African American Writers

ü  Latina/o Writers

ü  American Indian Literatures

ü  Asian American Writers

4. Postmodernism and Popular Culture

5.       Postcolonial Studies

Now let’s discuss this all types in details.

British Cultural Materialism  :-

Cultural materialism began in earnest in the 1950s with the work of F. R. Leavis, heavily influenced by Matthew Arnold’s analyses of bourgeois culture.

Matthew Arnold sought to redline the “givens” of British culture. To appreciate the importance of this revision of “culture” we must situate it within the controlling myth of social and political reality of the British Empire upon which the sun never set, an ideology left over from the previous century. In modern Britain two trajectories for “Culture” developed one led back to the past and the feudal hierarchies that ordered community in the past; here, culture acted in its sacred function as preserver of the past. Cultural materialism began in earnest in the 1950s with the work of F.R. Leavis sought to use the educational system to distribute literary knowledge and appreciation more widely promoted the “great tradition “ of Shakespeare and Milton to improve the moral sensibilities of a wider range of readers than just the elite.

Cultural materialists also turned to the more humanized and even spiritual insights of the great students of Rabelais and Dostoevsky, Russain formalist Bakhtn, especially his amplification of the dialogic form of communal, individual and social.

Culture stand is referred to as ‘culture materialism in Britain and it. has a long tradition .In the later ninetieth century Mathew Arnold sought to redefine the ''givens of British culture Edward Burnet Tyler’s pioneering anthropological study primitive culture or civilization taken in widest anthropology sense is a complete whole whose 'includes knowledge ,belief 'or morals. Law custom and any other capacities’ and habits acquired by man as a manner of society.

New Historicism :-

As a return to historical scholarship, new historicism concerns itself with extra literary matters– letters, diaries, films, paintings, medical treatises– looking to reveal opposing historical tensions in a text. New historicists seek “surprising coincidences” that may cross generic, historical, and cultural lines in borrowings of metaphor, ceremony, or popular culture. The new historicism rejects the periodization of history in favor of ordering history only through the interplay of forms of power.

New Historicism focuses on the way literature expresses-and sometimes disguises-power relations at work in the social context in which the literature was produced, often this involves making connections between a literary work and other kinds of texts. Literature is often shown to “negotiate” conflicting power interests. New historicism has made its biggest mark on literary studies of the Renaissances and Romantic periods and has revised motions of literature as privileged, apolitical writing. Much new historicism focuses on the marginalization of subjects such as those identified as witches, the insane, heretics, vagabonds, and political prisoners.

Laputa ''the where ''what did Jonathan swift mean when he gave that name to the flying island in the third voyage of Gulliver’s Travels? It is a question that has political reality of the British Empire upon which the sun never set an ideology left over from the previous century. In modern Britain two trajectories for cultural developed one led back to the past and the feudal hierarchies that ordered community in past hear culture acted in its sacred function as preserver of the past.

American Multiculturalism :-

As we discuss above that this American Multiculturalism have its different four types like,

ü  African American Writers

ü  Latina/o Writers

ü  American Indian Literatures

ü  Asian American Writers

ü African American Writers :- African American writers is widely pursued in American literature criticism from the recovery of the eighteenth century poets such as Phillies wealthy to the experimental novel of Toni Morison, In Shadow and Act 1964novel Ralph Ellison Argue that any viable theatre of Negro American culture obligates us to fashion a more adequate theory of American culture as a what''.

ü  Latina/o Writers :- Latina/o Writer Hispanic Mexican American, Puerto Rican Nuyarican Chicane may be Huizhou or Maya. Which names to use/ the choice after has political implications. We will use the term'' Latina/o to indicate a broad sense of Ethnicity among Spanish speaking ,people n the united states Mexican American are the largest and most influential of Latina/o Ethnicities in the united states.

ü American Indian Literatures :- In pre dominantly oral cultures, stalling passes and religious beliefs, moral values, political codes and practical lesson of everyday life .For American Indians stories are a source of strength in the face of centuries of silencing by Euro American.

ü  Asian American Writers :- Asian American literature is written by people of Asian descent in the United States addressing the experience of living in a society that views them as alien. Asian immigrants were denied citizenship as late as the1950s.Edward said has written of Orientals, or the tendency to objectify and exoticism Asian, and their work has sought to respond to such stereotypes Asian American writer include Chinese Japanese , Korean Filipino, Vietnamese, Asian , Polynesian and many other peoples of as a the Indian subcontinent , and pacific.

The idea that American identity is vested in a commitment to core values expressed in the American Creed and the ideals of Exceptionalism raises a fundamental concern that has been the source of considerable debate. Can American identity be meaningfully established by a commitment to core values and ideals among a population that is becoming increasingly heterogeneous? Since the 1960s, scholars and political activists, recognizing that the “melting pot” concept fails to acknowledge that immigrant groups do not, and should not, entirely abandon their distinct identities, embraced multiculturalism and diversity. Racial and ethnic groups maintain many of their basic traits and cultural attributes, while at the same time their orientations change through marriage and interactions with other groups in society. The American Studies curriculum serves to illustrate this shift in attitude. The curriculum, which had for decades relied upon the “melting pot” metaphor as an organizing framework, began to employ the alternative notion of the “American mosaic.”

Multiculturalism, in the context of the “American mosaic,” celebrates the unique cultural heritage of racial and ethnic groups, some of whom seek to preserve their native languages and lifestyles. In a sense, individuals can be Americans and at the same time claim other identities, including those based on racial and ethnic heritage, gender, and sexual preference.

