Assignment Code: MEG 10/ TMA 01/ 2021 -22

Course Code: MEG 10

Assignment Name: English Studies in India

Year: 2021-2022 (July 2021 and January 2022 Sesssions)

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Q1. Discuss the various phases that marked the introduction of English Studies in India between independence and today. (1947 - 2020).

Ans) Post-Independent India poses the greatest challenge, as the emergence of Indian languages and literatures has been reversed. During this time, the expansion of Indian languages and literatures halted considerably. With time, writing in Indian languages became more removed from societal concerns. Inversely, English has gained extraordinary popularity. This stage has seen English as a language of communication and artistic endeavour advance dramatically. It has completely superseded Indian languages as a medium of instruction at colleges and universities.

English is also gaining ground in the media. Elitism and English go together. Institutes teaching spoken and written English are springing up everywhere, from big cities to little communities. These for-profit institutions make money. Since the nineteenth century, the Indian ruling elite has adopted English as their language from the colonial masters' language. It carries power and prestige. Our country's youth look up to a well-dressed English-speaking individual. It's fun to witness a popular Hindi film actor speak in English, trying to dazzle the audience with his accent and grasp of the language of status.

Similarly, Indian writing in English has gained popularity and influence. English attracts more talent than Indian languages. What may be the cause? It's impossible to analyse this phenomenon objectively because it's so close to us. We can at least ask pertinent questions.

Most Indians at the time were worried about two things. The first was the partition of the country on both the western and eastern sides. To ignore the incidence and continue on one's safe and smooth journey would have been irresponsible. The second was Indian Independence, the consequence of nearly a century of struggle by innumerable Indians. With the humanist inclination to plan things "idealistically", a free India required what may be called nation building. Unlike other species, humans can imagine bigger than themselves. The Indian National Movement's values and principles clearly demonstrated human capabilities, especially in the instance of those who fought tirelessly against the world's mightiest power in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. That a new nation's future was assured in the progressive and humanistic modern outlook.

The argument for keeping English and using it to promote national interests may have started the process of boosting English usage in school curricula. English was given a special place in the educational process. English was said to be a superior language for expression and communication, with a vocabulary rich enough to serve science, technology, trade, economics, law, administration, and culture. The strong and direct linkages of the English press with policy officials sealed the fate of Indian languages as unsuitable for nation formation.

To understand the rise of English in post-independence India, some sociology is required. The country's wealthy and upper middle classes aspired to seem as a distinct group from the rest of society, a group supposed to administrate, control, and rule the society from above. Their English fluency provided them great power. The presence of a fluent English speaker left the average observers tongue-tied. A clear message was conveyed to the majority that the nation's destiny was in the hands of higher-ups in the government, court, police, and army. English was the primary component of the mechanism. Exclusive English-language schools outside of cities existed at the time of Independence. These were for the landed gentry, nawabs, and princelings of British India.

The elite discourse in the instruction these schools gave to their pupils grew the group that these English-medium institutions cultivated in pre-Independent India. The specialised expertise gained by these pupils helped them compete for top jobs. After Independence, individuals with money and political-social power favoured a system of class division in society. Could the Congress Party, founded and nurtured by Gandhi and Nehru, resist imagining themselves as kings, wielding power to look superior to all? The desire for such exclusivity became a national dream, with parents planning their children's futures based on "healthy competition" and merit. The National Movement's idealism for the "uplift of Harijans, women, and other impoverished groups morphed into self-serving individualism after independence. The current generation's dreamers would only give up conveniences for their kids. As implied, English was at the heart of this process, both as a language of teaching in schools and universities and as a language used in everyday family and business conversation.

A country's freedom is based on democracy, which allows groups and individuals to define their own rights and duties. Given this, it was only natural that English would take centre stage if society desired it. Another element helped English settle in India. This relates to the aggressive advocacy for Hindi and other Indian languages.

Q2. Discuss the contribution of Raja Ram Mohan Roy to the promotion of Indian English writers.

Ans) He was the first major nineteenth-century multilingual Indian writer to write in English, according to Sisir Kumar Das in A History of Indian Literature, Volume VZII. Between 1817 and 1820, Rammohun Roy translated the Vedas, the Kena, the Isa, the Numdaka, and the Katha Upanishads into English and Bengali. In his crusade against idol worship, Satipratha, and the mistreatment of widows in Hindu society, he used Bengali as well as English. He also translated his important Bengali literature into English. His writings required him to utilise English frequently since they reflected a continual conversation with both the British intelligentsia and the non-Bengali communities of India.

