“Salman Rushdie as a Essayist”

Introduction about Author:

Ahmed Salman Rushdie an Anglo- Indian writer is one of the renowned personalities in twentieth century. He was born on 1947 in Bombay. The genres in his writing are magic realism, satire and post-colonialism. He has been compared with authors such as Peter Carey, Emma Tennant and Angela Carter.

In 1964 his family was responding to the growing hostilities between India and Pakistan. These religious and political conflict deeply affected on Rushdie. In 1981 his ‘Midnight’s children’ was published and got Nobel Prize for fiction. His latest novel is ‘Luca and the Fire of life’ published in November 2011.

His style is often classified as magical realism mixed with historical fiction and dominant theme and his work we normally can see the story of many connection disruptions and migrations between the Eastern and Western world. His third novel ‘Shame’ (1983) that represents a political allegory of Pakistan politics.

Apart from all his writings, a collection of his essays

Ø  ‘ Imaginary Homeland’

Ø  ‘ Commonwealth literature does not exist’

Ø  ‘The New Empire within Britain’

Ø  Attenborough’s Gandhi’ etc.

Rushdie is very much connected with his childhood days as in ‘Imaginary Homeland’ he talks about his memory. He saw a hanging picture on the wall. He also remembers the famous sentence of L.P. Hartley’s novel ‘The go between’ and the sentence is

“The past is a foreign country”

He also talks about Saleem. His mistakes were of memory. He gives his experience that before he started to write ‘Midnight’s Children’, here called his past memory, past Bombay. Then he remembers the Bombay of the 1950s and 1960s. He also remembers Bombay-Kashmir and Delhi-Aligarh. He recalls Bombay’s dialogues, ads for Binaca and for Kolynos.He remembers the board,

‘Drive likes Hell and you will get there.’

He also remembers Saleem’s theme song ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’.He says that the writer who is out of country and even out-of language may experience this loss in intensified form. He also remembers Saleem’s  theme song

‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’.

In   ‘Attenborough’s Gandhi’ essay Rushdie talks about Attenborough’s movie ‘Gandhi’. He says that deification is an Indian disease. In India, Gandhi is higher than anyone but he has question which he asked to people many a time. He asks;

“Why American academy wish to help him by offering in a temple eight

Glittering statuettes to a film?”

And in commonwealth literature he natters about that if any literature which comes out from commonwealth countries known as ‘commonwealth literature’ but any literature that comes out from England that is known as ‘English Literature’ as England is a part of commonwealth countries. Then why there is differences in literature that’s why he very much against this.

Aside from all his works, let’s thrash out in detail regarding his two essays ‘The new Empire within Britain’ and 'Commonwealth literature does not exist’

What is commonwealth literature?

Commonwealth is allied   with those which were ruled by British.  Those countries which were ruled by British known as Commonwealth Countries and the literature get nearer out from these are known as Commonwealth Literature. They gave ‘Commonwealth’ which is known as post-colonial literature. These are just some of the terms being used to describe the writing of ‘Member’ of the former British Empire. Rushdie is hugely against of this because according to him it is master- slave relationship.

In the 17^th century the definition ‘Commonwealth’ expanded from its original sense of ‘Public welfare’ or ‘Commonweal’ to mean.

“A state in which the supreme power is vested in the people a republic or democratic state”

The Commonwealth of Nations also known as the commonwealth of British Commonwealth. The commonwealth is an intergovernmental organization of 54 nations which were formally part of British Empire.

Commonwealth games also organized by British and the nations which are coming into the existence of British are becoming a part of ‘Commonwealth Games’

Commonwealth Literature doesn’t exist:

Once upon a time when British ruled over these countries, they structured such as ‘commonwealth Games’ and also gave money to organized these Games. it was the time when British Ruled over,  but now a day’s all the countries becomes free from British  rule and they are organizing such games as their own power only .Then  why even today the name is given as ‘ Commonwealth Games’?

The general, commonwealth literature is a vague term defines English literature works written in the British colonies or place which had the status of dominions. Also known as new English Literature.

Rushdie immeasurably against ‘Commonwealth Literature’ because he perceived that any literature that comes out from commonwealth countries, known as ‘commonwealth Literature’ but when any literature comes out from British side than it is known as ‘ English Literature’ why?  Rushdie asked.

Commonwealth literatures are in it narrow and misleading. Other criticizes the term as anachronism. That’s why Rushdie said that 

“commonwealth Literature does not exist”

“A body of writing created in the English language by persons who are themselves white Britons or Irish or citizens of United states of America”

Rushdie complained that term is patronizing and marginalizes a number of writers that their writings become inferior and British writing becomes superior, the relationship of master slave.

