MAN DON'T CRY

Happy heat wave to all...

In this heavy heat there's question raised into my mind that why the society has given the stereotypical thoughts over Gender,Caste,Religion and a lot more untouched topics which we follow so blindly. Same as that one thing that has triggered me is,

MAN DON'T CRY 

It seems rights of crying, being alone, emotional breakdowns are only reserved for women Why??????

For such question there's one statement very famous says,

MARD KO KABHI DARD NAHI HOTA!

Right from our childhood a boy has shown as superior rather girl. Where they pamper a girl more than boy-child.So on this gender prejudice is never going to fade away. 

Cultural beliefs and traditions play a significant role in shaping gender roles and expectations. Societies may have long-held beliefs about the appropriate roles, behaviors, and responsibilities for men and women, which are passed down through generations. These beliefs can influence societal norms and reinforce the creation of stereotypical barriers between boys and girls.

The Easiest way to see biased perspective is

They see their daughters as  their "Lucky charm" in other way "Ghar ki Lakshmi". they see their boy child as "their shied" in other words HAMARE BHUDHHAPE KA SAHARA , KHANDAN KA CHIRAG and so on. Basically a girl who takes care of family, relations , emotionally attached and gentle is accepted by society. and a boy who is strong, keeps his emotions aside and think practically , who is deeply involved into family's financial situation is acceptable in the so called society. I personally pity this society who has set such boundaries for everyone.

Anger issues in men which led them to..

You see most of young generation around is so arrogant that is because of continuous restrictions You can't do this that etc. Such things led a men to became extremely violent, full of anger and emotionless and after all this they do with their child especially boy child they pretend as if there's nothing happened instead that they ask,

WHY ARE YOU BECAME SUCH ARROGANT?

We have a lot examples around us which people don't want to discuss just because it's all about their reputation and their everything. Sometimes i find parenthood so selfish as well self centered.This atom bomb named parents comes with the caution that Be Careful it may hurt.Generally men is not allowed to show his emotions as it weakens them.Keeping everything till them it does suffocates them and that is the very first stage of their anger issues.And after all things they ask,

 WHY DOES MEN HAVE THESE ANGER ISSUES? 

The fuck how can they raise the question for which they are themselves responsible. Societal norms and expectations can influence how men perceive and express their emotions. Traditional gender roles often discourage men from openly discussing their feelings or seeking emotional support. The pressure to appear strong and stoic may lead to emotional suppression, which can eventually result in a breakdown when emotions become overwhelming.

Moving ahead for their choices and what they are asked to do...

 A continuous friction between their choices and their duty.They are not supposed to mix their hobbies and their responsibilities in one . They can not make their career out of their hobbies and things they are fond of rather they are pressurized to choose their responsibility and their duties besides their own choice.

Certainly! Men often face societal pressures to suppress or downplay their emotions, which can result in a lack of open discussion about their emotional experiences. Here are a few aspects of men's emotional side that are often not openly discussed in public:

Vulnerability:

Men experience vulnerability just like anyone else. However, due to societal expectations of masculinity, they may feel reluctant to openly express vulnerability. Men may fear being perceived as weak or losing their sense of control by sharing their emotional struggles.

Mental Health Challenges:

Men commonly experience mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, and stress. However, there can be a stigma surrounding mental health issues for men, leading them to avoid seeking help or discussing their experiences openly. This lack of conversation can prevent men from accessing the support they need.

Emotional Expressiveness:

Men's emotional expression is often limited to anger or happiness, as these emotions are more socially acceptable. Emotions such as sadness, fear, or grief are sometimes suppressed or expressed in more subtle ways. This can lead to a limited emotional repertoire and difficulty in fully expressing and understanding complex emotions.

Relationship Struggles:

Men may encounter challenges in their intimate relationships, but these difficulties are not always openly discussed. Issues related to communication, emotional intimacy, and relationship conflicts can be sources of emotional distress for men. Lack of open dialogue about these challenges may hinder relationship growth and understanding.

Work-Related Stress:

Men may face significant stress in their professional lives, which can have a profound impact on their emotional well-being. Work-related pressures, long hours, competition, and the fear of failure can lead to emotional strain and burnout. These experiences are not often shared publicly, which can perpetuate the perception that men should be stoic and unaffected by work-related stress.

Encouraging open dialogue and creating safe spaces for men to share their emotional experiences can help break down the barriers that prevent them from discussing these aspects of their lives. By normalizing and validating men's emotions, we can promote healthier emotional well-being and stronger connections in society.

Here are some suggestions to help a man heal from emotional breakdowns:

Encourage self-expression:

Create a safe and non-judgmental space for the man to express his emotions. Encourage him to talk about his feelings, thoughts, and experiences. Active listening and validating his emotions can provide a sense of relief and support.

