Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2000 11:49:25 -0800
From: "Kaushik Sen" <KSen@ruralaccess.net>
Subject: Name Branding: The Case of Rabindranath/Nazrul*************** A Shetubondhon Exclusive ****************
Dear Shetubondhon friends,
This message has a little background. I came to know about Shetubondhon and the current thread (Eid, Jibrail and Jibanananda Das: He called me BHAI! - the original posting of Dr. Farooq where he was trying to do some "bridge-building" by seeking common ground between Nazrul and Jibanananda Das). I came to learn about it through my friend Khorshed Alam of Purbapashcim Binimay. I decided to write to him a letter to convey some of my thoughts that this discussion has engendered. But I usually write in Bangla and I just jotted down my thoughts in Bangla and sent it to him. Apparently, he forwarded it to Dr. Farooq. I did not expect it, but Dr. Farooq decided to translate it and sent it to me to check the final draft. This is a topic dear to me and I am privileged to have this opportunity to be a part of this new forum, Shetubondhon. Now that I am a subscriber, I was requested by Dr. Farooq that I send this to the forum myself.
Best regards.
Kaushik Sen, MD
Minnesota================================================================ Name Branding: The Case of Rabindranath/Nazrul ================================================================
The wounds that become cancerous do not heal, regardless of how many times you suture. At the end the whole part has to be amputated. The two-nations-oriented debate in our society surrounding Rabindranath-Nazrul is like such cancer. Whoever taught us wrong or misinformed us in the past, after so many years, we still love to repeat the same from our memory, without pondering even the least.
Let's take the case of Rabindranath as a 'Hindu Kobi'. The gentleman was never a Hindu. In his earlier life, he was a very conservative Bramho. For your information, in traditional Hindu society, among "Bemmho", "Kherestan," and "Mosolman", probably "Mosolman" was the least hated ones, because they were neighbors; the other two were never trusted because they were converts. In that Adi Bramhosamaj, Hindu idol-worshipping and polytheism was deeply disliked - and Rabindranath was no exception. One can easily discern his displeasure at idol-worshipping by reading his "Bishorjon." Yes, he did utilize lot of Puranic material from Hinduism for his literary works, but that was due to his classical disposition. Like the Europeans artists took from Greek mythology, Muslim artists took from Iranian-Persian sources - may be not from the mythology, but from music, architecture, science. It was all those knowledge treasure of Classical Greece that found nest in the Arab lands, which ultimately were utilized by the western civilization to attain its lofty height.
The fact is that recognizing the classical heritage does not mean belonging to a particular religion. That the so called caste system of Aryan origin was conniving machination of the contemporary vested interest for social exploitation, both Rabindranath (and Nazrul) knew it well. This exploitation is such a universal phenomenon: how could Bharatborsho be an exception? The only difference is that experimentation never stopped in Bharatborsho, and that's why there is no clear-cut disposition of Hindu religion. From reading "Notir Puja" one can easily discern that Rabindranath had no support for the social inequality of the old Hindu religion. No one can show a single statement in Rabindranath's works in support of Manu Shonghita and Chanyokko Niti. If there is any similarity between the minor Hindu-orientation of Upanishad, with which Muslims identity him, and the Upanishadic thoughts of Ram Mohan-Devendranath, it is merely linguistic. Both are monotheistic. One is Upanishad written in Sanskrit. The others would be Bible-Qur'an in Hebrew-Arabic. There are definitely gaps, but not like the unbridgeable gaps of Tiki and Dari (tuft and beard).
I do not recall that in his mid-age, Rabindranath ever said anything derogatory toward Islam (please remember that negative remarks about any medieval Muslim ruler should not be equated with negativism toward Islam as a religion). Rather during that time he wrote a few lines of praise. One should carefully read "Gora" and "Ghore Baire"; you will find there laudatory remarks about both the striving spirit and simplicity of Islam. We know how the dream of Gora regarding the revival of old Hinduism was shattered. Educated people wouldn't be the slave of institutionalized religion - social injustice in the name of religion is unacceptable - this message has been repeated again and again in Choturong, Chhinho Potro and other essays and short stories. His language is polished, Nazrul's is rebellious. He is restrained, Nazrul is defiant; but their message is not different.
Now let us turn to post-Nobel Rabindranath. With this fame, like most other celebrities, he also got entangled in many controversy-prone things, one of which was politics. Some saw him as a English-eulogist; others saw him as anti-Gandhi. Everyone had his own vantage point. "Hindu Kobi" - this labeling started surfacing during that time. The deep mistrust and anger that forced Bangali Muslims to drink the panacea of two-nations theory, the same has encouraged them to put a 'Hindu' label on Rabindranath - quite the same way we broke the head of the statue of Biddyashagor, calling him the class enemy and pioneer of anti-people education during Naxalite period.
