Multiculturalism: An Indian Literary Perspective

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AN INDIAN LITERARY PERSPECTIVEtc "AN  INDIAN  LITERARY  PERSPECTIVE"

D. Ramakrishna

A society consists of individuals, organized and interacting. It means the totality of social facts projected on to the dimension of relationships and groupings. Culture, the same totality in the dimension of action, is generally known as the socially sanctioned behaviour of a people. It is a way of life of a people. One of the best early definitions of culture was given by E. B. Tylor who described it as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man from his group by both conscious learning and unconscious conditioning process. The individual learns the values of his society through process of enculturation.

Cultural anthropologists acknowledge particularities in specific cultures despite the universals.  According to Melville J. Herskovitz, culture is “a series of limits within which the behaviour and ideas of the members of a given society may exhibit approved differences. In the larger view, these differences are to be regarded as setting the boundaries of sanctioned variation.” Thus there will definitely be “approved differences” among the members of a particular culture. Herskovitz also maintains that “no two cultures are the same.”

The mosaic of subcultures constituting the United States of America has given rise to the concept of “Cultural Pluralism.” America as a nation of nations is known for its multiple streams of immigrant groups. It is said that the “point about the melting pot…is that ­ it did not happen.” The idea of salad bowl is popular with some. Nevertheless, millions of men and women in the United states acknowledge through personal experience that the melting pot did happen, and is still happening, to themselves and their families.  Intermarriage in recent years has shot up in groups where once it had been absent.

The intellectual and cultural movements in India were inspired by religious motives, but the impact of Western culture, mainly the American, on the educated class has served as a catalyst. This is all the more on account of the absence of a link language. English language and the Westernized life style have indeed served as a common bond among the Indian elite. But the elite constitute a small percentage of the Indian population.

The presence of multiple cultures only brings to light the essential richness of the Indian social structure. As A. L .Basham in A Cultural History of India asserts, “The Indian tradition of a hierarchically graded society may yet survive, but in a form rather different from the traditional caste system. The intense feeling of kinship which seems common to almost all Indians, whatever their religion, may persist even after the breakup of the joint family.” On account of economic competition and Westernization, the joint family system is breaking up and the system of a “hierarchically graded society” remains ever strong. Despite the differences in dress, speech, manners, rituals and ways of life, each caste has an autonomous culture. Whatever their public stance, even the elite privately adhere to the practices of their particular castes. While the ancient Indian tradition continues to be a source of great strength for the Indian mind, it is the ever-changing contemporary technology­ oriented culture that contributes to the advancement of the modern Indian society. The simultaneous presence of tradition and modernity is thus what makes the Indian culture unique today.

The common factors of “Indianness” notwithstanding, each of the subcultures in India presents a unique value system. It is essential to be aware of the multiple subcultures so that we feel reassured of the richness of Indian life. The various local cultures are but the warp and woof of the overall fabric of Indian society. As a vibrant society, India has undergone immense changes over the centuries. But the uniqueness of the Indian culture lies in its flexibility, the overall structure remaining ever strong despite upheavals. As the distinguished Indian sociologist M. N. Srinivas says in India: Social Structure, “Historically India has been hospitable to numerous groups of immigrants from different parts of Asia and Europe, but the culture of each group has undergone enough change over the centuries to become an integral part of the Indian mosaic.”  Sociologists acknowledge the racial diversity of the Indian population containing elements from racial types like the Negrito, the Proto-Australoid, the Mongoloid, the Mediterranean, and the Nordic.

While the presence of subcultures in India may not be an exact parallel to the American pluralism, there are nevertheless variations in India resulting from the impact of Muslim and Christian incursions in addition to the ancient settlements. Referring to the American situation, Andrew T. Kopan says, in his article, “Melting Pot: Myth or Reality?”  that “a distinctive set of values is nurtured in the social groupings defined by religious affiliation.”  Perhaps this cultural variation is present in India too where multiple religions exist, often determining the course of social life. The complexity of the Indian culture is more palpable in the sub-regional cultures even within the individual linguistic groups in several states of the country. But all these multicultural variations have only contributed to the richness and colour of Indian life. The sub ­cultural groups are sometimes called “deviant cultural groups.”

