CLTS: Why Comparative Indian Literature? Sisir Kumar Das

Why Comparative Indian Literature? 

Sisir Kumar Das

[Reading and comprehending original articles by scholars can be a daunting task, and I found it especially challenging while preparing for my exam. To alleviate this stress, I have simplified the article based on my understanding and with the assistance of ChatGPT. I have attempted to present the information in simple and easy-to-understand language. This blog is geared toward exam preparation and aims to provide a clear understanding of the article's core ideas and concepts. However, it's important to note that if you want to gain a deep understanding of the topic, reading the original article is highly recommended. CLICK HERE FOR BLOG I (it has quotes in the language of the original article)]

Introduction:

Some scholars have tried to find similarities and commonalities between the different literature produced in India over the past 3000 years. This is because they want to find unity in our multilingual and multireligious culture. However, this idea of Indian literature has not helped us study Indian literature together in a critical way and has limited impact on our literary studies which are still fragmented into smaller linguistic units. Recently, another group of scholars is talking about 'comparative Indian literature' to create a framework for studying the relationships between different Indian literature. However, the term 'comparative' has created confusion and it is important to define what we mean by 'Indian literature' and why the qualifier is necessary. Simply taking all literature written in Indian languages does not make a significant literary category. Instead, Indian literature should be seen as a complex of literary relations, and any study of Indian literature must reflect that diversity to truly understand it.

What is an article talking about?

The author is discussing the relationship between comparative literature and comparative Indian literature. They are questioning whether the study of Indian literature is best approached through a comparative framework and if it imposes certain restrictions on the investigator. They also ask why a scholar of literature should choose to study Indian literature over comparative literature, which has a wider scope. In simpler terms, the author is exploring the advantages and limitations of studying Indian literature comparatively, and whether it is a valid approach to understanding the nature of literary facts.

Comparative literature is a subject that looks at how literature from different places and languages is similar and different. Its goal is to see all literature in the world as one big connected thing. To do this, comparatists need to study much different literature from all over the world, not just one or two. However, it can be difficult to study everything at once, so they have to focus on certain areas. Indian literature is one of these areas that comparatists study, but it's important to understand that Indian literature is just one part of the bigger picture of comparative literature.

Goethe was a famous poet who believed in the concept of "Weltliteratur" or world literature, which means bringing together the great works of literature from all languages and civilizations around the world. He thought that the era of national literature was over and that we should focus on the important works of literature from all over the world. Similarly, early scholars of Indian literature also believed in studying the great works from different languages of India that had stood the test of time.

A comparatist is a person who studies literature from different countries and languages. They are not concerned with finding the best works in the world, but rather with understanding the relationships between national literature, including their similarities and differences. The comparatist wants to arrive at a general understanding of the literary activities of humanity and to help create universal poetics. Their goal is world literature, which includes all literary traditions, not just the best works in all languages. They use comparative literature as a method of investigation, which is not different from the study of a single literature but rather differs in matter, attitude, and perspective. The comparatist's ultimate limit is the literature of the whole world, and their strength and weakness lie in their cosmopolitanism.

How is it that the votary of cosmopolitanism in literary study is a pathetic victim of parochialism?

The Western comparatist has been studying Western literature for the past hundred years, without paying attention to the existence of other literature. This has led to a narrow-minded approach in literary study, despite claims of cosmopolitanism. However, contact between Western and Eastern literature has existed since ancient times. European literature has been influenced by Hebrew, Arabic, and Sanskrit literature. Even Chinese and Japanese literature was available in translation during the establishment of comparative literature in Europe and America. However, Western criticism still shows reluctance to integrate exotic literature into the corpus literature, which could be due to ignorance or prejudice against these civilizations. This narrow-minded approach has resulted in comparative literature being limited to Western literature. François Jost, a critic, acknowledges this issue and blames it on Western ignorance and indifference towards other cultures.

In simpler language, the writer says that Western literary scholars have only been studying Western literature for a long time and have not paid attention to other literature from other parts of the world. This has resulted in a narrow-minded approach to literary study. Although there has been contact between Western and Eastern literature for centuries, Western scholars have been reluctant to study them, leading to ignorance and prejudice against other cultures. Critics have pointed out this issue and blame it on Western ignorance and indifference towards other cultures.

Western literature has been accused of Eurocentrism and neglecting other literature. However, the Western comparatist's choice to focus on European literature is due to pragmatism rather than prejudice against Oriental literature. Ulrich Weisstein expressed hesitation to extend the study of comparative literature to include different civilizations. The academic justification for excluding Oriental literature from comparative literature in the West comes from the need to avoid ahistorical parallels based solely on speculation. However, if we accept the criterion of civilization, the European comparatist is within their rights to focus on Western literature. If we choose to include Indian literature in comparative literature, it should be as valid as comparative literature in the West. Critics such as Henry Remak and Etiemble have called for the widening of the scope of comparative literature.