Offer reassurance and validation:

Let the man know that his emotions are valid and that it is normal to experience emotional breakdowns. Reassure him that he is not alone and that there is no shame in seeking help or taking time to heal.

Encourage self-care: 

Emphasize the importance of self-care as a crucial aspect of healing. Encourage the man to engage in activities that promote physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This could include regular exercise, practicing relaxation techniques, getting adequate sleep, and nourishing his body with healthy food.

Foster a support network:

Help the man build a support network of trusted friends, family, or support groups. Encourage him to lean on these connections for emotional support, understanding, and encouragement during the healing process.

Teach coping strategies:

Help the man develop healthy coping strategies to manage stress and emotional challenges. This can include techniques such as deep breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, journaling, or engaging in creative outlets that allow for self-expression.

Be patient and understanding:

Healing takes time, and it's essential to be patient and understanding throughout the process. Avoid putting pressure on the man to recover quickly and remind him that healing is a gradual journey.

Remember that each individual's healing process is unique, and it's important to tailor the support and approach to their specific needs. Encouraging professional help when necessary and maintaining open lines of communication can greatly contribute to the healing process.

Men have emotions too ❤

Conclusion of My Disssertation

 

Conclusion

As mentioned in Introduction there is a pervasive feeling of separation and estrangement in contemporary society. This is clear from the poem's portrayal of people who are shut off from one another and their surroundings. The people in the poem are stuck in an emotional and social isolation because they are unable to establish meaningful connections or relationships.There is a sense of crisis and fragmentation in the modern era. The poem examines the aftermath of World War I, which dispelled the illusions of progression and stability that had characterised the pre-war world, and this is mirrored in how it does so. The poem makes the argument that the trauma and chaos of the war helped to create a sense of cultural and spiritual deterioration that still remains gigantic in the modern era.

The opening lines of The poem Howl is,

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, (Ginsberg)

In this poem the poet has witnessed the best thinkers of his time slipping into madness. They stumbled through Black areas at dawn looking for drugs while extremely hungry, upset, and helpless.The phrase "destroyed by madness" suggests that many of these young people were driven to insanity by the pressures of modern society and the struggle to create meaningful work in a culture that often rejected their values. Ginsberg himself struggled with mental illness throughout his life, and his poetry often explored the themes of madness, alienation, and spiritual longing.

Same as that in “The Wasteland” by Eliot in opening lines in first part,

April is the cruellest month (Eliot)

Since April is typically connected to spring, fresh life, and renewal, the line is frequently seen as a paradox. However, as he examines the fragmented and surreal aspects of contemporary life, Eliot uses this line to communicate a feeling of despair and disillusionment.One interpretation is that April, with its promise of rebirth and renewal, emphasizes the contrast between the cycle of life and mortality in the natural world and the lifeless nature of contemporary society. In other words, April is harsh because it serves as a constant reminder of the disconnect between our need for meaning as humans and the meaninglessness of life. In order to represent the ambiguity and confusion that define the contemporary world, Liot uses the mythological figure of Tiresias, who represents both genders. Eliot seems to imply that we are all stuck in this uncertain state of disorder, being unable to truly embrace either life or death.

A decline in faith and a sense of moral deterioration characterise modern society. The poem explores religious and cultural practises that no longer have any value or meaning in the contemporary culture, which reflects this. The poem implies that a sense of moral ambiguity and ethical confusion has resulted from the collapse of traditional values and beliefs.Fragmentation and separation are aspects of the modern era. This may be seen in "The Wasteland's" fragmentary structure, which is made up of various voices, viewpoints, and allusions that are frequently challenging to reconcile. This disintegration is a reflection of how traditional institutions, values, and beliefs are breaking down in contemporary society.

Such separateness and disconnectedness from the world are traits of the modern era. The poem's depiction of people who are separated away from each other and their immediate environment makes this clear. The poem makes the argument that the conformist culture of the 1950s contributed to a feeling of alienation and dislocation, and that this feeling of alienation still permeates modern society.A loss of identity and an overall absence of originality are characteristics of the modern era. The poem's condemnation of the dominant values of materialism, consumerism, and conformity reflects this. The poem makes the argument that people in modern society are frequently under pressure to fit in with cultural conventions, which results in a loss of originality and a sensation of being cut off from one's actual self.

Both of these "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg and "The Wasteland" by T.S. Eliot are literary works that make strong societal critiques of their respective eras.The 1950s homogeneity and conformity of American culture are criticised in the poem "Howl." Ginsberg rails against the conformist culture of the day because, in his opinion, it stifles individual creativity and suppresses alternative lifestyles. The poem urges a rejection of the dominant principles of materialism, commercialization, and conformity while honouring the countercultural movements of the time, such as the Beat Generation. Ginsberg's use of coarse language and graphic sexual images was stunning at the time and posed a threat to the conservative social norms that were present at the time.

