Comparative Literature in the Indian Context: Our present concern….

Some of the eminent scholars of West have already prepared

themselves to attend the grand funeral of Comparative Literature. This

discipline, which was first unleashed in the West to combat the rising tide of

imperialism, began to lose its luster when the concept of ‘multiculturalism’

started gaining popularity. The final blow, which this discipline received,

was when Cultural Studies was brought to currency.

So, considering the present condition of the discipline of Comparative

Literature in the West and the ‘psychological restriction’ on us for being

citizens of a ‘Third World’ country; i.e; the tendency to follow our ex-ruler’s

approaches and theories as infallible gospel, do we also quietly kill

Comparative Literature and then adorn ourselves for the final mourning?

In fact, we cannot afford to do that! The two issues qualify this act as

illegal are; firstly, Comparative Literature is essential when it comes to study

Indian Literatures, as India is dominated by multilingual and multi-literal

practices.(As besides our ‘mother tongue’ we also grow up interacting with

‘other tongues’ as well.) Secondly, Comparative Literature will aid us in

keeping our ‘psychological restrictions’ in check.

Let us retrace back to our first issue. The idea that Indian Literature is

single though written in many languages is quite a faulty one. Each and

every literature in India has evolved by interacting with one or more

literatures, emerging from the oeuvre of different languages. So naturally the

comparison of the ‘literary –map’ of India with that of Europe can never

bear a fruitful result. The extent of inter-literary relationships between

different literatures of India is not same as that of the West. Indian

Literatures, despite of lingual distances, have always been exposed to a same

historical process. Perhaps the reason is that the geographical proximity

helped them to achieve a common denominator quite naturally. Besides

interacting with each other different languages have also given rise to new

language and literature, for example Urdu. The preponderance of

multilingualism can also be found in various texts where two or more than

two languages form the logic of composition; like Kalidasa’s

Abhijnanamshakuntalam. The interaction between these various languages

have not only stayed confined within the geographical boundaries of India

but have also extended beyond it; one of the instances being the impact of

Perso-Arabic on different literary traditions, which came into effect through

Sufi contact. A question of grave importance can be posited here; that why

are we emphasizing on approaching Indian Literatures with the help of

Comparative Literature methodology and not through the tools of National

Literature? The prime goal of National Literature is to seek unity among the

various literatures of a Nation. In its attempt to find homogeneity it

overlooks the heterogeneous aspects underlying these literatures. The

methodology of Comparative Literature not only looks at the different levels

of unity among various literatures but also inquires about the diversity

between them. Likewise it does not ignore the plurality which partly defines

the different literatures of India.

Now, let us more on to our next issue; that is the issue of ‘Third

World’. The colonial experience provided India with an introduction to the

ruler’s language and literature, the impact of which further created a new

literature in India; i.e.; India Literature in English. However, the ‘Third

World’ situation also enhanced a few problems. Not only did we get

introduction to a new language and literature but also we started ‘living

happily ever after’ on being influenced by our colonizer. We just cannot

afford to follow theories of our colonizer as infallible gospels. The Western

Comparative theories are hardly adequate for our situation. For us, unlike

West, it is not just about the ‘influence’ of one text upon another rather it is

the influence of one literary tradition on another; so we need to validate and

reconstruct the categories of ‘influence’, ‘imitation’, ‘reception’ and

‘survival’ so that it can suit our situation.

Our present concern and task is not only to employ the methodology

of Comparative Literature in our multi-literary scenario but also requires us

not to indulge in a blind mimesis of Western paradigms. Thus one cannot

prepare to respond to death knell of discipline of Comparative Literature,

reverberating in West; as the way Comparative Literature has transpired, in

the India till date, will also in future is more like a tool or a methodology to

study literature and less like a discipline; and as it is a dire necessity when it

come to study Indian Literatures one just cannot disregard its pertinence in

the Indian context.

Reference:-

Death of a discipline

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Columbia University Press, 2003.

“Comparative Indian Literature”

Dr. Amiya Dev.

Comparative literature: theory and practice

Authors Amiya Dev, Sisir Kumar Das, Indian Institute of Advanced

Editors Amiya Dev, Sisir Kumar Das, Indian Institute of Advanced

Study

Contributor Amiya Dev

Publisher Indian Institute of Advanced Study in association with Allied

Publishers, New Delhi, 1989