The contemporary society has a mass culture in which most people think and believe alike. They read the same type of books and magazines and enjoy the same type of entertainment like cinema and T.V. On account of the world-wide spread of higher technology, the mass culture is conspicuous at both the urban and rural levels. In addition to mass media, presentation of the complex Indian culture as well as strengthening the bonds between diverse groups can be achieved through literature too. Referring to the American situation, Richard Lehan says in Making of America: “...there is an inextricable connection between American cultural values and our literature, and at the deepest level of consciousness one reinforces and recycles the other. To the extent that, our national identity is revealed in our literature it is inseparable also from our sense of purpose and destiny.”  Such a sense of purpose and destiny is evident in the multiple literatures of India also; and comparative understanding of Indian and American cultural values through literatures is, desirable.

Even though the Indian novelists, dramatists, and poets writing in English belong to various cultural groups, and in spite of certain variations of loca1 settings, they generally present the same stereotyped themes like the East-West, encounter, the rural-urban conflict, and Vedantic mysticism. Whether on account of a foreign medium of expression or, Westernization on the part of some of the Indian English writers resulting in lack of total involvement with the Indian situation their imaginative writing sometimes sound inadequate in representing the multi-faceted Indian culture.

Creative writing in Indian languages is extremely vast and complex, reflecting not only the Indian culture in its broad features, but also in the several regional and sub-regional aspects. However, while popular and cheap writings proliferate, one feels that, something more serious and extensive can still be said in Indian languages to highlight the cultural variety and diversity. In spite of the enormity of the literatures in Indian languages, it is difficult to have access to the writings in languages other than one’s own. Authentic translations of regional fiction, poetry, and drama into English may help us appreciate the other Indian subcultures. The rituals, folklore, and customs of one region vastly differ from those of the others. But this richness of the Indian cultural tapestry is not known even to the majority of Indians.

The Indian English literature not only presents the multiple Indian cultural scene but also poses problems of reader-response, for those belonging to the other cultures, universality notwithstanding. The Indian multiculturalism refers to the multistate, multicommunal, multilingual Indian nation as a whole. It also means the complexity, if not duality, in Indian individuals, prevalent among English-users as well as among other bi- and multi-linguals. However, the most isolated mono-cultured villager out of touch with the modern society presents an interesting case study. Indian English writers tend to be ironic in presenting such a mono-cultured Indian villager, maybe, on account of their distance from him resulting from their own Westernized urban upbringing.  Total involvement on the part of the writer and a sympathetic rendering of the typically Indian subcultural scene is more conspicuous in literatures written in Indian languages.

In India as in America, consumer culture is growing, and the higher technology is making itself manifest even in rural life. The Indian English writers cannot avoid this aspect of contemporary Indian life. It is not enough if they present their own “encounter” with the West. Americans are homogenized by mass-mediated consumer culture in spite of the ethnicity of their society.  In India, the homogenization by mass-mediated consumer culture may not be to the extent it is in America, but the change in the Indian life style is  palpable. There is significant change in the attitudes of the younger generation, sometimes going to alarming proportions due to the apeing of the West. In fact, even the older generation today is getting ­used to the newer modes of living.  A sort of liberated and uninhibited attitude can be seen among some sections of the urban elite not only inthe high society but also in the lower rungs. Nevertheless, the majority still look to the tradition. So the paradox of the Indian mind persists.

Popularization of authentic English translations of works of culture and creative-writings of various regions may help scholars attempt intercultural interpretations.  Indian critics, mostly academics, are either educated in the West or even in the Indian university system their education is largely Euro-centric. In-depth studies, both cultural and literary, help us understand, both the national and inter­national scene better. 
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