Postmodernism and popular culture :-

Postmodernism and Popular Culture brings together eleven recent essays by Angela McRobbie in a collection which deals with the issues which have dominated cultural studies over the last ten years.

A key theme is the notion of post modernity as a space for social change and political potential. McRobbie explores everyday life as a site of immense social and psychic complexity to which she argues that cultural studies scholars must return through ethnic and empirical work; the sound of living voices and spoken language. She also argues for feminists working in the field to continue to question the place and meaning of feminist theory in a postmodern society. In addition, she examines the new youth cultures as images of social change and signs of profound social transformation. Bringing together complex ideas about cultural studies today in a lively and accessible format.

Postmodernism questions everything rationalist European philosophy held to be true. Postmodernism argues that it is all contingent and that most cultural constructions have served the function of empowering members of a dominant social group at the expense of “others.” Popular culture: there are four main types of popular culture analysis: production analysis, textual analysis, audience analysis, and historical analysis.

Postmodernism like poststructuralist and deconstruction is a critique of aesthetic of the preceding age, but besides more critique post modernism celebrates the very act of dismembering tradition. Postmodernism question everything rationalist European philosophy held to true, arguing that it is all counting and that most culture constructions have served the function of empowering member of dominant social group at the experience of other beginning in the mid1980. Post modernism emerged in art.

As we discuss four types of American Multiculturalism here we have another two types of Postmodernism and Popular Culture.

1.    Postmodernism

2.    Popular Culture       
        

[1] Postmodernism :-

Postmodernism describes a range of conceptual frameworks and ideologies that are defined in opposition to those commonly attributed to modernism and modernist notions of knowledge and science, as, materialism, realism, positivism, formalism, structuralism, and reductionism. Postmodernist approaches are critical of the possibility of objective knowledge of the real world, and consider the ways in which social dynamics such as power and hierarchy affect human conceptualizations of the world to have important effects on the way knowledge is constructed and used. In contrast to the modernist paradigm, postmodernist thought often emphasize idealism, constructivism, relativism, pluralism and scepticism in its approaches to knowledge and understanding.

It is not a philosophical movement in itself, but rather, incorporates a number of philosophical and critical methods that can be considered ‘postmodern’; the most familiar include feminism and post-structuralism. Put another way, postmodernism is not a method of doing philosophy, but rather a way of approaching traditional ideas and practices in non-traditional ways that deviate from pre-established super structural modes. This has caused difficulties in defining what postmodernism actually means or should mean and therefore remains a complex and controversial concept, which continues to be debated. The idea of the postmodern gained momentum through to the 1950s before dominating literature, art and the intellectual scene of the 1960s.Postmodernism's origins are generally accepted as having been conceived in art around the end of the nineteenth century as a reaction to the stultifying legacy of modern art and continued to expand into other disciplines during the early twentieth century as a reaction against modernism in general.

[2] Popular  culture : -

Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are preferred by an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the late 20th and early 21st century. Heavily influenced by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of the society.

Popular culture is often viewed as being trivial and dumped-down in order to find consensual acceptance throughout the mainstream. As a result, it comes under heavy criticism from various non-mainstream sources (most notably religious groups and countercultural groups) which deem it superficial, consumerist, sensationalist, and corrupted

The term "popular culture" was coined in the 19th century or earlier refers to the education and general "cult redness" of the lower classes, as was delivered in an address at the England. The term began to assume the meaning of a culture of the lower classes separate from (and sometimes opposed to) "true education" towards the end of the century, a usage that became established by the antebellum period. The current meaning of the term, culture for mass consumption, especially originating in the United States, is established by the end of World War II the abbreviated form "pop culture" dates to the 1960s.

Postcolonial Studies :-

Post colonialism refers to a historical phase undergone by the Third World countries after the decline of colonialism. Many Third World writers focus on both colonialism and the changes created in a postcolonial culture.

The critical nature of postcolonial theory entails destabilizing Western ways of thinking, therefore creating space for the subaltern or marginalized groups, to speak and produce alternatives to dominant discourse. Often, the term post colonialism is taken literally, to mean the period of time after colonialism. This however, is problematic because the ‘once-colonized world’ is full of “contradictions, of half-finished processes, of confusions, of hybridist, and liminalities” .In other words, it is important to accept the plural nature of the word post colonialism, as it does not simply refer to the period after the colonial era. By some definitions, post colonialism can also be seen as a continuation of colonialism, albeit through different or new relationships concerning power and the control/production of knowledge. Due to these similarities, it is debated whether to hyphenate post colonialism as to symbolize that we have fully moved beyond colonialism.

Post-colonialist thinkers recognize that many of the assumptions which underlie the "logic" of colonialism are still active forces today. Some postcolonial theorists make the argument that studying both dominant knowledge sets and marginalized ones as binary opposites perpetuates their existence as homogenous entities. Homi K. Bhabha feels the postcolonial world should valorise spaces of mixing; spaces where truth and authenticity move aside for ambiguity. This space of hybridist, he argues, offers the most profound challenge to colonialism. Critiques that Bhabha ignores Spaak’s stated usefulness of essentialism have been put forward. Reference is made to essentialisms' potential usefulness. An organized voice provides a more powerful challenge to dominant knowledge - whether in academia or active protests.

Post colonial refer to a historian phase undergone by third world countries after the decline of colonialism for era, when countries in Asian Africa, Latina/o America, and the Caribbean separated from the European emperies and were left to rebuild themselves. Many third words write focus on both colonialism and the change created a postcolonial culture.