Similar criticism of the spiritual and cultural emptiness of contemporary civilization may be found in "The Wasteland." Eliot paints a picture of a society in which conventional norms and beliefs have been challenged, leaving people drifting aimlessly and feeling alienated. The poem examines what happened after World War I, which dispelled the illusions of development and stability that had pervaded the pre-war world. Eliot suggests that cultural and spiritual traditions are eroding in the modern period using a fragmented narrative framework and a collage of literary allusions.It's possible to view "Howl" and "The Wasteland" as social critiques that question the dominant cultural and social norms. 

Famous English poet T.S. Eliot's masterpiece, "The Wasteland," first appeared in English literature in 1922. It is a contemporary epic that, in its condensed form, incorporates references to old Greek and Roman mythologies as well as references to ancient, Elizabethan, Victorian, and contemporary authors. It draws inspiration from anthropological works by James Frazer's "The Golden Bough" and Jessie L. Weston's "Ritual and Romance," respectively. Eliot illustrates his encompassing consciousness in this poem by fusing the past, present, and future into one seamless whole. In this body of work, dead poets and ancestors most forcefully proclaim their immortality, aiding Eliot in claiming not only the pastness but also the presence of the past.

'The Waste Land,' by T.S. Eliot, is perhaps the most studied, prodded, and scrutinised poem of the twentieth century.And there is no doubt that one's enjoyment of it will be enhanced by understanding the wide range of literary and mythic sources on which Eliot drew. This study is highlighted by Eliot's social criticism and its contemporary relevance. It sheds light on the current world's decay and provides solutions to all of humanity's problems. Eliot is one of the few writers who can instil modern sensibility in the right and true context.

Eliot's poem criticises the modern world and emphasises the need for change. The modern world's spiritual and emotional sterility reflects societal issues that must be addressed. Eliot's poem warns of the dangers of rejecting traditional structures of authority and belief. It emphasises the significance of preserving a sense of spirituality and moral values in a society.T.S. Eliot's "The Wasteland" theme of spiritual and emotional sterility is a form of social criticism. Eliot's poem reflects the modern world's spiritual emptiness and moral decay. The poem is a critique of the society that emerged in the aftermath of World War I, which shattered traditional authority and belief structures.

One of the key themes of "The Waste Land" is the fragmentation and alienation of modern life. Eliot portrays a world that is disconnected and disenchanted, where people are isolated and unable to connect with each other or find meaning in their lives. He uses multiple voices and perspectives to suggest that this sense of fragmentation is not just a personal experience, but a universal condition of modernity.

Another important theme in the poem is the breakdown of traditional values and beliefs. Eliot suggests that modern society has lost touch with its spiritual and cultural roots, and he uses references to mythology, religion, and literature to suggest that there is no longer a coherent cultural narrative that can provide meaning and purpose. Instead, Eliot portrays a world in which people are disconnected from their past and their traditions, leading to a sense of nihilism and despair.

This journey through the five parts of the poem ends in the optimistic note that through the renunciation of this worldly self the lustful sexuality of the wasteland may some day be redeemed.Eliot is also critical of the materialism and consumerism of modern society. He portrays a world in which people are obsessed with wealth, status, and possessions, and he suggests that this focus on material goods has led to a loss of human values and a sense of spiritual emptiness.

"The Waste Land" is a powerful critique of contemporary society, delving into themes such as fragmentation, alienation, loss of tradition, and materialism. Eliot's social criticism reflects his belief in the decline of Western culture, and he suggests that only by reconnecting with the past and discovering new sources of meaning can individuals and societies hope to overcome the sense of despair and fragmentation that characterises modern life.

Same as that Allen Ginsberg gives the insight of the 1950s.The poem is divided into three parts, and it is considered one of the most significant works of the Beat Generation, a literary movement that emerged in the 1950s and challenged traditional social and literary conventions.

The first part of the poem is a lament for the "best minds of Ginsberg's generation," who he believes have been destroyed by the oppressive social and political systems of the time. He describes his friends and contemporaries, many of whom were writers and artists, as being "starving hysterical naked" and "dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix."

Ginsberg then turns his attention to the society that he believes has destroyed these individuals. He describes it as a "Moloch" that consumes people and destroys their humanity, characterizing it as a "vast and trunkless legs of stone" that symbolizes the mechanized and dehumanizing nature of modern society. He rails against the conformity and materialism of the culture, and portrays himself and his peers as rebels and outcasts, seeking to escape the oppressive structures that surround them.

