Humanitarian Discourses in Dominique Lapierre's
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“ALL THAT IS NOT GIVEN IS LOST”: HUMANITARIAN DISCOURSES IN DOMINIQUE LAPIERRE’S WRITING ON INDIA Ariel Tze Ling Wee Bachelor of Arts (Honours) The University of Western Australia 2000 This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Western Australia School of Humanities English & Cultural Studies 2016 ii Abstract This thesis examines the relationship between Dominique Lapierre’s writing on India and the discourses of humanitarianism. Born in 1931, Lapierre is a celebrated French writer of historical nonfiction and advocate for the Indian poor. He is well- known for his book The City of Joy (1985) about the residents of a slum in Calcutta (Kolkata) and the humanitarians who assist them. As a result of the commercial success of his writing, and fundraising for marginalised communities in India over the past few decades, he has been able to sponsor numerous humanitarian projects in South Asia. This thesis regards his writing as part of more general discursive practices that govern writing about Indian history and Indian poverty. In particular, this thesis considers those discursive practices that are attached to the institutions and ideologies of humanitarian action. Such discursive practices are a function of “humanitarian government”, a term used by the anthropologist Didier Fassin in his book Humanitarian Reason to designate “the set of procedures established and actions conducted in order to manage, regulate, and support the existence of human beings: government includes but exceeds the intervention of the state, local administrations, international bodies and political institutions more generally” (1). While there have been studies of humanitarian government in the fields of international relations, political science and anthropology, there is less scholarship on the way that humanitarian government is represented in popular writing, particularly creative nonfiction of the kind written by Lapierre. Hence, this thesis attempts to analyse the various discourses that represent and legitimise humanitarian government in India. I focus on three main texts in this thesis, with each text forming a separate chapter. The first chapter analyses Freedom at Midnight (1975), a historical account of South Asia’s decolonisation and Partition. Co-authored with Larry Collins, this text reconstructs the crises of 1947 – 1948 as events which necessitated the humanitarian government of the last Viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten. The second chapter studies The City of Joy, which represents missionary humanitarianism and development projects in Pilkhana, one of Calcutta’s poorest slums in the 1970s and 1980s. It also iii explores how suffering is portrayed in Lapierre’s writing to construct the Indian poor as deserving recipients of aid. The third chapter examines Lapierre’s memoir India, My Love (2013) which recounts his long literary and humanitarian engagement with India. This chapter analyses how the writer asserts his credentials as a leading spokesperson for the Indian poor and how he depicts victim-saviour relationships between needy Indians and humanitarians from the global North. The three chapters of this thesis collectively demonstrate how Lapierre’s representations of humanitarian government in India rely on a synthesis of the older regime of imperial humanitarianism with the later regime of neo-humanitarianism, with its particular discursive emphasis on development. iv Declaration I, Ariel Tze Ling WEE, certify that: This thesis has been substantially accomplished during enrolment in the degree. This thesis does not breach any ethical rules with regard to the conduct of the research. This thesis does not contain material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in my name, in any university or other tertiary institution. No part of this work will, in the future, be used in a submission in my name, for any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution without the prior approval of The University of Western Australia and where applicable, any partner institution responsible for the joint-award of this degree. This thesis does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. The work(s) are not in any way a violation or infringement of any copyright, trademark, patent, or other rights. This thesis does not contain work that I have published, nor work under review for publication. Signature: Date: 30 October 2016 v vi Acknowledgements I first thank Tony Hughes-d’Aeth for holding the space for me. He taught me the art of allowing. I cannot thank him enough for his encouragement, faith and astute direction as my supervisor and friend. I also thank Chantal Bourgault du Coudray for her guidance and perceptive feedback. I am grateful to Lisa Keane Elliott, a brilliant historian and dear friend, for her wit, kindness and insightful readings. The happiest times of my life have been spent at the University of Western Australia. I thank the university, especially the Graduate Research School. This thesis would not have been possible without the Australian Postgraduate Award and additional funding. I thank Thritty Bhanja and Michael Azariadis for their invaluable help. I also acknowledge the work of Graduate Research Coordinators in the School of Humanities. I thank Van Ikin and Kieran Dolin, in particular, for their timely assistance and advice over the years. Finally, I thank my wonderful family. I am immensely grateful to my parents, Wee Koh Sian and Lim Guat Quey. Their boundless love and understanding have made it far easier for me to pursue my uncommon dreams. I also thank my parents-in-law, Anna K. Andreasen and Aksel Høyer, for their encouragement and generosity. Above all, I am indebted to my husband, Thomas Andreasen Høyer. His incredible love, devotion and support have seen me through every stage of this thesis’ gestation, labour and delivery. I dedicate this to him. vii viii Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... iii Declaration ................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... vii Introduction “All that is not given is lost” ....................................................................................... 1 Humanitarian Action as Discursive Practice ............................................................... 2 Dominique Lapierre’s Writing .................................................................................. 19 Scope of Inquiry ...................................................................................................... 22 Chapter 1 Freedom at Midnight ............................................................................................... 25 Partition and the Lack of Indian Unity ...................................................................... 30 Post-Partition Crises and Political Saviours .............................................................. 54 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 72 Chapter 2 The City of Joy ......................................................................................................... 75 The Mirage of Calcutta ............................................................................................ 79 The Rural-Urban Migrant ......................................................................................... 92 The Missionary in the Slum.................................................................................... 103 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 119 Chapter 3 India, My Love ....................................................................................................... 123 Writing History ...................................................................................................... 128 Saving the Indian Poor ........................................................................................... 141 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 163 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 165 Works Cited ............................................................................................................. .185 ix x Introduction “All that is not given is lost” The title of this thesis refers to an Indian proverb oft-quoted by Dominique Lapierre, the French author whose work and career are the subject of this study. Well- known for his writing on India, including the best-selling books Freedom at Midnight, The City of Joy and India, My Love, Lapierre is also a noted philanthropist. His writing, lectures and activism have made him a famous spokesperson for marginalised communities in India. It is the intersection between Lapierre’s writing and his humanitarianism that forms the focus of this study. In particular, this thesis attempts to consider what legitimises Lapierre’s stories of humanitarianism in India and the discursive regimes they draw upon to power their advocacy. Related to this question is the phenomenal popularity