Dynamics of Subaltern Consciousness: Critical Perspectives ,Edited by Professor(Dr) Bishnu Charan Dash
Dr. Bishnu Charan Dash (b. 1960-) is a Professor of English , Assam (Central) University, Silchar at Diphu Campus, Assam. He did his Ph.D in Comparative Literature as J.R.F and S.R.F (1984-86) at Sambalpur UniversityOdisha. After having served as Assistant Professor and Associate Professor in English for more than two decades in Assam since 1986, he joined the Diphu Campus of Assam University as its founder teacher in October 2007. He has guided twentytwo M.Phil Scholars, and eleven Ph.D Scholars and four Ph.D Scholars are under his active supervision . He has attended several International and National Seminars and has published more than fifty research papers in International and National journals like Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, Transactions (Journal of the Institute of Indian Geographers), Annual Research Journal of Folklore society of Assam, Rock Pebbles and Transcript (Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies), IOSR, Transcript, Literary Endeavour. Besides being associated with Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics as its Editorial Associate, he is also in the Editorial board of Rock Pebbles and Transcript. He has published three books under the title a) "Mystic Eros: Troubadours and Vaishnava Poets of Medieval India" b) "Dynamics of Subaltern Consciousness Critical Perspectives" (2015) and c)"Negotiating Subaltern Consciousness: A North-East Perspective (2015)- all published by Abhishek Prakashan, New Delhi in 2010, (2015), , he has also edited a book titled "A.C. Sukla: As We Know Him" which was published by Coole Grove Publishers New York in 2019 and three other books titled (a) Troubadours and the Philosophy of Tantricism and Sahajiya Vaishnavism, (b) "Tryst with the Orient : Essays in Comparative Literature and Culture", (c) Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa and Sambalpur: A Study in Ethos is in press . His area of research interest encompasses American Literature, Comparative Literature, Religion and Philosophy, Medieval Studies, Oriental Studies, Shakespeare Studies, Cultural Studies, Diaspora and Subaltern Studies.
Subaltern Studies is
fore-grounded upon the Hegelian idea of master-slave dialectics concretizing
the relationship between 'self and the other -a theory conceptualized by such other philosophers as
Husserl, Sartre, Levinas, Derrida, Foucault, Said and Homi K. Bhabha as well.
It was Antonio Gramsci who used the term subaltern to signify a subjugated
social category and people of inferior rank, dominated by the hegemonic
power-structure of the colonial set-up. As in Postcolonial studies, subaltern
historiography also interrogates cultural hegemony and grand narratives in
favour of marginalized narratives and the voices from the fringes- orphans,
widows, beggars, peasants, labour forces in slums and exploited factory
workers, humiliated and marginalized sexual minorities like eunuchs and lesbians.
The present anthology highlights the many- sided nuances concerning subaltern
consciousness ranging from the powerful plea for a persistent protest through
discontent and appropriation of the subaltern (B.K.Danta and R.K Rath) to the depiction
of marginalization of Dalits and their 'pain' as facts and their search for
identity through autobiographical outpouring (A Patil, P. Nair and S.
Bhattacharjee); from the subalternity of the elite and of sexually harassed
minorities (A Parhi, S Goswami and D. Doley) to resistance of the tribals
against state hegemony and exploration of subaltern space through collaborative
community and reclaiming of their past (M. Pati and J. Kakati); from the voices
of women subalterns choked by the colonial masters to their relocation in
African American condition (A. Chaudhury and P. Upadhyay); from appropriating
subaltern consciousness in Indian English poetry and novels (K. Balachandran,
S. Chelliah, J. Sarangi) to situating widows as subalterns (B. C. Dash)- thereby
exhaustively covering a wide range of issues pertaining to the dynamics of
subaltern consciousness.
To live well is to die well.To die well is to necessitate the concept of living well.l have been profoundly influenced throughout my life by the Hemingway classic "The Old man and the Sea"-an allegory of a lonely man struggling for existence in a hostile society where good and innocent people are hounded and sucked by sharks.The beautiful marlin loses its charm and the poor fisherman Santiago's dream and fight for a fish for long 84 days are all dashed into pieces.His dream is shattered; the fish is finished by the parasites(Sharks) and by the time he reaches the sea shore,a bare skeleton ironically mocks at him.He is too tired and yet he doesn't give up knowing it fairly well that failure is the pillar of success.Shantiago nourishes a proto-Renaissance courage and will powerandTennysonian urge" to strive,to strike and not to yield".While lying on a tottering cot,the old man dreams of SouthAfrican lions and plans to go for another adventure into the sea.Here is the powerful moral message for the readers by Heminway's Code Hero.Life must go on.To remain static and stagnant is as good as death.Here one is obviously reminded of Milton's line from "Paradise Lost":"All is not lost/lf the field be lost".One time loss cannot supress our desire to achieve the goal.Suffering strengthens tenacity.What matters most in life is patience and tenacity
ReplyDeleteto overcome all hurdles. The final message of the code hero is:" Man is not made for defeat.Man can be destroyed, but not defeated".
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