In this essay Rushdie describes the category of ‘ CommonweathLiterature’ as  a ‘Ghetto’ which the eclifice rests is that literature is an expression of nationality and that culture springs from tradition. Hesays that “ what we are facing is that the bogy of Authenticity” ( which is the respectable child of old fashioned exotocism  It demands that sources , forms, style, laguage and smybol all derive from a supposedly homogeneous and unbroken tradition. While western culture are seen as dynamic progressive and developed it is demanded of exoticized cultures to be original, pure, simple and perferably riligious .

 He added that this term is a strange , unhelpful and even a little disasterful. British magazine was published during this time there were many great writer like Naipaul Shiva, Buchi Emecheta thet spaek much about this term as Rushdi said. So commonwealth was becoming unpopular for Rushdie. 

 

The New Empire within Britain:

In this essay he natters  about Racism. He added that racism is not a side-issue in contempory Britain. Britain is undergoing a crtical pahse not simply economic period and thus crisis is not simply economic or political. E.P. Thompson has described as the last colony of the British empire. British authoritoes don’t believe of exporting govrement rather they have choosen to import a nea Empire a new community of grouo of people whom they daelt with ‘ The fluttered folk and wild’ the ‘new caught’ sullen peoples , half-devil and half-child who made for Rudyard Kipling the White man’s burdon.

The Britain claminating half of the world for more than four centuries freed the colonies unwillingly and left behind the English language, cricket rules, law and constitution and education system as a gift. Now question is that on whome they had to rule? The solutation was there to create a new empire. The pink age to rule over their colonizers. The Macmillan government advertised the Britain as ‘ The land of Gold’ of new hope and optimism Rushdie said

 “ It sometimes seems that British authorities no langer capable to exporting government have choose 

instead to import a new empire, a new community of subject peoples to whome they think and with whome they can dael in very much the same ways”

When new empire was begun, there was a problem of black skin, niegro people. Theie women were abused their chidren were beaten by new empire’s peoples. The hasrhness of new Empire people was found at that time. The government was not abl to take any steps forward against the racial discrimination a serious of crime. Besauce they believed that racism does not exist here and it gave rise to such kind of incidents.

Rushdie futher more criticised that a judge had no problem with the offensive word for black people ‘Nigger’ because it was his nickname in his school days. Lord Deming also wrote in his book that the black were not allowed or not capable to becoming  judge.

 The Britons negelected these facts and counter argued that you have voting right, now inter racila marriage is permited. There is no kiling of black happens to pure the society, the law hasn’t declared the dominance of the white over the black. But Rushdie says that it is very torpid that how the racism was the crucial problem during that time.

Rushdie also writes that one of the more curious aspects of British immigration, law is that many Rhodesians, south Africans and other white non Britons have automatic right to entry and residence here, by virtue of having one British born grandparent, whereas many British citizens are denied these rights because they happen to black.

There were extraodinary advirtisemanet which are full of hope and optimism which made Britain out to be a land of plently. There was a hope of peoples mind that travelling new contyr is one kind of invention of ' New Empire'

Rushdie takes a dig at English language by showing that how some terms which we dont find other language. For instance,  Wog ( a very offensive person who does not have white skin, Frog (can offensive word for a French person)  Yid, ( a very offensive word for Jewish person) Spic (a very offensive word for a person who is speaking Spanish ) dago ( a very ofensive word a person from Italy) Coon ( a very offensive word for a black person) nigger Argies (an ofensive word a person from Argentina).

Rushdie calls It patronizing terminology and the only solution  according to him is cleaning the racist mindset. He also gave example of Hitler that there were made attempts to purify the German thought and language from the fifth of Nazism.

Rudyard Kipling who believes the colonized people are the “ white man’s burden”. Rushdie also gives examples of media production that how its paly a fundamental  role into the racism. He said:

“ I know an airline advertising , manager who refused to permit the use in his T V ads of a genuine air stewardess employed by his own airline, because she was black. She was good enough to serve his customers, their drinks , but not good enough to be shown doing so on television”

Rushdie acrimoniously fated  the most insidious stereotype a problem of black people. He said that in new Britain empire there was problem all sorts of society like the race problem, the immigration problem. If you are libral you say that black people have problems , if you aren’t  you say they are the problem . but the new colony have been create problem and thatwas white people.

So. Conclude with these acidic annotations that Rushdie is very much alongside to racism. The main problem was skin color, BLACK   Vs WHITE. Lot’s of struggle and painfull familiarity can be seen if you have black skin. You have to scrifice yourselves under white man rules. When Mahatma Gandhi came to England and asked what he thought of English Civilization. He replied

“ I think it would be a good Idea”