Paper - 204 Assignment

Queer Theory

Queer theory offers a significant avenue through which to deconstruct and then reconstruct established IR concepts and theories. Stemming from various fields that transcend a narrow view of IR, queer research applies an interdisciplinary outlook to advance new critical perspectives on sexualities, gender and beyond. A single viewpoint in a field as diverse as IR would unnecessarily limit the range of scholarly viewpoints. It would also preclude a nuanced debate about the contents and forms of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) perspectives, queer scholarship and queer scholarly politics in IR. Due to these themes, and because of its diversity, it is difficult to define queer theory precisely. Indeed, a narrow definition of it would not be in line with queer theoretical tenets. Queer theory is not just confined to sexualities or sexual rights. It also questions established social, economic and political power relations – and critically interrogates notions of security.

The basics of queer theory

Queer theory’s origins are in LGBT studies – which focus on sexuality and gender. It soon distanced itself from those approaches due to disagreements with the stable identities that LGBT studies suggest. Queer theory emphasises the fluid and humanly performed nature of sexuality – or better, sexualities. It questions socially established norms and dualistic categories with a special focus on challenging sexual (heterosexual/homosexual), gender (male/female), class (rich/poor), racial (white/non-white) classifications. It goes beyond these so-called ‘binaries’ to contest general political (private/public) as well as international binary orders (democratic/ authoritarian). These are viewed as over-generalising theoretical constructs that produce an either/or mode of analysis that hides more than it clarifies and is unable to detect nuanced differences and contradictions. But queer theory also analyses and critiques societal and political norms in particular as they relate to the experience of sexuality and gender. These are not viewed as private affairs. Just as feminists perceive of gender as a socially constructed public and political affair, so queer theorists argue with regards to sexuality and gender expression.

As the word ‘queer’ was used to describe homosexuals in the nineteenth century, queer theory traces its lineage from the study of sexuality in its private and public forms. A commonplace meaning attributed to the term revolves around being non-conforming in terms of sexuality and gender, thus adding an ambiguous notion to being or acting queer. Hence a queer approach towards sexual equality complicates identity-based LGBT advocacy, as queer thinking expresses a more challenging, fluid perspective. This split has become even more pronounced as the international politics of sexual orientation and gender identity receives an ever-increasing degree of public attention. Some states have implemented substantial equality provisions in order to prove that they are ‘modern’ or ‘Western’ enough, while others have responded with pushback in the form of homophobic legislation and persecution. Sexual orientation and gender identity rights, which themselves are questioned by queer theorists as overly reliant on Western liberal norms of human rights and democracy, have become points of political contention, eliciting domestic culture wars as well.

Consider the debate in the United States over whether transgender individuals should be free to use the toilet of their personal choice. The status of sexuality and gender politics in IR has clearly been elevated via cases such as this which can quickly transcend domestic politics and enter the international realm. In addition, it has also impacted apparently unrelated policies such as defence policies, health care and labour market regulations and thus created new avenues for the re-construction of conventional IR concepts. As a result, new perspectives are needed to explain this inherent part of the social and political world. Queer theory does not assume a uniform access to reality, but rather acknowledges that subjective knowledge(s) about sexuality, gender and other social aspects are constructed rather than pre- existent, fluid rather than stable, and not always in line with societal norms. In this sense, queer theory has moved beyond focusing simply on the experience of sexuality and gender.

Sexuality politics and the queer scholarship connected to it arrived late on the theoretical scene in part because sexuality and gender initially were anchored in the private, rather than the public, spheres. Scholars advanced critical and feminist viewpoints emerging from the writings of Michel Foucault (1976), Judith Butler (1990) and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (1990) among others. Foucault’s groundbreaking linking of sexuality and knowledge to political power, and Butler’s rejection of stable sexual orientation and gender identities in favour of everyday performed ones remain foundational notions. Kosofsky Sedgwick’s calling attention to the discursive definition of homo/ heterosexuality in society further defined queer thinking. These scholarly statements were hardly accepted in mainstream political science because they rejected objectivity and highlighted the conditional and unstable human nature of social and political orders, including IR questions of security and governance. Hence queer theory evolved largely in literature, philosophy, sociology and queer studies programmes without making substantial inroads into IR theorising.

Despite the distinct emergence of queer theory from these wider origins, some questions remain. One of the major issues is to what extent ‘queer’ should be adopted as a label for transgressive (socially unacceptable) forms of thinking and acting – as this would in turn create a queer/mainstream binary. This is something that queer scholars argue against. Another issue lies in the vague definition of queer theoretical tenets and terms, leading to uncertainty about how a queer theoretical lens can best be deployed in various disciplines by a wide range of individuals. In its application to IR, queer theory challenges many assumptions about world politics unrelated to sexuality and gender. It aims to deconstruct established simplistic binaries – such as insecurity/security or war/peace – and recognises the inherent instability of political and social orders. Instead, it embraces the fluid, performative and ambiguous aspects of world politics. Hence, it criticises those approaches to politics and society that assume natural and moral hierarchies.  It problematises, for instance, the way in which non-traditional  sexualities have become normalised according to ‘hetero-normative’ standards, including the aspiration towards marriage and child rearing. Queer theorists argue that this results in a societal integration of sexual minorities into mainstream consumer society – making them less willing (or able) to contest deeper political inequalities.