Rammohun's English prose is polemical except in translations. For example, in his article "The English Writings of Raja Rammohun Roy", Bruce Carlisle Robertson notes that Rammohun Roy's growth as a writer in English reflects not only his growing confidence in the causes he championed, but also his increased fluency in the language. Rammohun Roy produced some of his most major pamphlets in English, including two "Petitions against Press Regulations" penned by him and signed by his supporters. Rammohun Roy's 1823 Letter to the Imperial Masters argued for western scientific values, not just English as a teaching language. Rammohun Roy promoted western education and social transformation, as well as Bengali journalism. He also translated English scientific and literary literature into Bengali. His varied English writing enabled him to keep abreast of Indian trends. Regarding Press Regulations, we note a crucial aspect of Rammohun Roy's advocacy. In the same year, a government ordinance restricting press freedom prompted requests for press I regulations. Rammohun Roy argues to the Governor-General in his first petition.

Meanwhile, his efforts to change native society by removing some corrupt Hindu rituals continued unabated. In 1828, he formed the Brahmo Samaj, the first attempt of its sort in the nineteenth century, to revive Hinduism. He possibly had lawyers create the "Trust Deed of the Brahmo Samaj." The following year he travelled for Britain as the Mughal Emperor's ambassador, gaining the title of Raja. Exposition of the Practical Operation of the Indian Judicial and Revenue Systems", a text notable for its critique of the British drained money from India and their cooperation in the structures of local economic exploitation.

Rammohun Roy composed a brief autobiographical sketch for his friends in his final year. With its cutting exercise in Indian English language, this short piece captures a genre that blossomed and flowered in the subsequent century. It has become a way for a colonised person to express themselves.

Rammohun Roy was a humanist and a reformer. He joined the East India Company and ascended to great heights, but he quit to serve the people. He was well-versed in Hindu and Islamic texts, and influenced by Western liberal philosophers. So he resolved to reform Hinduism and the ills of Hindu society. He founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828. He pushed for the eradication of Sati and widow remarriage. In his work Brief Remarks Regarding Modern Encroachments on the Ancient Rights of Females, Roy addresses what may be called the "encroachment of modernity on the ancient rights of females" (1 822). In one sense, Roy's opinions on women in India are crucial. As a reformer and social crusader, Roy would include the condition of Indian women in his vision of modern society. It was not for him to theorise about women, but to create an environment where women could freely breathe.

His major achievements were in the sphere of social reform, as he sought to revise Hindu Law and protested against colonial press censorship. He also tried to mobilise the government against the draconian land rules and asked for Indian representation. He was also a strong proponent of introducing a Western education system in India. In fact, it was primarily thanks to his advocacy that English Studies got a foothold in India. Moreover, the discussion of Raja Rammohun Roy in this block's first unit is meant to highlight his potential influence on the next generation of Indian English writers and Indian English writing in general.

Q3. Is Matangini's involvement outside of marriage justified in the novel, 'Rajmohan's wife' or do you see some contradictory signals in the text? Discuss.

Ans) Matangini is a major character in the tale. Do we like her? Educated males, but what about educated women?

Unlike her buddy Kanakmayee, she is reluctant to remove her veil.

'Come now, my proud girl, let us go and exhibit beauty's grandeur to the gaping morons,' Kanak chuckled. Hang you, monkey shrieked the other, her face flushed.

It's simply by chance that she shows her face. In this way, she follows in the tradition of excellent Hindu spouses - obedient, humble, and long suffering.

Only tears ran down her cheeks. The nasty guy softened at her quiet agony. He stopped beating her but kept abusing her.

She declares her love for Madhav Ghose later on. 'Ah, hate me not, loathe me not,' she wailed, shaking her fragile figure. So, In reality, her enthusiasm and recklessness here contrast sharply with her initial portrayal. What causes this shift? The metamorphosis defies any psychological credibility. Character constancy is one of the primary rules of conventional narrative telling, however it is broken. The narrator could have depicted her as stubborn from the start, or he could have had her simmer with silent, sinful passion. But the writer chooses neither. This decision offers only one explanation. This option will be discussed later.

Bankim seems to want to create a figure that suffers unjustly. The reader must therefore unconditionally back Matangini. Rajmohan's villainy - harsh, surly, and attempting to rob his benefactors - furthers this purpose. Finally confessing her double forbidden love (violating both marital and familial limits), Matangini is instantly forgiven. In fact, the reader's judgement is anticipated.

I have sinned; in the sight of my God; and I must say Madhav, in the eyes of your God on earth. I loathe myself more than you can."