The second part of the poem is a meditation on sexuality, with Ginsberg exploring the taboo subjects of homosexuality and bisexuality. He describes his own sexual experiences in explicit detail, challenging the traditional norms of sexuality and gender roles. He also celebrates the beauty and power of sexuality, depicting it as a source of liberation and creative energy.

The final part of the poem is a call to action, urging readers to "burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles." Ginsberg calls for an end to the repression and conformity of modern society, and encourages his readers to embrace their own creativity and individuality. He ends the poem with the famous line "the world is holy! The soul is holy! The skin is holy!" celebrating the sacredness of all things and the potential for spiritual transcendence in everyday life.

Thus "Howl" is a powerful and influential work of poetry that explores themes of rebellion, sexuality, and social critique. It challenged traditional literary and cultural norms, and helped to lay the groundwork for the counterculture of the 1960s.

Comparison Between Howl by Allen and The Wasteland 

"Howl" by Allen Ginsberg and "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot are two of the most significant poems of the 20th century, and both works explore themes of alienation, fragmentation, and social critique. While the two poems differ in style and approach, there are several similarities between them.

First, both poems portray a sense of alienation and disconnection in modern society. Ginsberg's "Howl" describes a world in which individuals are oppressed by social and political structures, and are unable to connect with each other or find meaning in their lives. Eliot's "The Waste Land" similarly portrays a world that is fragmented and disenchanted, where people are isolated and unable to connect with each other or their cultural heritage.

Second, both poems critique the breakdown of traditional values and beliefs. Ginsberg's "Howl" suggests that modern society has lost touch with its spiritual and cultural roots, and that this has led to a sense of nihilism and despair. Eliot similarly critiques the loss of tradition and cultural heritage in "The Waste Land," suggesting that there is no longer a coherent cultural narrative that can provide meaning and purpose.

Third, both poems are highly intertextual, incorporating references to other literary works, cultural artefacts, and historical events. Ginsberg draws on a wide range of literary and cultural sources, from Walt Whitman to jazz music, to create a collage of voices and perspectives that reflects the fragmented nature of modern life. Eliot similarly incorporates a wide range of literary and cultural references in "The Waste Land," drawing on mythology, religion, and literature to create a dense and complex work of poetry.

"The Wasteland" portrays a world in which traditional values and beliefs have been eroded, leaving individuals adrift in a sea of meaningless and alienation. The poem explores the aftermath of World War I, which shattered the illusions of progress and stability that had characterized the pre-war world. Eliot's use of fragmented narrative structure and literary allusions suggests the disintegration of cultural and spiritual traditions in the modern age.

 "Howl" critiques the conformity and homogeneity of American society in the 1950s. Ginsberg celebrates the countercultural movements of the time and calls for a rejection of mainstream values, such as materialism, consumerism, and conformity. The poem highlights the struggle for social justice and equality, particularly for marginalized groups such as homosexuals and drug users.

Both poems offer a voice to those who are excluded or marginalized from mainstream society and challenge dominant cultural and social norms. They reveal the sense of alienation, disconnection, and disillusionment that characterize modern society. Despite their differences in style and content, both "The Wasteland" and "Howl" continue to resonate with readers today as powerful critiques of the social and cultural issues of their respective eras.

To address issues like suffering, acting or not acting, being attached or detached, renunciation and worldliness, time and eternity, and life and death, the dissertation looks at many approaches. With the assistance of both poets, I can draw the conclusion that social critique aids in the development of the concept of hopelessness and disillusionment in society. The modern era brought about a number of changes, such as the human predicament and spiritual decay, which had a negative effect on contemporary psychiatric illness.This dissertation focuses on the fragmented imaginary of both poems and compares it with the societal issues with the help of Social Criticism.

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Research Methodology

 

What Is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is passing off someone else's work as your own.

What does plagiarism mean in an academic context? It can mean turning in a paper that someone else wrote or copying ideas and phrases without crediting the source. Plagiarism can also mean falsifying citations or even copying your own work and passing it off as new.

So why is plagiarism bad? First, it's unethical to take credit for someone else's work. Plagiarism is essentially a form of theft.

Second, plagiarism violates academic honesty policies. Colleges teach students how to follow the best practices when it comes to sharing information and crediting creators. Plagiarism breaks those rules.

Finally, plagiarism devalues college degrees. If employers believe a large number of students cheated to graduate, that hurts everyone.

Is plagiarism illegal, though? While academic plagiarism doesn't violate the law, it does break schools' academic honesty codes. As a result, plagiarism can mean serious consequences for students, including academic probation and even expulsion.

What Are Some Examples of Plagiarism?

There are many types of plagiarism that go beyond paying someone to write a paper or turning in an essay you found online. Understanding the following examples can help students avoid accidental plagiarism.

Complete Plagiarism

Complete plagiarism means taking an entire assignment from an outside source and claiming it as your own. That includes submitting papers you found online or turning in an essay written by someone else.

