MULTICULTURALISM:
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 in the high society but also
in the lower rungs. Nevertheless, the majority still look back 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.