Assignmement Topic: Selected essays in “The Imaginary Homelands” by
Salman Rushdie
Name: Gohil Khanjaniba M.
Class: MA (Part-2).
Semester: 3.
Roll No: 13.
Paper Name: The Post Colonial
Literature.
Enrollment No: PG13101009.
Suggested By: Dr.Dilip Barad.
Dedicated To: The Department Of
English,
Smt.S.B.Gardi,
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University,
Bhavnagar.
Email_id: khanjani.gohil1993@gmail.com
Introduction to Salman Rushdie and his style
Ø Salman Rushdie,
who is the most influential and controversial writer of the twenty-first
century. He was born on 19june, 1947 in Bombay .He called as Ahmad Salman
Rushdie. In Indian we may found some controversial facts including some work of
art, which has written during nineties. Of course he has made some facts, which
are inappreciable in other writer’s works. When we deeply go in analysis in the
works of Rushdie, there will be open challenge or acceptance of issues.
Ø I came
across to his writings from two or three years, but before that I heard about
him with the sources of television and newspapers. I don’ think so, that there
may happen issues over his writings. Actually now days writers are enhancing
new methods of writing same like this I want to give an example of Aseem
Trivedi, who is the well known cartoonist in India and during some elections
his pictures takes place of chaos in society.
Ø Salman Rushdie has used two major concept into
this work:
1. The Imaginary Homeland
Ø 1).Nostalgia
Ø 2).Memory
Ø This
chapter begins with a memory. We generally capture photographs as a part of memory
that is something to remember after days, and years. There is description that
it was started from 1946.Thereby Rushdie says that his present that is foreign.
Simply ‘nostalgia’ means ‘Longing for Something Past’.
“…This continuity was reality”
When we read the above line, it directly reflects the idea of
‘Tradition and Individual Talent’s Essay’.
Ø Somehow, in
“Imaginary Homeland” we can say that Salman Rushdie tries to overcome from his
past memories. As if it was broken glass. We could not connect it fragments as
a part of an event or as a part of lively image.
“The broken glass is not merely a mirror of nostalgia.”
Ø I can give an
example of Jumpha Laheri’s book “The Namesake” where he goes back to the
village of naxalism .In 1970’s Maoism has begun from naxalism. Same like this
Rushdie goes back to his past in Jammu and Kashmir. In “Midnight Children “Rushdie
shown an ugly side of the war of 1947.
2. Commonwealth literature does Not
Exist
v Explanation
of commonwealth
Ø Commonwealth
means to the nations, which were ruling by the ‘Britishers’. The head of the
commonwealth literature was Queen Elizabeth of England. The idea of the
commonwealth literature came into existence during Elizabethan era.
Commonwealth contains writers from around the world that is global in a way.
Ø As the time
passes away it introduced to post-colonial literature. Now days it is known as
the New-literature. The main problem of commonwealth is lies in liberty which
occupies position and this position is as a periphery not as a centre.
Ø Being
commonwealth writers Salman Rushdie has suffered as a writer of this and before
independence time in India it was part of an issue but after getting freedom it
became banned issue or it has lost its well-known aspects.
Ø This issue
may lead from 1950’s to 1970’s after this phase the concept was removed or was
overed. There are two main sub points which I have marked during Balaji
Rangnathan Sir’s sessions and he has talked about these two points as well.
1).Language politics.
2).Commonwealth Colonies.
Ø Thus,
language should be local and it should presented with the help of work of art
and national and global has similar importance all over.
v According
to Gujarat…..
Ø Local
language: Gujarati
Ø National
language: Hindi
Ø Global/International
language: English
3. The New Empire within Britain
Ø What to do
we mean by ‘racism’?
Ø It is a
biological thing or is it related to body as a logical fact?
Ø Simply
racism means an attitude. There were three major races and out of which new
terminology came into existence it was “Racism”, like Cococian, Mongoloid,
white Asian, Africa, Negro, etc… We can quote one event which was so terrific
to evaluate but we could not target it.
Ø Responsibilities
are existing but those who are noble why they are suffering and bearing?
Ø This event
has logical fact about particular race. Not only in India but all over the
world we are facing the same situation. And caste or religion becomes
victimized. Although they are not in any fault.
Ø In
comparison to American: Nairobi, Finland, Africa etc…differs to each other
money will move in different way in American and in England.
v Britishers
and Nostalgia.
Ø In history
or in past event what happened, is totally based on whom they think or whom
they are pertaining well-well when we talk about any place’s presence and its
literature, then we must say that its roots are seeded in their roots. Simply,
it means that their past is affecting a lot on their present position and style
of writing.
Ø Example:
Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai, there we can see that if Chinese people attacks Indians
then we can loss our land because they have majority of population and we can
defeated by them. But if we are losing our and then we have to accept their
rules and have to be their servants.
Ø Rudyard
Kipling talks about racism and he also says that each and every nation has its
deepness and history and they are behaving as previously people have done
towards other superior and inferiority. He talks about ‘Fuzzy-Wuzzy’ and the
ways that leaves their stain and this stain has seeped into every part of the
culture, the language and the daily life, until now it is not washed out.
Ø Thatcher who captures past glory of England
and says that Britain was no longer the nation that had built an Empire and
ruled a quarter of the world. Thus we can say that Britishers are slow to learn
the real lessons of their past.
Ø In the beginning
of this essay Rushdie also says that Britain is not “Nazi-Germany”. But it was
an attempt to purify German thought and the German language of the pollution of
Nazism. It happened after the fall of Hitler.
Ø During the
years of 2000 Indians were not getting password for Australia or America. But
now because of the effects of liberalization, privatization and globalization we
are getting citizenship easily. This was only an example but there were many
countries which are facing the problems of Nostalgia towards Britishers.
