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Indian Literature

Comparative Language



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Introduction: Vast land and great diversity

India is an influential nation in South Asia is home to the world’s second

largest population. It is a country of bulk variety, arguably the most sundry nation

in the world, whether it concerns religious, cultural, or ethnic diversity. The

climate and landscape throughout the Indian subcontinent ranges dramatically

from arid deserts to tropical rainforests. India's cultural diversity is in many ways a

reflection of its varied climate. Languages, food, clothing, customs, songs and

literature differ throughout India's many regions. The notable aspects of India’s

soft power cover as many different spheres as imaginably possible, from simple

agriculture, to ritual religious practice, to quality technological services. With a

rapidly growing consumer base, and a swiftly rising overall economic output

fueled by its young and increasingly educated population, India has begin its trip

on the path to becoming a dominant world power within the next century as

opposed to the dormant role it has played so far.

Colonialism and Post colonialism

India was ruled by either the British East India Company, or the

Royal Crown herself. The native people were subjected to the whims of

British colonialism, which involved a strict system of monopolization to

afford greater profits for the English. But around the turn of the century, the



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the British but as far as the struggle was concerned there was no going

back. This inspired a new kind of struggle. The intelligentsia, which

earlier believed in the benevolence of British rule now came forward to

expose its brutality. Political associations were formed and the Indian

National Congress played a vital role in directing the freedom struggle.

We discuss in this Unit the role of moderates and militant nationalists

and the efforts made during the Swadeshi Movement to involve the

masses into the freedom struggle.

II.

National Council of Education

The National Council for Education, in its previous status since

1973, was an advisory body for the Central and State Governments on

all matters pertaining to teacher education. Despite its commendable

work in the academic fields, it could not perform essential regulatory

functions, to ensure maintenance of standards in teacher education and

preventing proliferation of substandard teacher education institutions.

A. Rabindranath Tagore speech on world literature “visvasahitya”

This was also the body where Rabindranath Tagore made his

speech on world literature – or visvasahitya – that he called

Comparative Literature in 1907. Buddhadeva Bose, a renowned poet



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whose name is linked with the beginning of the modernist movement

in Bengali poetry in the thirties of the twentieth century, and who

was also a profuse translator of modern non-English European

poetry as well as of the classical Sanskrit author Kalidasa, was called

upon to take charge of the department. Bose invited Sudhindranath

Datta, another important modern poet and translator, to teach in the

department.

Datta had earlier written a path-breaking essay entitled

“KavyerMukti,” or the liberation of poetry, in which he advocated

interacting with poetic traditions from all over the world. What I

wish to underline is the fact that the foundational impulses of the

discipline in Bengal were creative , with a focus on the training of the

imagination, and were transnational , along with a trace of the

historical imperative to look beyond the colonial masters.

III.

Jadavpur University

It is important to go into the history of Comparative Literature in

India a little before talking about its present state. Comparative

Literature in India began in 1956 with the establishment of Jadavpur

University in Calcutta, a university that had as its parent body the

National Council of Education. We should mention here that my



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citation of events related to the department at Jadavpur University stems

from the fact that it was the single full-fledged department of

Comparative Literature in the country for a long period.

Conclusion

India is a country of immense linguistic diversity and, thus, a country of many

literatures. Based on history, ideology, and often on politics, scholars of literature argue

either for a unity of Indian literature or for a diversity and distinctness of the literatures of

India. Instead of this binary approach, my proposal involves a partic ular view of the

discipline of comparative literature, because I argue that in the case of India the study of

literature should involve the notion of the interliterary process and a dialectic al view of

literary interaction. Let me begin with a brief account of linguistic diversity

The unity in diversity and its perspectives are the bases of Comparative Literature

as a discipline in India. Such as Gurbhagat Singh who has been discussing the notion of

"differential multilogue" . He does not accept the idea of Indian literature as such but opts

for the designate ion of literatures produced in India. Further, he rejects the notion of

Indian literature because the notion as such includes and promotes a nationalist identity.

As a relativist, Singh accord s literatures not only linguistic but also cultural singularities.

With regard to the history of comparative literature as a discipline, he rejects both the

French and the American schools as well as the idea of Goethe's Weltliteratur



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Instead, he argues for a celebration of difference and has anti cipated Charles

Bernheimer's much discussed Comparative Literature in the Age of Multiculturali sm.

For Singh, comparative literature is thus an exercise in differential multilogue. His

insistence on the plurality of logo is particularly interesting because it takes us beyond the

notion of dialogue, a notion that comparative literature is still confined to. Singh's

proposal of differential multilogue as a program will perhaps enable us to understand

Indian diversity without sacrificing the individualities of the particulars. Singh's notion of

differential multilogue reflects a post structure a list trend in Indian discourse today, a

trend that manifests itself among others by a suspicion of the designation of Indian

literatures as one. One of the reasons for this suspicion is that the key to the notion is held

centrally, whether by an institution or a synod of experts leading to an accumulation of

power. If we agree that power is the most ubiquitous social evil then the more

decentralization the better. Decentralization minimizes the aggression from above as well

as impels grass roots movements from below.



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Works Cited

Ahmad, Aijaz. "'Indian Literature': Notes towards the Definition of a Category." In

Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures. Aijaz Ahmad. London: Verso, 1992.

Bernheimer, Charles, ed. Comparative Literature in the Age of Multiculturali sm .

Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins UP, 1995.

Das, Sisir Kumar. A History of Indian Literature . Vol 1: 1800-1910: Western Impact /

Indian Response . New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1991.

Durisin, Dionýz. Theory of Interliterary Process . Bratislava: VEDA/Slovak Academy of

Sciences, 1989.

Gálik, Marián. " Interliterariness as a Concept in C omparative Literature." CLCWeb:

Comparative Literature and Culture: A WWWeb Journal 2.4 (2000).

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