From artistic viewpoint, in the post-Balaka period, Rabindranath has tried gradually to move toward idealistic thinking. At Shantiniketon, he mixed together Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, French, German - all in one pot - in a desperate attempt to create the mould of ideal humanity- whose religion will be " The religion of Man". But like the Emperor Akbar his efforts also did not go anywhere except nurturing some great personalities like Syed Mujtaba Ali, Abu Syeed Ayub, Amarta Sen and Satyajit Ray. This Rabindranath moved far away from Hindu or Muslim realm. The author of 'Kalantor', 'Nationalism' and 'The crisis of civilization' is against all forms of fundamentalism in the name of any race, nation or religion. Very few people read or understood this Rabindranath, as intellectually he was beyond the reach of the ordinary reader of both communities. The reason that induced the Muslims to dub or see him as a "Hindu poet", it's exactly the same reason the common Hindus have framed him on the wall as the "Bisyakabi" or the "Kabiguru". As if, due to his name "Rabindranath" he must be claimed as a symbol of superiority of the Bengali Hindu.
Lucky enough, Nazrul did not get the Nobel Prize, nor did he establish any institution; otherwise there would have been another cultural riot with Bengali Muslims claiming him as their exclusive Shayer-i-ajam.
Howevermuch inspiration Rabindranath derived from his globalism, as a human being his heart was occupied with only Bangladesh. Read his Chhinho Potraboli. In his writings during that period you won't find anything else other than his deepest care for and devotion to Bangladesh. This Rabindranath is a person very close to the heart of the Hindus and Muslims of East Bengal. The level of sarcasm and criticism one finds in his writing during this era directed toward the caste system, narrowness of mind, fanaticism of the Hindus, you won't find even a quarter of that directed against the Muslims.
It's true that Rabindranath is not an insider to the Muslim society. But he is also not of Hindu society. He is far removed even from the working mass. Didn't he receive earful of abuses from the leftist intellectuals of 60's and 70's, for not being a "people's poet." As an archeological remains of that legacy, there is still special evenings organized in various corners of Kolkata to remember Rabindra-Nazrul-Shukanta. Shukanta was included so that the "progressive" side of the balance would be equalized against the Bourgeoisie side: this was to avoid any criticism about favoritism.
Let me near the conclusion by emphasizing something. I don't think Bangali Muslims have ever read the books of Hinduism, just like Bangali Hindus did not bother to read the Holy Qur'an. Also, I doubt if anyone takes interest in the history of the pre-Islam Bharatborsho of not very distant past. It is like a taboo - kind of "the old man asked not to do it" mentality. It is sad that despite having exceptional people like Dr. Shahidullah and Bhai Girishchandra Sen, we still continue to follow the narrow-minded, fools of our own faith. Only if the Bangali Muslims knew that the word "Hindu" is actually Greek and "Hinduism" never existed as a monolithic, institutionalized religion. The monotheism of Upanishad, the classical verses of Rig-Veda, the patriarchal conservatism of Monu Shonghita, and the nationalistic unification attempts of Sankar-Vivekananda - each of these were manifestation of religious heritage of a very ancient land with unbeatable vitality and power of assimilation. Idolatry oriented practices and funny rituals are common in Hinduism but it is only skin deep. For Muslims who are ignorant about the evolution of Hindu religion, those rituals surely can evoke strong negative reactions.
Islam is a kind of puritanical, semetic religion. It is only natural for it to have some apparent conflict with the classical or so-called Aryan-oriented Hinduism. From this viewpoint, one can claim some validity of the two-nations theory. But difference MUST turn into conflict - this conclusion might not be believed by many in this new century. May be new times will seek a synthesis. May be our progeny will find a way to go to heaven without fracturing each others' skulls.
That is why it is so important to know each other. It is my firm belief that the revolutionary tendency of Bangali Muslims is due to their valiant, striving orientation, something that belongs to our native land - not due to religious fanaticism imported from Arab. I am aware that for a complex political reason many Bangladeshis have a negative feeling about 'Hindu' India. But India is not West Bengal. Please do not let you hatred flow towards your own blood brothers who share your language and culture. There might be some crazies who would like to engage in cultural Jihad by coopting Rabindranath as a BJP-compatriot. Please, please resist them. This land - raped and fragmented many times over - can't bear this burden of hatred and prejudice any more.