Ghostwriting and contract cheating (i.e., paying for essays) also qualify as complete plagiarism.

Because complete plagiarism is the most extreme form, students often receive the biggest consequences for this.

It's also often one of the easiest types of plagiarism for professors to identify. Papers passed off as your own work often don't quite fit the assignment. What's more, plagiarism checkers can easily flag copied works.

Direct Plagiarism

Direct plagiarism means taking lines or paragraphs from someone else's work and incorporating them into your assignment.

Unlike complete plagiarism, the assignment usually contains some of your own writing as well. But directly lifting material from outside sources without citing them violates academic plagiarism policies.

Students sometimes accidentally plagiarize directly. If you're dropping quotes or data points into your paper without tracking sources, you might unintentionally incorporate that work into your paper and fail to cite it.

Paraphrasing Without Citing Sources

Is paraphrasing plagiarism? Yes, if you don't cite your sources.

Taking someone else's work and putting it into your own words without any acknowledgment violates schools' plagiarism policies. This includes changing a few words in sentences written by someone else and claiming ideas without attribution.

Fortunately, paraphrasing is one of the easiest forms of plagiarism to avoid if you simply cite the source.

False Citations

Falsifying citations might seem minor compared with copying entire paragraphs from someone else's work, but it still counts as plagiarism. A false citation is when you make up quotes or data points — this goes against plagiarism policies.

Making up citations for accurate information also crosses academic honesty lines.

False citations are one of the most common types of accidental plagiarism. Be sure to carefully track your sources and acknowledge all of them in your work.

Self-Plagiarism

Can you plagiarise yourself? At many schools, the answer is yes. That means you can't turn in the same paper in two classes. It also means you can't reuse material from old assignments in your current work.

Some academic dishonesty policies, however, do not cover self-plagiarism.

Is it plagiarism to use the same essay twice? It depends on the school. Columbia University's self-plagiarism policy, for example, prohibits "using any material portion of previously submitted work … without proper citation and/or the instructor's express permission."

Check with your professor before submitting anything that might qualify as self-plagiarism.

How Do Professors Check for Plagiarism?

Professors use an array of tools to check for plagiarism. At many colleges and universities, online submission platforms include an automatic plagiarism check.

Students often worry their work might trip plagiarism detectors accidentally. Say you quote from common sources like the Declaration of Independence. Will the plagiarism checker flag your assignment? Software designed to detect plagiarism can distinguish between normal sourcing and suspicious material.

Plagiarism detectors are only one tool instructors use to identify plagiarism. In many cases, professors find plagiarism simply by reading the assignment.

Several red flags trigger a more in-depth plagiarism check. For example, if a paper's topic does not directly match the assignment, that's a sign of potential plagiarism. When essays discuss outside sources with no citations from the assigned readings, that's another red flag.

Professors can even catch major shifts in writing style or abrupt changes in the paper's flow.

When professors suspect plagiarism, they can take several steps. They might review a report from plagiarism software or search phrases from the paper. They can also meet with the student to ask questions about the paper.

Keep in mind that professors do not need to find the plagiarized source to trigger consequences. If an instructor strongly suspects plagiarism, they can impose consequences.

What Are the Consequences of Plagiarism?

The consequences of plagiarism depend on your school's honor code and the professor. In many classes, students receive an automatic zero on plagiarized assignments. More extreme forms of plagiarism might mean automatically failing the class.

At many schools, plagiarism means a permanent letter in the student's records. For example, the University of Texas at Dallas maintains academic dishonesty records to track repeat violations.

Professors can also refer instances of plagiarism to the school's academic honesty board. At MIT, instructors can submit a complaint to the Committee on Discipline, which can suspend or expel the student.

The many consequences of plagiarism prove that plagiarism is never worth it. Even students who avoid getting caught hurt themselves because instead of learning the material and doing their own work, they take a shortcut.

Plagiarism ultimately erodes the value of everyone's degree.

What is Academic Integrity?

Academic integrity is primarily a core set of values that apply to everything you do. These values should guide and support all of your learning and academic work. They are:

Academic Integrity in Your Writing

Academic writing such as essays, reports, case studies, or dissertations, can be challenging. You have to present ideas and information using the right language and style, and you also have to demonstrate good critical thinking. This means you have to do research and/or read existing work on a subject, and then you have to build on it to form your own argument and conclusions. When you write your assignment, you have to acknowledge when ideas or information come from someone else.

You need to do this correctly in order to avoid plagiarism. For example, if you use the ideas of other people as if they were your own, ie, without referencing them, this would be considered plagiarism. At university, cases of plagiarism are taken very seriously and are viewed as an academic offence. Students are responsible for knowing and following the regulations. It’s essential that you always cite your sources appropriately.

