Writers' Response to the Contemporary Situation of North-East

Phurailatpam Jayalaxmi *

Literature is generally the creation of three factors: the race, the milieu and the moment. These three aspects influence the writer's temperament in the process of creating a good work of art. These features are also found in the literature of North-Eastern region. The mixture of races, the complex network of cultures and sub-cultures constitute the race and the milieu; the existence of violence, atrocities and ethnic strife is the moment of the North-East India.

The seminar on "Writer's response to the Contemporary Situation of the North-East" organized jointly by Department of Art and Culture, Government of Manipur and North East Zone Cultural Centre, Dimapur, on June 28, 2009, showed the coming of many critics and writers from the North-East India under one canopy to discuss contemporary issues prevalent in this region.

The North-East of India is time and again seen by the rest of India as a stage for insurgency and counter-insurgency. The problem of militancy alienates the North-East India from the rest of the mainland India. The North-East region is synonymous with violence, corruption, poverty, ethnic clashes, identity issues, so on and so forth. These problems are interwoven with the predicaments of writers and their subject matters.

Literature is the expression of life through the medium of language. Literature should reflect reality is the cliché often heard in the literature classroom. Nevertheless, how far the literature reflects the reality of the present day society is the dilemma faced by the lovers and critics of literature alike.

"How strong is the dictum today that pen is mightier than the sword (gun)?" asked Surajit Barooah from Assam in his paper, "Writer's response to the contemporary situation of North-East." He highlighted the problems encountered by the writers due to disillusionment caused by the different insurgent groups and other economic and social evils with reference to the Assamese Literature.

Robin Ngangom from NEHU talked about the poetry which sprang out from the violence of Manipur. He said when reality became oppressive, the Manipuri poets turned into surrealism, farce, parody and satire. It is a tendency of every human being that we want peace and tranquility even in the time of sorrows and misery. If we fail to achieve that peace we go to a utopian society where there is only peace but no violence. This form of society is very surreal.

A dream is a dream but not a reality. He also said that we could not expect a writer to be a moral police. According to him a writer is not a public relations official so we cannot expect him to bring harmony on behalf of any organization or a propagandist. The poet is solely not responsible for voicing the predicament of the people but the mankind as a whole should stand together against the evils of the society.

R.K. Tikendrajit Sinha from Tripura talked about the voices of dissent and disapproval and hope of Tripura Literature which was the result of influx of refugees from the erstwhile East Bengal in the aftermath of Independence and the partition of India. Tripura is a small state consisting of different races. The literary activities of Tripura show the mixture of Bengali, Manipuri and Kokborok. Even though small in number the Tripura writers are not lagging behind in terms of expressing their grievances in the contemporary scenario.

Nazima Changme W. Momin from Meghalaya discussed the uneasy co-existence of paradoxical worlds in the poetry of contemporary North-East India. She eulogized the use of myth, folklore and oral tradition by the North-East writers alongside the themes of violence, corruption and politics in their works. She spoke about the poetry which is the juxtaposition of violence and myth, past and present, love and bloodshed, cultural and political dilemmas.

Dr M. Priyobrata Singh emphasized the contemporary situation of Manipur Literature inquiring about the utility of literature in the present scenario. He articulated the thematic contents of the Manipuri writers in the wake of insurgency. He enunciated the trepidation of the writers in the modern day society.

He quoted the lines from R.K.Bhubonsana's Friend: "Friend/ A gunshot is heard/ Who must have taken rest/ When shall our turn arrive/ Must we approach morgiue/ Voluntariry?" These lines vividly illustrate the fear psychosis of every Manipuri living in this chaotic society. People become paranoia of death. Amidst this hullabaloo of contemporary circumstances, one thing that surprised everyone was the paper presented by Dr Rajendra Bhandari from Sikkim on the concerns of the Sikkimese writers. His paper illustrated that Sikkim does not face any kind of violence as a result of revolt and rebellion from unwanted sources. The Sikkimese still believe in tolerance and perseverance.

Despite numerous contributions of North-East writers, the literature of North-East fails to carve a niche in the mainstream literature. Literature in India is still dominated by the Literature in English and Hindi.

Voices of the regional writers fail to reach mainstream India. Their voices remain unheard so do our grievances. We need good translators which can make us aware of the rich North-East literature.