Queer theory perceives sexuality and gender as social constructs that shape the way sexual orientation and gender identity are displayed in public – and thereby often reduced to black-and-white issues that can be manipulated or distorted. With regard to more classical IR topics, it critically assesses the assumption that all societies find themselves at different points along a linear path of political and economic development or adhere to a universal set of norms. Hence it embraces ambiguity, failure and conflict as a counterpoint to   a dominant progressive thinking evident in many foreign or development policies. As a scholarly undertaking, queer theory research constitutes of ‘any form of research positioned within conceptual frameworks that highlight the instability of taken-for-granted meanings and resulting power relations’ (Nash and Browne 2012, 4).

Weber (2014) highlights a lack of attention to queer theory by decrying the closed-mindedness of standard IR theories, arguing that queer scholarship in IR exists but is not recognised. The invisibility of queer theory is slowly changing, with case-study work on state homophobia (Weiss and Bosia 2013) or collective identity politics (Ayoub and Paternotte 2014) and the increasing relevance of transnational LGBT rights discourses for IR scholarship. But if empirical work in this area concentrates mainly on the agency of groups in their surrounding political structure, what is ‘queer’ about LGBT advocacy perspectives? These works offer comparative case studies from regional, cultural and theoretical peripheries to identify new ways of theorising the political subject by questioning the role of the state as we have come to accept it. They add to IR by broadening the knowledge about previously under-recognised perspectives that critically examine IR’s apparently obvious core concepts (or ‘myths’, as Weber calls them) such as sovereignty, power, security and nationalism. They do so from the vantage point of the outsider and infuse these well-worn IR concepts with critical considerations and interpretations. Importantly, they contest existing dualistic binaries in mainstream IR – such as state/system, modern liberalism/premodern homo- phobia, and West/Rest. Queer IR scholars look for the contribution queer analysis can provide for re-imagining the political individual, as well as the international structure in which people are embedded.

Reflecting on the possible futures of queer theory, there are various important aspects to consider. Progress in LGBT politics is mainly limited to the Global West and North and evokes culture wars about how hetero-normative such advocacy should be. And, it elicits international (homo)colonialist contentions about the culturally intrusive manner by which LGBT rights are promoted. This becomes clear when powerful transnational groups, governments or international organisations propose to make foreign aid disbursement conditional on equality reforms in certain countries. At the same time, they do not sufficiently recognise that their explicit LGBT support increases the marginalisation of minorities in certain states. It has to be mentioned though, that many LGBT organisations have a better understanding of local contexts and often act with the cooperation of local activists, though typically in a weaker position than the intergovernmental institutions they are allied with. LGBT politics and queer IR research can inspire and parallel each other as long as sexual advocacy politics does not fall prey to overly liberal, patronising politics. No matter if in the domestic or international arenas a number of problematic issues remain with the alleged progress of LGBT politics: if predominantly gay and lesbian rights such as marriage and adoption equality are aimed for, can one speak of true equality while transgender individuals still lack healthcare access or protection from hate crimes? And if the normalisation of Western LGBT individuals into consuming, depoliticised populations leads to a weakening of solidarity with foreign LGBT activists and appreciation of their difference, what effects does this have on global LGBT emancipation? Queer theory is an important tool for helping to better appreciate the complexity of these debates.

Queer theory and sexual equality in Europe

Globalisation has equipped queer theorists and activists with an expanded terrain for intervention. With reference to LGBT advocacy politics, the emergence of numerous Western-organised non-governmental organisations but also local LGBT movements with the significant publicity they generate –  be it positive or negative – expands transnational politics to a previously unknown degree. Both chip away at the centrality of the state in regulating    and protecting its citizens. A key place this can be detected is within debates   in the European Union (EU), which is an international organisation with supranational (law-making) powers over its member states.

The inclusion of LGBT individuals not as abject minorities but as human rights carriers with inherent dignity and individual rights of expression may transform the relationship between a marginalised citizenry and governmental authority – both at the state and EU level. But queer theory does not always align comfortably with the predominant political strategies advanced through transnational LGBT rights advocacy in Europe. It disputes many existing socio-political institutions such as neoliberal capitalism or regulatory citizenship that form the bedrocks of European politics. LGBT advocacy is, at times, viewed by queer theory as conforming, heteronormative, stereotyping and even (homo)nationalistic in its particular value-laden Western overtones. This is because it assumes that striving for Western standards of equality and inclusion is universally applicable and leads to liberation and inclusion. These become evident in the pressuring of more conservative European states to adopt certain policies, which often produce counter-productive tensions and expose vulnerable minorities. LGBT advocacy is aimed at inclusion within existing forms of representation rather than the appreciation of difference that queer theory strives at. Thus, LGBT organisations often appear ‘de-queered’ for political purposes to gain approval by the rest of society, which often leads to internal debates about their representation and goals.

Tensions between mainstream advocacy and radical queer approaches signify the need to rethink simplistic IR analytical approaches. Political tensions in the ‘real’ world prompt the queer IR theorist to question generally accepted, established conceptions of international governance. In doing so, queer theorists use existing literature or audio-visual material such as movies or even performances to go beyond the apparently obvious to deconstruct and then reconstruct IR events and processes. They often exhibit a critical perspective towards naturally assumed conditions of space and time that tend to conceal and flatten differences among actors and interpretations of international events. For example, Cynthia Weber (2016) uses Hillary Clinton’s sexual rights speech at the United Nations in 2011 and contrasts it with Conchita Wurst’s winning performance at the Eurovision song contest in 2014 to highlight a ‘queer logic of statecraft’ that contests traditional, gendered and binary approaches to governance. Weber highlights how despite transforming the notion of the homosexual from deviant into normal rights-holder in her speech, Clinton still produced an international binary of progressive versus intolerant states. On the other hand, Conchita Wurst – a character created by Thomas Neuwirth – challenged accepted notions of what is considered normal or perverse by performing in drag with a beard. In the course of this, Wurst destabilised racial, sexual, gendered and geo-  political notions of what it means to be a European. Taken together, both cases show how seemingly stable ideas in international relations are far from natural. Instead, they are intentionally created, normalised, challenged and reconfigured.