Top Tips for Ensuring Your Academic Integrity in Writing

• Make certain you fully understand what you read, so you can use it accurately and appropriately.
• Take clear, accurate notes during your reading and research.
• Summarise and paraphrase ideas where possible (but always reference them)
• Be sure to acknowledge other work every time you use ideas, information or words from it.
• Develop your own voice and style in your writing
• Develop your own ideas
• Leave plenty of time to complete your assignment
• Ask for help from a tutor or advisor if you need it.

Works Cited

Carlton, Genevieve. “What Is Plagiarism? And Why Is It So Bad?” BestColleges, 28 April 2022, https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/what-is-plagiarism/. Accessed 28 March 2023.

“What is Academic Integrity?” FutureLearn, https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/prepare-to-study-uk/0/steps/48595. Accessed 28 March 2023.

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Comparative Literature in Indian Languages

 Introduction 

The developments in Indian comparative discourse have taken place according to Lord Macaulay’s (1835) predictions in the theory of downward infiltration of education in the Indian caste system. This history of hierarchical comparativism cannot be studied without a reference to the rigid frame of four castes and varna-s: the Brahman priestly caste, Kshatriya warriors, Vaishya tradesmen, and Shudra servants. Within this frame there are thousands of sub castes and tribals with separate cultures, crafts and neo-casteist classifications of literature (mainstream, rural, regional, dalit, and tribal, respectively) in the same language. This is one of the hurdles in making learning more dialogic and dwarfs development of, in Emily Apter’s words, “democracy of comparison” (9). A foreigner can hardly understand Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s “critique on the sign and the signifying monkey” (“Race” 902) in terms of the Indian caste system. It is not a coincidence that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi begins his autobiography with a reference to his “Baniya caste” (Vaiyshya varna), Raja Rao’s Serpent and the Rope parades superiority of the protagonist that he was born a Brahmin, and especially a number of dalit self-auto-photo-narratives exhibit markers of the castes of authors in the titles of books. The diversity of religions and hundreds of languages has added new dimensions to this caste system and that is not identical to classes as Marxists tend to believe. India is neither a multilingual “melting pot” like the U.S. or Canada nor a country with a single official language like China.

Constitutionally recognized languages are twenty four and spoken languages are hundreds: Hindi 551.4, English 125, Bengali 91.1, Telugu 85, Marathi 84.2, Tamil 66.7, Urdu 59, Kannada 50.3, Gujarati 50.3, Oriya 36.5, Malayalam 13.8, Punjabi 31.4, Assami 18.9 (all figures are in millions, 1991 Census). Five percent of English educated elites with “cultural capital” dominate the rest of the population. Sixty percent of the population is illiterate. The sudden rise of English to the second largest language in prominence is not an accident of a neo-colonial situation. 

The classical poet Chandrashekhar privileged comparative thinking, but it was too hierarchical to be effective to produce new knowledge. In contrast, Karl Marx criticized the British Parliament and Press for being responsible for “the emergence of sharp class divisions … and a so called ‘public opinion’ which is manipulated by the Brahmins of the press have, on the contrary, brought in to being monstrous sameness of character that would make Shakespeare,” and further pointed out how new bungalows of lords being built on the banks of the Thames with the “blood and flesh of the colonized people” (Deshmukh 265) and Fyodor Dostoevsky ridiculed the Indian Brahman priest in the prisoners’ mime show in The House of the Dead. Such internationalizations of the image of Indian culture also display intricacies in Indian cultural politics of aesthetics. Colonial records reveal how the Brahmins, traditional monopolizers of scholarship and guardians of religion and culture, internalized English and mediated Western knowledge and power structures

This was present first in European imperialism and today it is a major component of Indian diaspora. It is on this historical background that humanities scholarship in India is in need of “home-grown framework”-s of comparative scholarship with reference to Indigenous “ancient cultures with substantial theoretical thinking embedded in both scholarship and creative works”

The legacies of Anglophone scholarship

Since 90 percent of teachers at all levels during the colonial period belonged to the Brahmin/priestly caste, postcolonial comparativism is determined by their literary tastes. For example, the histories of literature in any Indian language exhibit 99 percent names of the contributors from this subculture group only (see, e.g., Jog). Such a discourse of power by the priestly class and that mediated and mediates Western culture and imperialism is bound to use it to maintain its traditional hegemony. Library holdings and curricula in the beginning of the twentieth century display such Western comparative texts as Frank Byron Jevons’s Comparative Religion (1908), A.W. Jackson’s (1862–1937) An Avesta Grammar in Comparison with Sanskrit Phonology Inflection-word Formation with an Introduction on the Avesta or Hutcheson Macaulay Posnett’s Comparative Literature (1886), etc. But the discipline of comparative literature did not strike deep roots in India because of the resistant Vedic cultural structures and caste conditioned literati. For example, Ganesh Sadashiv Bhate, who was educated in England, wrote a number of comparative essays in 1913, which were posthumously published in 1995. Tryambak Shankar Shejwalkar was a historian and critic in comparative scholarship and vision and he warned his own priestly class not to mediate Western scholarship instead of performing such in a comparative Indian-Western context: in consequence, his work was disregarded. 

