South Asian Literature: The Identity Politics of Iqbal, Manto & Lahiri

1. South Asian Literature: The Identity Politics of Iqbal, Manto & Lahiri Omer Bajwa Cornell University osb4@cornell.edu

2. 1947 Partition of India & Pakistan • Creation of India & Pakistan on August 15, 1947 from the British Commonwealth • Struggle between factions in Indian nationalist movement, especially Indian National Congress, for control of movement • Muslims felt threatened by Hindu majorities. Hindus felt that nationalist leaders were coddling the minority Muslims and slighting the majority Hindus

3. 1947 Partition • 1930 All India Muslim League (AIML) convention: Muslim poet Muhammad Iqbal said he felt a separate nation for Muslims was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated subcontinent: “Two-Nation Theory” • 1937 Hindu nationalist Veer Savarkar said, “India cannot be assumed today to be Unitarian and homogeneous nation, but on the contrary there are two nations in the main - the Hindus and the Muslims.” • 1940 AIML convention: Muslim politician Muhammad Ali Jinnah said, "The Hindus and the Muslims belong to two different religions, philosophies, social customs and literature…To yoke together two such nations under a single state, one as a numerical minority and the other as a majority, must lead to growing discontent and final destruction of any fabric that may be so built up for the government of such a state.“ • Creation of Pakistan (8/14/47) & India (8/15/47) • “Orgy of Violence:” millions died in riots / massacres & millions more displaced • Largest population movement in recorded history • Major traumatic event in South Asian history

4. Muhammad Iqbal • Greatest Muslim philosopher-poet of 20th century • Born in Kashmiri family in Punjab in 1877 • Studied philosophy, Arabic & English Lit. Influenced by Nietzsche, Goethe & Rumi • Wrote religious & political philosophy & poetry in Urdu & Persian • Proponent of political & spiritual revival of Islamic civilization

5. Muhammad Iqbal • Encourages political rejuvenation and empowerment of the Ummah (global Muslim community) • Colonized by West, the Ummah suffers from inferiority complex, slavish mentality & learnt helplessness • Teaches spiritual direction and development of human society • Laments West’s loss of spiritual & religious values because of its selfish materialism & secular capitalism • Free Ummah from shackles of sect, caste, race, gender to unite • Wants to restore original dynamism of Islam’s universal message of peace with justice through reforming fossilized theological thinking • Concept of “Khudi” or Self: Strong will & healthy self-conscious; Self-realization & self-knowledge = Independence • Offers universal message of hope & revitalization of civilization

6. Sadaat Hasan Manto • Most widely read & controversial Urdu short-story writer of 20th century • Born in Muslim Kashmiri family in 1912 in Punjab • Lived in Bombay as screenwriter but moved to Lahore, Pakistan after 1947 Partition • Published 22 collections of short stories, 7 collections of radio plays, 3 collections of essays & 1 novel • Died in poverty in 1955 of liver cirrhosis • Wrote about social taboos in South Asian society: socio-economic injustice, love, sex, incest, prostitution, hypocrisy "If you find my stories dirty, the society you are living in is dirty. With my stories, I only expose the truth."

7. Manto’s writing • Exposes hollowness of middle-class morality • Characters usually from fallen & rejected lower strata of society • Characters condemned to sordid existence but transcend it; he doesn’t lament their loss of innocence • Unmasks hypocrisies of conservative “custodians of society” (i.e., religious establishment) that oppress & degrade women with their moral homilies • Holds “mirror of life” before reader • But not preachy or didactic because he takes no sides • Depicts pathos of communal strife from Partition; women usually victims of rape & murder

8. Manto’s Writing • His subjects & themes marked by originality & scathing criticism • Focused on story’s structure & finely thought out details • Influenced by Guy de Maupassant, so shocking & surprising endings • His stories branded pornographic & lewd so he’s charged several times with purveying indecent material • “Toba Tek Singh:” masterpiece about tragic theme of horrors of separation (Partition) that uses lunatics between India & Pakistan “Toba Tek Singh lay in the middle, on a piece of land that had no name.”

9. Jhumpa Lahiri • Contemporary Indian-American writer • Born in Bengali family in London in 1967, but raised in Rhode Island • BA English Lit. (Barnard College); MAs in English, Creative Writing, & Comp Lit.; PhD Renaissance Studies (Boston University) • 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “Interpreter of Maladies” • 2003 Acclaimed & bestselling 1st novel “The Namesake” (film release Nov. 2006)

10. “Interpreter of Maladies” • Collection of 9 short stories about Indian-American life • Themes: marital difficulties, class conflict, gender roles, disconnect between 1st & 2nd generation Indian immigrants in US; set in Northeast • Essence: “the dilemma, the difficulty, and often the impossibility of communicating emotional pain and affliction to others, as well as expressing it to ourselves.” • Absence of belonging & idea of exile • Effects of displacement in Diaspora • Issues of alienation, loneliness & identity • Characters exist simultaneously in two cultures: the American reality and the sphere of Indian tradition • Study Guide

11. Recommended Resources • Exploring South Asia: Physical & Cultural Geography • South Asian History: Colonial India • Allama Iqbal Academy • “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam” (1930) by Muhammad Iqbal • “Kingdom’s End and Other Stories” (1987) by Sadaat Manto • “The God of Small Things” (1988) by Arundhati Roy • “The Kite Runner” (2004) by Khaled Hosseini • Film “Earth” (1998) by Deepa Mehta • South Asian Web Guides at UC Berkeley • South Asian Literature Sources at Columbia • South Asia Program at Cornell