Is not comparative Indian literature, then, a retrograde step so far as the basic premise of comparative literature is concerned?

Comparative literature is the study of literature from different countries or languages. Some people argue that when it comes to India, comparative literature should focus only on one national literature because India has many different languages. However, this is a narrow view. When Europe first defined comparative literature, it only thought about national literature from monolingual countries. But now we have countries like India with many languages and nationalities. So, we need to revise how we think about comparative literature.

Language, culture, and politics are all important factors, but they cannot be the only criteria. For example, English and American literature are both national literature, but they are not considered comparative literature because they use the same language. Similarly, Indian English literature cannot be part of English literature just because it is written in English. The criterion for comparative literature needs to be more flexible.

Comparative literature needs to be both intralinguistic and interlinguistic. This means we need to look at relationships between literature within one language and between literature in different languages. Political boundaries and nationality are not dependable criteria because they can change. Language is a better criterion, but it's not perfect because one language can be used for two different kinds of literature.

So, comparative literature needs to adapt to the changing political and linguistic scene. We can't focus only on national literature from monolingual countries. Instead, we need to consider the relationships between different national literature and national literature written in different languages. This is especially important in India, where there are many languages and literature. Critics like Etiemble have called for a wider scope of comparative literature that includes all literature, regardless of language or nationality.

Comparative Indian literature is an important area of study in literary studies, just like comparative literature in the West. It is important to avoid being narrow-minded in literary studies, whether it comes from the West or the East. Indian literature, written in languages like Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, or Assamese, provides a solid foundation to study literature. Literature is based on language and culture, and its meaning comes from its relation to that culture. We can't ignore Indian literature if we want to understand literature and cultures in general. We should learn from Western comparativists to avoid being shallow in our studies. Therefore, we should call our study "comparative Indian literature" to show our relation to Indian people and culture. This is not biased but a necessary affirmation of literature's relation to its people and time.

Will not the study of Indian literature alone breed a kind of literary patriotism or critical parochialism that must be avoided?

Some people may wonder if studying only Indian literature will create a biased or narrow-minded view of literature. However, the history of Indian literature can provide an answer to this concern. India is a multilingual society, with many different languages spoken and written. This diversity is reflected in the literature of India, where different languages have influenced each other and even given rise to new literary styles and languages. Writers in India have often used multiple languages in their work, and some texts have been claimed by different linguistic groups. This diversity of languages and literature is unique to India and has been happening for centuries.

Indian literature is not just limited to India alone. There have been many interactions between India and other civilizations, such as Greece and China, that have yet to be explored by literary scholars. Indian literature has also been greatly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature, which arrived with the arrival of Sufi saints. This interaction between different literary traditions makes it important for any serious student of Indian literature to study the literary traditions of other countries as well.

Modern Indian literature is also exposed to various thought currents and literary traditions from different parts of the world, so it's essential to have a wide literary perspective. Comparative Indian literature is an excellent way to justify the need for literary study, and it provides a new range and vision to the comparative study of literature.

It's also essential to study different languages to understand the impact they have had on Indian literature. For example, it is challenging to study Konkani literature without a reference to Portuguese, which had a direct impact on the Indian languages spoken in Goa. There are many translations from European languages, such as French and Russian, which show the deep relationship between those literature and Indian literature.

The study of Indian literature is not just limited to Indian literature alone. The emergence of forms like tragedy and the novel in India, along with unique texts like the Meghanadvadh Kavya, which involved two different civilizations, throws a challenge to the Indian comparatist to study Indian literature with ancient Greek and modern European literature, respectively.

Simply Indian literature is not just limited to India alone, and the study of literature demands a wide literary perspective. Therefore, it's crucial to study the literature concerning other literary traditions and civilizations.

Amiya Dev, in his article 'Towards Comparative Indian Literature', explains that comparison is necessary for Indian literature because we are a multilingual and Third World country. Multilingualism is understood by Indian scholars, but the Third World situation requires further explanation. Western tools for comparison, such as 'influence' and 'imitation', need to be modified to suit the Third World literary situation. For example, influence in our case is not limited to two authors or texts but involves entire literature influencing each other and is connected to larger socio-political questions.

Conclusion:

The Third World situation has also imposed psychological restrictions on us. We have venerated the language and literature of our colonial masters and believed in the infallibility of Western literary categories. We have applied these categories to our literature to gain respectability.

To free ourselves from these psychological restrictions, we must look at our literature from within. This will enable us to respond to the literature of other parts of the world without any inhibition or prejudice. Our understanding of comparative literature will emerge only when we consider the historical situation in which we find ourselves. Therefore, it is important for us to study our literature and respond to other literature with an open mind.

Our journey is not from comparative literature to comparative Indian literature, but from comparative Indian literature to comparative literature.

I hope this blog is helpful if any queries please comment.