Vasudev Balawant Patwardhan (1870–1921)—editor of the weekly Sudhakar (Reformist) and a scholar of English and philology at Fergusson College Pune—suggested the inclusion of comparative chapters on affinities between Western literature in the history of Marathi literature. However, his proposal was turned down by the conservative teachers of Sanskrit and Marathi (see Jog). Thus the Janus face (or two layers/voices, i.e., Indigenous and Western) of modern Indian languages and literatures remains unexplored. The achievements of two students of his college, who studied in England, exhibit two distinct sub-caste conditioned cultural contributions to humanities scholarship: Panjabrao Shamrao Deshmukh’s The Origin and Development of Religion in Vedic Literature (1933) was a pioneering comparative study and B.S. Mardhekar, who studied Anglophone aesthetics of modernism and attended poetry writing workshops in England during the years 1929–1933 for his Indian Civil Service examination but failed the exams. He returned to India to publish his Arts and Man (1937) in English and Saundrya ani Sahitya (1955) in Marathi and became the father of modernism and new poetry (see Patil, Anand, Samagra). Mardhekar’s work is relevant because of his studies of European and U.S.-American literature and the transplantation of British modernism in Bombay (see Edman; Shoemaker). Importantly, Mardhekar’s theories of aesthetics and “new” poetry generated formalist criticism in Marathi. While René Wellek and Austin Warren’s Theory of Literature (1949) and its translation remain a “Bible” of critical thought in India still today, in contrast, Wellek’s Discriminations: Further Concepts of Criticism (1970) neither entered university curricula nor appeared in translation and thus suggests that the move from formalism has not been recognized in India. While new criticism has diminished in the U.S., it survives in India. Following Paulo Freire, I describe this as the “pedagogy of the oppressed” (Teekavastraharan 203–18) and postulate (see British Bombay) how conflicts of caste constitute a persistent factor in the study of literature in India.

 In turn, the postulate ought to lead Indian comparativism to the internationalisation of the study of literature and culture—among others—to include aspects of interculturality. Since its inception in the mid-twentieth century Western-based comparative literature in India has been displaying a rich colonial legacy along with its paradoxes and mediating Anglophone aesthetics. But even if we consider Anglophone-based scholarship in India, within such, for example, although 26/11, 13/7 and other symbolic references to terrorist attacks in India have acquired the semiotic significance of 9/11 in New York, Indian scholars have not produced interdisciplinary interventions like Apter, whose book “was shaped by the traumatic experience of September 11, 2001” (viii). The impact of the Cold War in humanities scholarship is a further interesting subject for research but here, too, the colonial impact is felt: K.M. George’s edited volume Comparative Literature (1984) is a misnomer because it is a merely juxtaposed survey of literature. Better work is presented, for example, by Sisir Kumar Das who compared literary terms in Indian languages and compiled a comparative English history of Indian literatures. Namwar Singh pleaded for the decolonization of the Indian mind, but this occurred two and half decades after Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s avowed comparativism and Nativism.

 A theoretical problem that tortures a teacher of English in the “Third World” is the question of what kind of English studies would replace it. Indian authorities of university curricula attempt to restructure syllabi by replacing Hamlet in place of Othello, but hardly displace either by Derek Walcott’s The Branch of the Blue Nile (1995) or by a Chinese play. Hence, the level of scholarship is not only conditioned by Western paradigms but also by the Indigenous paradigm which fails to make the understanding of Edward W. Said’s notion of the “worldliness of text” (The World). Although the Government of India has issued priority to comparative humanities and made it mandatory to establish interdisciplinary schools of languages and literatures, these were usually transformed into departments and thus the institutional presence of the discipline of comparative literature is met with resistance. As I indicate above, this does not mean that there is no comparative scholarship in India; what this means is that because of the lack of a good number of full-fledged departments of comparative literature and thus degree granting institutional presence with the corresponding availability of teaching positions, the discipline lacks relevant presence compared with, for example, departments of English. This situation is similar to the West (i.e., the U.S. and Europe): Susan Bassnett declares the death of comparative literature in 1993 or Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak remains Euro-U.S.-American centred with characteristics from hierarchical “innate Nativism.” While Haun Saussy declares that comparative literature has achieved a place in the sun intellectually, this positive view is not borne out on the institutional level (see Tötösy de Zepetnek, “The New Humanities” 55) and in my view this is relevant to the situation of comparative literature in India as well. 