Looking deeper at issues within Europe, the EU’s justification of sexual non- discrimination on neoliberal market policies highlights the ambiguous positioning of the EU when it advocates limited equality provisions (Thiel 2015). This anti-discrimination policy is being implemented in the EU’s complex multi-level governance system that includes EU institutions as rights ‘givers’, member states as not always compliant ‘takers’, and LGBT groups somewhere in the middle. In addition to this potentially problematic setting, the EU’s anti-discrimination policy package applies only to employment-  related discrimination. But Europe’s largest LGBT advocacy group, the International Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual and Intersex Association (ILGA Europe), together with many other groups has been pressing the case for a broader anti-discrimination law covering all areas of life. This is complicated by the fact that a few powerful states do not want to broaden the existing market-based law and by EU hesitancy to reach beyond its focus on economic rights and freedoms.

It becomes evident that the dominance of neoliberalism as the EU’s main rationale limits the rights attainment of LGBT individuals because it restricts alternative critical views. Given the EU’s orientation, non-governmental organisations are pressured to prioritise market-principles such as labour participation, while becoming more dependent on governmental or EU funding. At the same time, this increase in non-governmental advocacy coincides with a retreat of governments in social and welfare sectors. This diminishes the potential for contesting existing policies and potentially their legitimacy, as groups have to link anti-discrimination activities with more societal and labour market inclusion if they want to retain funding from the EU. Such reorientation around neoliberal EU objectives produces a hierarchy of rights which risks putting social inclusion and a wider sense of equality at the bottom.

This case study thus questions the cooperation of non-governmental advocacy organisations with a supranational governance system that is at least partly responsible for constraining national welfare policies. Moreover, the EU’s valuation of rights is problematic because inalienable rights are being made an object of economic value and output. Yet it cannot be criticised in a system in which EU policy planning is protected by its supposed non-political regulatory, expert-led nature – reminding us of Foucault’s knowledge–power linkage. It also implies that a reflection of norms is needed, in the way neoliberal heteronormativity is desired by political actors in the EU policy process and accordingly (re)produced or challenged by gender/sex-based rights groups. The feminist contribution to IR highlights uneven gendered power relations, but a critical political economy perspective that merges concerns about structural injustice with the thoughtful critique of queer theory’s view on civil society inclusion adds profound insights into the politics of sexual rights recognition. This is most relevant here when considering queer theory’s theoretical tenets such as taking seriously the distinct positions of political actors and the often troubling content of public policy.

Conclusion

The development of queer theory in IR suggests that more rigorous questions of the impact of LGBT issues in international politics have begun to be successfully answered. It highlights the valuable contribution to analysing IR through until now unrecognised perspectives on sexual and gender expression. Queer theory has also proven to be theoretically inclusive in ways that LGBT and feminist scholarship sometimes has not. A question that remains is whether queer theorists can recognise – and perhaps transcend – their own racial, class and Western-centric orientations. Such broadening would also make it easier to find common cause with other affected minorities – not least to move from a purely critical or deconstructive mode to a more transformative and productive one. Precisely because queer theory is able to transcend the focus on sexuality and gender through general analytical principles, it lends itself to interrogating a wide range of IR phenomena. In a time when IR is often accused of being parochial, queer theory is a necessary corrective to powerful myths and narratives of international order.

Paper - 202 Assignment

Problem of Communal Divide and Communal Tension in Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions

Hello Beautiful People,

This blog is 202  assignment writing on  assigned by Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad sir, Head of the English Department of Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavsinhji Bhavangar University (MKBU).

Name Pandya Chandani V.

             pandyachandani11@gmail.com

Sem 3

Roll No. 05

PG year 2020-2022

PG Enrollment No. 3069206420200014

Paper Name 202 (IEL2)

Topic Name Problem of Communal Divide and Communal Tension in Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions

Submitted to Smt. S.B.Gardi Department of English

Introduction 

Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions focuses on the problem of communal disharmony between the Hindus and Muslims in India, especially during the period of the post- partition riots. The psychosis that prevails among the Hindus as well as Muslims in India, after the event of the partition of the country, cause a chain of neurotic reactions to even the most inconsequential of happenings. The play moves from the partition to the present day communal riots; probes into the religious bigotry by examining the attitudes of three generations of a middle-class Gujrati business family, Hardika the grandmother, Ramnik her son and Sumita her granddaughter. Revolving around three generations, the events in the play unfold at a swift pace, weaving the post-independence partition riots, with the communal riots of today in a common strand. Memory plays an important role in the play as reminiscences of the characters develop the plot. In the play, the mob is a symbol of the communal hatred. It deals with the burning issues of Hindu-Muslim hatred; the mind set of suspicion towards each other and tries to suggest that attributes of prejudice and misperception have much to do in escalating such problems. It is obvious that communal unrest arises from highlighting the differences between these two religious groups. Once they are made to acknowledge their identity as human beings first and then Hindus or Muslims, there will be no problems. Therefore one of the solutions is that religion is only something superficial as mask and can be donned or taken off at will.