Bankim has taken a risk by having Matangini defy her husband. But she convicts herself first. What does she do? She does this by confessing her sins and submitting to Madhav. Her extra-marital love is a clear rejection of established ideals. To submit to Madhav and her lexicon Indian English Novel, which regards man as a godlike figure, weakens her prior refusal. Again, it makes her less rebellious and more palatable to the typical reader.

Madhav embraces his godlike status without hesitation, supporting the patriarchy the narrative attempts to challenge. It's a typical speech in the style of 19th century Bhadralok heroes who are nonetheless kind and patriarchal. He is not unsentimental because he frequently bursts into tears, but he is logical.

Madhav's use of fate, desperate endeavours, route of duty and evil aligns him with tradition and convention. His logic is simple: theirs is a toxic illegal love that must be forgotten and eradicated. That would be evil. Is this voice authentic? It's fair to say that even if it has some authorisation, it doesn't have all. The next passage exemplifies our point perfectly.

Matangini stood tall in her newly flushed beauty. 'I will forget you if the human mind can learn to forget. 'Now and forever'.

Her response to Madhav acknowledges duty's superiority over love. But this is only one part. Every other textual clue points to the author's imaginative sympathy for her. Her attractiveness is now lauded. The strong torrent of love had carried her to that area where naught but the now was visible, and where all knowledge of good and wrong is whirling and merged in the vortex of intense present felicity.

Before one may chastise Matangini for her transgression, she admonishes herself. But her last words to Madhav challenge duty. But her question, "If the human mind can be taught to forgive," is unanswered, leaving open the possibility of Madhav seeking resolution here. In fact, what Madhav stated signals the end of their feelings for each other. He thinks it must cease because their feelings are somehow forbidden. No future for their love, but Matangini's remarks undermine Madhav - if reason must define their behaviour, so be it. She asserts that the human heart will not be guided by reason. In a subsequent unit, we shall elaborate on the nature of transgression. However, while the storey through Madhav seeks to stop their feelings, Matangini's statements about the difficulties of reason ruling emotion hinder the neat ending Madhav desires.

Q4. What are the issues and problems in the construction of a feminist canon of Indian English Writing?

Ans) The first question to consider while writing about Feminism in Indian English writers is whether it really exists. Many writers have argued that their gender is incidental to their writing and that they write as sensitive human beings, with their subjects and forms influenced by their gender. However, there are some aspects of experience that are uniquely open to women, or that males overlook or characterise in male-centric terms. Such experiences have piqued the interest of female writers, and feminine habits of living and coping with the world have resulted in a female perspective.

The fact that patriarchy or male norms are so deeply established in the female consciousness complicates the female perspective. As a result, much of the literature of revolt or protest uses the male voice and formulations to express ideas that are anchored in male experience. Both men and women share a cultural foundation that is dominated by patriarchy and its standards. By masculine criteria, Indian writing in English has produced successful female writers. We don't see any form innovations, a narrative approach that replicates women's thought and speech habits, or a subject selection that is clearly feminist. Women writers in English have carried on the heritage of social realism that can be found in their region's vernacular literature or in other works that they have access to. However, the very issue of finding a narrative technique that will embody women's patterns of thought and speech is fraught with problems in the choice of English as a medium for writing about women, unless, of course, the social class or location of the women subjects are all adapted to the choice of English as the idiom of speech.

The fact that Indian English women authors have rarely thought on their craft is a significant obstacle for Indian feminism. Indeed, there is little awareness of beginning or participating in a movement that develops its aesthetic. This leads us to believe that, while women's experiences are important to these writers, they are not central in a political sense. They aren't there because the author wants to change the way women are thought about, perceived, or treated; rather, they are there to show how women perceive the world around them. The author does not see herself as a change agent actively intervening to improve the lives of women, but rather as someone who describes their situation. In Indian English writing, there is no C S Lakshmi or Mahasveta Devi.

Any examination of feminism in Indian English writing will be subjective to some extent. We don't yet have a well-developed canon or set of norms by which to evaluate this writing. Readers may disagree with and add to the writers mentioned. However, we may take steps toward developing a canon, and this is the first step. The women writers considered in the following section are those who have written about women's experiences from the inside out and succeeded in transmitting their vision of those experiences. Although the experience they describe and appraise is varied and unique, it is fundamentally a result of women's experiences rather than masculine ideals and values. We purposefully eliminated authors who have only published a single book. We've also avoided writing about the so-called "diaspora." Similarly, we have emphasised the writing of the last three decades, with 1980 as a milestone, in keeping with the rise of new identities of Indian femininity. That isn't to argue that authors like Kamala Markandaya, Anita Desai, and Nayantara Sehgal aren't relevant, but it is time to move on and highlight the work of a new generation of women. We'd also like to highlight Eunice de Souza and Lindsay Pereira's remarkable work in resurrecting for us women's writings from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in their collection Women's Voices (2002). This is a truly feminist event in the field of Indian English writing.