Spivak’s problematic notion of “can the subaltern speak?” or one of V.S. Naipaul’s indictments that Indians need certificates of recognition from foreigners show how Spivak’s and Naipaul’s caste inheritance makes them ignore the inter caste battle for recognition (see, e.g., Shih, “Global Literature”). Moreover, Salman Rushdie’s charge of “shadow literatures” (ix) cannot be answered adequately unless Shu-Mei Shih’s concept of “comparative racialization” is modified in Indian contextures as “comparative castealization” of culture and literature (“Comparative Racialization” 1347). The notion of the “empire writes back” was privileged by Western scholars, but hardly practised in India except perhaps in power politics. The use and misuse of caste not only in literature but also in all walks of life is a serious issue, and hence the need of the merger of comparative literature and cultural studies. For example, Roy Moxham brings to the light how the plot of the film Bandit Queen was a convincing lie devised to criticise Thakurs (Kshatriyas): the “true story is that there are no upper caste guys” in Phoolan Devi’s village and “even director Shekhar Kapur admits that” (9). To boot, this international “fakedom” (see Ruthven) of caste politics was accepted as “true” by Robert Young Jr. in his Postcolonialism Theory (2003). And thus, for example, Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s concepts of “race, writing, and difference” (“The Blackness”) have not yet gained currency in India. 

Rethinking the study of culture with comparative dialogism

 The effects of globalization in culture need to be studied comparatively because Western literature, cinema, song, music, dance, and the many types of popular culture are part and parcel of contemporary Indian culture. A few scholars such as Aparna Dharwadkar and Vinay Dharwadkar have exposed the misuse of Western texts that colonize Indian literati and scholars again. But it is necessary to study, as Stephen Greenblatt suggested by the phrase “invisible bullets,”not only the poetics of culture but also the politics of style and caste-culture in adaptations of Western texts. The narratives about the West’s shaping of colonial identities are not paired with both the narratives about the colonizer’s shaping of Indigenous identities and of their own identities. “India” is not, in Homi K. Bhabha’s terms, “narrating” in comparative double voice but more powerfully in an alien master’s voice. Thus I postulate that we need new models for agency in comparative studies. 

The future of comparative literature and comparative cultural studies in India

 In relation to the intellectual history and development of comparativism in India, the institutional presence of the approach is relevant: the first Department of Comparative Literature was established at Jadavpur University in 1956, at that time following the French model. The Department, along with the publishing of the Jadavpur Journal of Comparative Literature, paved the path for new developments. Since then and particularly since the 1990s—while based, principally, on Anglophone scholarship—comparative literature scholarship in India produced a wide array of work including studies about Western texts compared with Indian and within Indian literatures (see, e.g., Bandyopadhyay; Chanda; Mohan; Pollock). An important development is that the Comparative Literature Association of India (established in 1987) founded a digital journal, sāhitya: The Journal of the Comparative Literature Association of India in 2011. Among other journals published in India of interest is the Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics published since 1978 at the Vishvannath Kaviraja Institute.

Conclusion

“Comparative Literature in Indian Languages” Anand Balwant Patil discusses developments in humanities scholarship in India. He posits that giving much space to “modern” Anglo-American aesthetics in university curricula is itself a politics of aesthetics. The changed political status quo after 1947 effected a change in the mediation of Anglophone aesthetics in humanities scholarship. For example, India has no school of postcolonial studies to offer a blueprint of the “postcolonial project” to counterbalance the influx of Anglophone scholarship. Patil presents a discussion of the status quo of comparative scholarship in India, its theoretical underpinnings, and argues for the development of homegrown comparative scholarship in the humanities. 

Work Cited:

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994.

Das, Sisir Kumar. “Western Terms and Their Indian Adaptations.” Jadavpur Journal of Comparative literature 19 (1980): 1–17. 

Das, Sisir Kumar. “Terms for the Medieval Indian Long Forms.” Jadavpur Journal of Comparative Literature 24 (1984): 74–75.

Ghandhi, Mohandas Karamchand. The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Trans. Mahadev Desai. Ahamadabad: Navjeevan P, 1929.

Naipaul, V.S. Literary Occasions: Essays. London: Picador Paperback, 2011.

 Ngũgĩ, wa Thiong’o. “On the Abolition of the English Department.” The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: Norton, 2010. 2092–97.

Patil, Anand Balwant. "Comparative Literature in Indian Languages." Companion to Comparative Literature, World Literatures, and Comparative Cultural Studies (2013): 299-310.

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. Death of a Discipline. New York: Columbia UP, 2003

Walcott, Derek. A Branch of Blue Nile. London: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 1986

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