Problem of communal tension in Mahesh Dattani's Final Solution

Mahesh Dattani is a leading dramatist in Indian Drama in English. He is the first Indian playwright in English who has been awarded the ‘Sahitya Academi’ award for his contribution to world drama. He was born on August 7, 1958 in Bangalore. His parents originally belong to Gujarat but they came to Bangalore for business purposes and settled there. After completing his school and college educations at Bangalore, he joined with his father in his business activities. He has an intrinsic attachment to dance and theatre too. He watched many Gujarati plays and Kannada plays, which gave him the idea of theatre. He has a keen interest not only in theatre but also in dancing. He started his career as an actor in dramas and played many lead roles in various Indian English plays and British plays. He founded ‘Playpen’, a theatre company in 1984 to perform the plays particularly the Indian plays. After this, he devoted himself to directing plays. He first directed the play, God in 1986. He directed almost all of his plays. Later on, he moved towards writing plays and the result is Where There’s a Will. In this play, he also worked as an actor. Thus he started his career as an actor, he moved to direct and then to write plays. His important plays are God, Where There’s a Will, Dance Like A Man, Tara, Bravely Fought The Queen, Final Solutions, On A Muggy Night In Mumbai, etc. In his plays, Dattani deals with the fringe issues and marginalized people within the society and his themes extend from child abuse, homosexuality and hijra communities to the other taboo subjects and social riots. His themes and the characters are chosen from the Indian society but he raises them to the universal level.

Dattani’s Final Solutions is a three-act play which handles the theme of communal riots and forced resentments. It was first performed at Guru Nanak Bhavan, Bangalore on 10 July 1993. In India, the co-existence of multi-religions and multi-cultures has been a curious topic for the world. But the confrontations of Hindus and Muslims has been a dynamic issue more than the other religions to each other. Hindus and Muslims depict their own statement to prove their superiority and Dattani depicts this in Final Solutions. The play opens with two Muslim young boys Bobby and Javed seeking shelter in the house of the Hindu family of Ramnik Gandhi, from the chasing mob, during a hostile atmosphere and curfew followed by Hindu- Muslim riot in the city. With the entry of two Muslim young boys within the house, the familial drama begins. Here, the different religions, cultures, food habits, attitudes, resentments to each other, personal whims and psyches confront each other. Dattani takes the opportunity to move free into the time and closely scrutinize all such riots in the past and their influences to shape the characters and communities. He tear opens the tapestries of illusions of the characters and exposes the truth behind their social, cultural and religious patterns. The present study aims at the study of the problem of communal divide and communal riot in the Indian society through the play Final Solutions.

Mahesh Dattani’s Final Solutions focuses on the problem of communal disharmony between the Hindus and Muslims in India, especially during the period of the post- partition riots. The play starts with Daksha reading lines from her diary. The setting suggests that the period is late 1940’s. Daksha is the mother of the central character of the play Ramnik Gandhi. She shuttles between her two identities, namely that of a girl of fifteen and that of a matured lady who has witnessed forty years of freedom. The chorus chanting at the back sometimes assumes Hindu masks and sometimes Muslim ones. The words rendered by the chorus are clear indicators of the communal disharmony and its painful consequences that are soon to be experienced by the characters in the play. The masks have leaving effects on minds of the characters who wear them.

Final Solutions talks of the problems of cultural hegemony, how Hindus has to suffer at the hands of Muslim majority like the characters of Hardika and Daksha in Hussain’s hand, and how Muslim like Javed suffers in the set up of the major Hindu community. This all resulted in communal riots and culminated in disruption of the normal social life, and thus hampered the progress of nation. The locale of the play is Ramnik’s house and the central characters are his daughter Smita, wife Aruna and mother Hardika, besides himself and the two Muslim boys Bobby and Javed who entered into his house during communal tension occasioned by the attack on the Rath Yatra procession. In the beginning, Daksha recollects from her diary about the past when she was married at the age of fourteen. And now after forty years Daksha has become Hardika but her prejudice against the other community continues to be with her. Javed, as Bobby tells Ramnik, became a fanatic because he was ill-treated by persons of another faith and hired by the hooligans to spread communal violence. This creates the problem of communal divide in our country.

Dattani attempts a balancing act in tracing the malady of communal disharmony. The ground he treads is full of mines ready to explode, as this involves the fanatic elements within the Hindu and the Muslim communities. It is obvious to all that people are paid to create political instability and cause communal riots to fan distrust and suspicion that tear the social fabric. Inevitably the politicians exploit the susceptibilities of the two communities on sensitive issues. In the play, the chorus is an expedient device used brilliantly to provide the commentary on the way communal provocation instigates mindless mob violence. There is always someone to light the fire of violence. The play illustrates how the notions of pollution, food, kitchen habits and fear of contamination by touch become repeated instances of communal clashes. The characters in the play motivate us to think that angry outbursts lead to chain reaction. As long as the characters are on stage as individuals, they are fine; but behind the masks they represent the faceless, mindless mob, thirsting for blood. Anger and violence take their toll on both groups. The chorus with Hindu masks bursts with angry words. There are indications of political mischief and deliberate instigation. Nobody thinks the land belongs to all Indians. One community hates another. One community is in the majority, the other is in the minority. Consequently, the two communities are at loggerheads, living in an atmosphere of conflict and acrimony.

