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.