Resumo de The Idea Of Indian Literature

Scholars have tried to define Indian literature, tried to
rein it within certain linguistic boundaries, but like an overzealous horse,
has defied such definitions and boundaries over the years. Indian literature
has gone through several phases of varying natures to become what it is today.
The very first phase that it went through in modern times was the contempt of
the colonizers. At that time, naturally Indian literature was devoid of any
writing in English. It consisted of writings in regional languages and British
educationists scoffed at it. Contrasting to this contemptuous opinion of Indian
literature, Max Mueller, the German philosopher, glorified Indian literature.
He said that the Sanskrit literature provided an insight into deeper strata of
human thought and intellect which western literature does not boast of.
Unfortunately, he and other scholars like August Wilhelm and Albert Weber
considered only classical Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali literature as Indian
literature, excluding writings in other Indian languages. Writings in regional
languages were referred to as Bengali, Urdu, Persian literature and so on, but
never grouped under a common heading of Indian literature. It was during the
freedom struggle that the idea of a national literature came up. The idea
worked wonders to unite India through the medium of language. Patriotic
writings as spontaneous expression of people against a foreign domination began
to emerge in the 19th century. These patriotic writings fore
grounded important features that gave the national movement an ideological
sustenance. They explained and identified the reasons for poverty, prompted the
middle class to look back to the past with a nostalgia for the golden age.
Slowly and steadily, during this time Indian English literature started gaining
momentum. Ever since a debate started on what it actually is. It may be defined
as literature originally written in English by authors Indian not only in
nationality but also in sensibility. For instance, V.S.Naipaul?s Indian ancestry
is indisputable, but he is so much of an outsider when he talks about India and
the Indians and so much of an insider while dealing with Caribbean life, that
there can be no two opinions on his rightful inclusion in the history of west
Indian literature. Similarly, translations are also a bone of contention.
Critics like Sisir Kumar Das believe that only those translations should be
considered a part of Indian English literature, which have been translated by
the author himself as only the author is capable of retaining the essence of
his original work. He says that if Homer, Virgil and Dante, when translated by
others into English do not become English authors, then why should novels by
Tagore, translated into English become Indian English literature. However, not
everyone agrees to this view. Some critics do not think that Tagore?s English
version of Geetanjali and Bengali version are same, in spite of the fact
that Tagore himself translated it. Several scholars were in favour of including
all regional languages in Indian literary compositions. They argued that in a
multi-lingual country, the idea of Indianness is inherent in all languages.
They argued that all Indians share the same socio-historic climate because of
which, whatever language they employ, it contains the same cultural and social
meanings. However, this search for commonality in all languages will obliterate
the diversities, which is their uniqueness. Pluralism has long been a way of
life in India and we must preserve that. In doing so, however, we also need to
make sure that no language is left out of the ambit of the idea of Indian
literature. Only this will make it a diversified kind of literature and not a
monolithic one. It is this diversity in the idea of Indian literature itself
that makes it so unique.

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