The mob in the play is symbolic of our hatred and paranoia. Each member of the mob is an individual yet they meld into one seething whole as soon as politicians play on their fears and anxieties. The fears and anxieties of the two communities can be traced to the partition. There is Muslim sensitivity to music being played near a mosque. There is Hindu sensitivity in matters of general Muslim food habits that go against vegetarianism. There are fears of contamination. Politicians exploit most of these things and hired goons to help them. Sooner voices like Bobby’s are drowned, ignored and brushed aside. Pent up feelings take a violent shape. Dattani exposes the fundamentalists and orthodox persons who use religion as a cover to realize their selfish interest. Religion is a mere ploy in their hands to further their interest in life and cherished their desired goal. Identity politics underlying the Hindu-Muslim tension in India has to be clearly grasped to explain the causes of communal riots as well as large scale killings that have taken place in recent years. There is a serious socio-political problem plaguing our nation today is the communal disharmony between Hindus and Muslims. Dattani, in this play, deals with the recurring rhetoric of hatred, aggression, the monetary and political exploitation of communal riots, the chauvinism and patriarchal mindset of the fundamentalist, in the context of India in the 1940s interspersed with the contemporary India.

The play is about a simple Hindu family which is suddenly faced with a lot of questions when two Muslim boys seek refuge in their house during the communal riots. Thus begins the quest for the truth of their beliefs by their father, mother, daughter and grandmother. The story is juxtaposed deftly between two time periods – the present and the past and finally throws light on the beliefs of even those who consider themselves very liberal. Daksha closes her diary and Hardika appears on the stage. Past and present is fused on stage through the figures of Daksha and Hardika. Ramnik Gandhi seems to be a very liberal-minded person towards the Hindu-Muslim relationships and does not like Hardika’s telling his daughter that “those people are all demons”. Aruna is a typical Gujarati house wife doing ‘pooja – path’ everyday, praying constantly “our Krishna will protect us”. She is a God-fearing woman and thinks that her Krishna will do everything smooth and peaceful one day. Her mother-in-law Hardika could not forget what was happened before forty years during partition and does not believe Muslims at all. She is an epitome of those hateful thoughts towards them, as any fanatic Hindu would be. The following lines spoken by Baa/Hardika clearly show her fears of both past days and the coming days, when the two Muslim boys come to Ramnik to take shelter while riots outside:

This time it wasn’t the people with the sticks and stones. It was those two boys running away who frightened me. Those two who were begging for their lives. Tomorrow they will hate us for it. They will hate us for protecting them. Asking for help makes them feel they are lower than us. I know! All those memories came back when I saw the pride in their eyes! I know their wretched pride! It had destroyed me before and I was afraid it would destroy my family again. They don’t want equality. They want to be superior. (P.172)

In Final Solutions, Dattani shows how the seed of riot is sowed and some vested groups reap its fruit. He also discusses the role of politician, police and public at the time of communal riot. The common people who live together for years, at the moment of riot, suddenly cease to recognize one another and become enemy on the ground of religion. They never realize that they are loser and politicians snatch the opportunity to gain power. This special community utilizes the opportunity to make a profit. Dattani demonstrates that the major cause of difference endangered by the two leading communities in our country is their sense of superiority. The Hindus always think that they are superior to the Muslims and the Muslims think the same. This causes a big chasm in their relation. The scarcity of religious tolerance is the leading factor for generating a breach in the society. The sentiment of two different groups can be traced in the chorus of the play Final Solutions:

Chorus 1          : The procession has passed through these lanes every year. For

forty years!

Chorus 2, 3      : How dare they ?

Chorus 1,2,3    : For forty years our chariot has moved through their mohallas.

Chorus 4,5       : Why did they ? Why did they today ?

Chorus 1          : How dare they?

Chorus 2,3       : They broke our Rath. They broke our chariot and felled our

Gods!

Chorus 1,2,3    : This is our land! How dare they ?

Chorus 1          : It is in their blood!

Chorus 2,3       :It is in their blood to destroy!

Chorus 4          : Why should they?

Chorus 5          : It could have been an accident.

Chorus 2          : The stone that hit our God was no accident!

Chorus 3          : The knife that slit the poojari’s stomach was no accident.

(P.168)

In Final Solutions, communal riot breaks due to disturbance of procession. In most of the cases the matter of dispute is very simple. But due to involvement of some unsocial elements, it takes the shape of communalism and later on it is distorted and ultimate result is communal violence. During communal riots, mankind undergoes tremendous spiritual losses, during and after riot. Respect for life, dignity of humanity, love for truth and justice, fellow feeling and brotherhood are mercilessly butchered in riot. The propaganda, based on falsehood, has its hayday during riot. People lose not only their bodies but also their souls. It is a great catastrophe to humanity. As Bobby says:

A minor incident changed all that… We were playing cricket on our street… The   postman… was in a hurry and asked Javed to hand the letter over to the owner. Javed took the letter… and opened the gate… a voice boomed, ‘What do you want?’ Javed holding out the letter… his usual firmness vanishing in a second. ‘Leave it on the wall’, the voice ordered. Javed backed away, really frightened… the man came out with a cloth… wiped the letter before picking it up, he then wiped the spot on the wall the letter was lying on and he wiped the gate! We all heard a prayer bell, ringing continuously. Not loud. But distinct … We’d heard the bell so often every day of our life that it didn’t mean anything… but at the moment… we all heard only the bell… The next day… I found… Someone had dropped pieces of meat and bones into his backyard. (P.200)

So it is not necessary that communal riot begins only when a group remarks badly on other group. But the way of working can also infuriate the other community. If any problem arises between different communities, it can be sorted out by talk. But still, some people fan the objectionable remarks on their community and its result is communal riot. The first stage of communalism lies in the ideology that the people of the same religion have the same ideology and the same interest. The vested people involve themselves in spreading such ideology and divide the society on the basis of religion. Such type of feeling compels the other community to do the same and thus the cactus of communalism comes on the ground. The ill-treatment of Javed by a man hurts Bobby and he also becomes angry and expresses his anger before Ramnik :

Ramnik : …you didn’t throw meat into your neighbour’s backyard.