Q5. Compare Premchand's writing with that of Mulk Raj Anand and investigate the ways in which the two represent social issues.

Ans) Understanding these journalists' current milieus gives us a sense of the nation's general status. In politics, it was a pivotal period as the outside guideline and the National Movement clashed. Even inside the National Movement, there remained a chasm between peaceful and violent leaders. In the social sphere, feudal and capitalist interests clashed. The new capitalist culture sought to erode our nation's feudal ideals. The rise of industrialization accelerated confrontations between native and foreign capitalists, as well as between professionals and industrialists. Also, the economic imbalance increased due to the Britishers' greedy and capricious practises and personal stakes in the economic system. Among all these rallies were the Indian peasants who suffered exploitation from numerous forces, practically destroying the entire agricultural framework. Above all, throughout this period of Indian history, religious ideals were shattered and communalism rose.

The careful analysis of the two authors' chosen novels shows both Premchand and Anand as acutely aware of the pulverising repercussions of such vibrant pulls between dynamic and backward powers in all aspects of Indian life. Seeing the shameful reality of life around them, they were naturally pulled to the issue with reformative zeal. Their pens fought for these people's freedom from colonial grasps, as well as against hidebound religious dogmas and numerous common societal maladies. Premchand's works depict the entire social system in a moment of stress and turmoil. His works clearly reflect the issues and beliefs that govern the lives of peasants, labourers, dark horses, the unprivileged, including untouchables, and white collar classes, landowners, and industrialists. A close reading of his writings reveals his vast understanding of the world in which he lived.

Sevasadan, Premchand's debut novel, successfully employs the social realism system. After reading the storey, one realises that the author's comprehensive portrayals of social disasters and the awful scenarios that result from them are successful, heart-ripping, and blending. This storey depicts the truth of an articulate servile position of Indian ladies in the concurrent age. Suman's plight illustrates the public's inhumanity towards the weak and unfortunate, especially women in all their fragile configurations. A slight slip in respect for an Indian woman might doom her and her family for life. The storey depicts the author's view on the decadent and abysmal state of Hindu society. When we see depictions of the first class being utterly wiped out in terms of free thought and following traditions blindly, we are reminded of the somewhat similar tragic situation that exists today. Premchand's work Ghaban expresses the modern impressions. An examination of this work reveals the economic discrepancy that was at the root of societal disintegration, hurting familial ties. This novel effectively reflects the corruption in the administration, court, and police department. Gabon has also revealed the depressing growth of artificiality in life produced by unappealing western values responsible for economic excess and dissolution of old familial relationships. The portrayal of one of the characters as a Satyagrahi and his experiences serve as grim reminders of what the chance contenders suffered during the opportunity struggle. If social realism is a crucial component of Premchand's works, it is most effective in his last novel, Godan. This storey skillfully portrays a poor peasant's existence and the social, political, and economic aspects determining his prosperity. The protagonist Hori's storey foreshadowed the unfavourable image of the common Indian peasant's unending misery. The reader is horrified by the author's realistic picture of a poor farmer's existence. The novel's study informs the reader of the different forms of exploitation a poor, uninformed, and defenceless Indian farmer faced during the British rule. Crooks, cash loan sharks, and industrialists, together with the administration's carelessness, have been identified as primary causes of a farmer's persecution.

Even after Independence, Anand's literary crusade continued to foresee societal realities. His writings now had to predict the true situation of the democratic system in the country. In this view, his novel The Road reveals the gruesome truth of the administration's failure in many rural areas of India, where it could not guarantee the practical prohibition of untouchability. Nonetheless, these essayists have established remarkable correspondence in terms of their thematic preoccupations and destinations. Their reality contains sorrow of destitute people and suffering Indians' soul-debasing curses. They depicted the current reality and composed against all reactionary tendencies of their day, providing a solid analysis of the events. Each item and individual in their imaginary universe looks to be a true reproduction of the actual world. An important goal of their piece was to raise readers' critical awareness of the dehumanising societal shades of malice, to combine the springs of delicacy in them, and to activate them for the eradication of these disasters all together. In this way, Premchand and Anand in pre-independence India surpassed Leo Tolstoy in improving realism.