Bobby   : That’s because I was ashamed of being myself. He wasn’t.

Ramnik : Ashamed ?

Bobby   : Yes. Like being apologetic. For being who I was. And pretending that I

was not a part of my community. For thinking that I could become

superior by not belonging… I chose to be called Bobby. (P.201)

Daksha hates Muslims because her father was killed in a communal riot, and because her overtures of friendship to Zarine, a young Muslim girl, were rejected after other communal riots that razed Zarine’s father’s shop, and which incidentally, was bought by Daksha’s father-in-law. Javed, the young Muslim fundamentalist and member of a ‘gang’ has long nursed a resentment against the world because of the ‘otherness’ and the demonisation of his community and religious identity by the dominant community. Ramnik Gandhi, Daksha’s son is trying to atone for the sins committed by his father and grandfather, and therefore becomes a conscious ‘secularist’. Daksha tells us about the riots in which her father was killed, how she and her mother took refuge from the flying stones in the pooja room, and how her faith in God, represented by the idol of Krishna was suddenly gone, never to return. These things have not changed that much after forty years too, as the play has opened in the midst of another riot, and a curfew is on in the small town of Amargaon where the Gandhis live. Daksha’s diary has the usual retellings of communal hatred and desecration of religious signifiers.

Daksha’s last visit to Zarine’s place is an example of hospitality that asks names. She went to see her friend without knowing that her husband and father-in-law had secretly planned to overtake their business and reduced their shop to ashes. Zarine commits violence by inviting Daksha to their dining table, knowing full well that the sight and smell of beef would injure her. Daksha throws up and is helped by her domestic servant who surmises that she has eaten beef :  domestic violence and captivity follows. In all her life she never got to know of the secret deal that changed her life forever. Daksha and Hardika become one in their resentment of the other:

Daksha      : (banging on the door) I promise! I won’t do it again!

Hardika     : Confined. Never let out of the house. Like a dog that had gone mad!

Daksha      : (hysterically) Let me out!

Hardika     : I hate the way you look! I hate the way you dress! I hate the way you

eat! (P.223)

Final Solutions is a problem play, for it deals with the communal tension of our society. The violence perpetuated by the communal people in our society affects family life and that is dramatized in the characters of Smita, Ramnik Gandhi, Aruna, Bobby and Javed. The same character Daksha with two names (Daksha and Hardika) shows how the attitude of the same person to communal tension has changed over the years. Two Muslim boys, Bobby and Javed take shelter in Ramnik’s house during communal violence in the town. The dialogue between these two boys with the members of Ramnik’s family reveals the deep-rooted distrust between two communities. Aruna, Ramnik’s wife argues with her husband and daughter, Smita against giving them shelter in their house when Aruna forbids Bobby and Javed to touch the water with which she bathes the Gods. It shows the attitude of Aruna to her religion. The relationship among the members of Ramnik’s family is affected by the communal feelings prevalent in our society. But Dattani works out a solution by making people understand the evil inherent in such kind of communal hatred between two major communities in our country.

Final Solutions has a powerful contemporary resonance as the central issue of communalism is of the utmost concerns of our society. Presenting different shades of communalist attitudes prevalent among Hindus and Muslims, the play attempts to underline the stereotypes influencing the collective sensibility of one community against another. Moving from partition to the present day communal riots, Final Solutions examines the attitudes of three generations of a Gujrati business family. The events in the play unfold at a swift pace, weaving the post-independence partition riots, with the communal riots of today in a common strand.

In the context of the play, the fears and anxieties of the two communities are largely an aftermath of the partition, but in conservative Hindu homes there has always been a tacit dislike for and disapproval of everything associated with Muslims to the extent that everything touched by the latter is considered to be contaminated. Muslims too, are conscious of the antipodal position they assume in a Hindu community and are equally averse to the Hindu. This mutual aversion of the two communities for each other in India is not overplayed but is depicted with a rare fidelity which spells absolute conviction. Dattani’s great contribution to Indian English drama can be depicted in the play, Final Solutions. It is a very significant play by Dattani especially in the present scenario of India and critics have suggested that this play should be translated into every Indian language and performed throughout the country.

 Works Cited

Agarwal, Dipti. The Plays of Mahesh Dattani – A Study In Thematic Diversity And Dramatic  Technique. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House, 2013.

Das, Bijay Kumar. Form and Meaning in Mahesh Dattani’s Plays. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 2012.

Dattani, Mahesh. Collected  Plays. New Delhi: Penguin Books of India, 2000.

Joshipura, Pranav. A Critical Study Of Mahesh Dattani’s Plays. New Delhi: Sarup Book Publishers, 2009.

Mukherjee, Tutun. The Plays Of Mahesh Dattani – An Anthology Of Recent Criticism. New Delhi: Pencraft International, 2012.

Multani, Angelie. Mahesh Dattani’s Plays – Critical Perspectives. New Delhi: Pencraft International, 2007.

Singh, Pramod Kumar. Social Maladies In The Works Of Mahesh Dattani. New Delhi: Sarup Book Publishers, 2012.