1.6 Sri Lankan Literature in English
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Dissident Voices Sociocultural Transformations in Sri Lankan Post-Independence Novels in English Árný Aurangasri Hinriksson Dissertation towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Iceland The School of Humanities Faculty of Foreign Languages, Literature and Linguistics November 2014 Deild erlendra tungumála, bókmennta og málvísinda við Háskóla Íslands hefur metið ritgerð þessa hæfa til varnar við doktorspróf í enskum bókmenntum Reykjavík, 14. sept. 2014 Hólmfríður Garðarsdóttir deildarforseti The Faculty of Foreign Languages, Literature and Linguistics at the University of Iceland has declared this dissertation eligible for a defense leading to a PhD degree in English Literature Doctoral Committee: Guðrún Björk Guðsteinsdóttir, supervisor Walter Senath Perera Martin Regal Dissident Voices © Árný Aurangasri Hinriksson Reykjavík 2014 Thesis for a doctoral degree at University of Iceland. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the copyright holder. ISBN 978-9935-9189-7-0 Printed by: Háskólaprent ehf Acknowledgements This dissertation was written at the Department of English of the University of Iceland. My main supervisor, Professor Guðrún Björk Guðsteinsdóttir, has been a constant source of ideas, gentle criticism and vast encouragement for which I am deeply obliged. I would like to thank her immensely for all her very valuable suggestions for the improvement of this thesis and I must acknowledge an immense debt to her for her enthusiasm and for her labouring tirelessly to help me locate material needed. Also, I wish to profusely thank my co-supervisor, Professor Walter Perera, of the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, for his clarifying insights on issues that my thesis addresses, all the supervisory support and for providing some of the articles and books required to read for my thesis. His comments and advice made me view the thesis afresh from the perspective of Sri Lanka’s history, and he has immeasurably improved my prose and citation. I offer my sincere thanks also to Dr. Nihal Fernando for providing some valuable books and advice. I must gratefully acknowledge the helpful and critical comments of Professor Martin Regal which sharpened the text considerably. I owe all my teachers in the Department of English at the University of Iceland a significant intellectual debt, especially my previous supervisor, Professor Julian Meldon Darcy. I am also thankful to the Ministry of Education in Iceland and the University of Iceland for the travel subsidies given to me during my study period. A special word of gratitude should be awarded to Rohina Usman Johnston Macan Markar, for graciously hosting me in Colombo, during my many study visits to Sri Lanka iii Abstract After four and a half centuries of Western colonial rule, at the time when Sri Lanka obtained Independence from the British in 1948, there were high hopes among all ethnic communities living in the country that the new era would bring far-reaching economic and political changes. However, the economic and social legacy left behind by the British was not adequate enough to solve the problems that were to emerge during the first five decades after Independence. Two insurgencies, the first in 1971 and the second from 1987-89 were followed by a protracted ethnic war between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. The insurgencies were effectively part of a violent class struggle initiated by the educated but disenchanted Sinhalese youth of the country, who were unable to prosper under post-Independence Governments. The age-old Sinhalese- Tamil ethnic animosities and tensions were exacerbated by the Tamil demand for autonomy and a separate state, and resulted in thirty years of civil war. During the post-Independence period, a considerable range of new Sri Lankan literature in English emerged, written both by residents and expatriates and some of these novels, unsurprisingly, centred their themes on these social upheavals and ethnic polarizations. This dissertation focuses on a number of novels by Sri Lankan writers whose thematic concerns are the sociocultural and political climate of the country after Sri Lanka gained Independence. My main aim is to examine their depiction of the implications of British colonial rule, and the various whiplash effects of volatile civil conflicts that ensued when colonial oppression and rule by division was lifted. Indeed, the rationale behind the selection of novels, which spans the period from 1948-2012, is to be found in the degree to which they are successful in articulating the violent aftermath of Independence. Within this broader framework, the novels exhibit further thematic parallels and contrasts on a range of issues, including national identity, language, ethnicity and post-colonial education. All the novels regarding the insurgencies deal with the reality of colonial/Western education which has conditioned upward social and economic mobility to an exclusive urban class. They illuminate some of the crucial issues of the rising expectations and ambitions, as well as the growing disillusionment of the Sinhala-educated youth that led them into insurgency, in a country affected by chronic unemployment and underemployment. Many of them criticize colonialism which left them in a state of poverty and led them to hold in fierce contempt people, organisations, and systems that continue to follow colonial methods and culture. The narratives are rife with revolutionary political rhetoric and express the need for drastic changes to fulfil the aspirations of the poor segments and thus to reduce the inequities and inequalities in Sri Lankan society. v Tamil novelists writing on the Sinhalese-Tamil ethnic conflict implicitly and explicitly bring to light a series of concerns regarding human rights; their writings are subtle interrogations of the failure of the post-Independence governments of Sri Lanka as well as commentary on the nature of social injustices that resulted from blatant discrimination in the country’s linguistic, territorial and social policies. These novelists dramatize the magnitude of psychological and physical damage engendered by the war and effects of war upon the common people, displaying conscious awareness of the power of their writings to serve as a forum to air their grievances to a global as well as a local audience. They portray the members of the Tamil liberation movement as heroic freedom fighters and highlight the repressive use of the State’s military forces against innocent Tamil people in the North. As such, these novels are powerful political critiques. In contrast, the novels of Sinhalese authors are written from a privileged position, speaking on the whole for the marginalized groups. Overall, they see the separatist struggle as unacceptably violent and frequently highlight the enormity of the problem of terrorism in the country and focus on the destruction and disruption caused by subversive terrorist activities. They bypass the question of government responsibility for military excesses in the North and North East, and the passing of discriminatory legislation which affected the Tamil community economically and educationally. On the other hand, they admit a few conspicuous incidents of grave Sinhalese atrocities committed against the Tamil people. The moral sensibilities conspicuous in all the novels are the authors’ creative fervour and crusading zeal with which they concern themselves with grave social problems that assail Sri Lanka. They seem to formulate their observances and insights in close touch with contemporary realities and their works are essentially ideology-infused literature which envisions alternative social possibilities. Both the Sinhalese insurgents and the Tamil militants are depicted as revolting groups motivated to fulfil their aspirations by violent means. The novels are works of literature that record the course of these sociocultural developments and the authors are not only social reformers but also humanitarian publicists. However, the insurgencies and the ethnic war seem to have evoked a state of moral dilemma and aggravated a revulsion against violence. What unifies all the analysed novels is the authors’ singleness of intention and genuine concern that peace prevail and that the people of Sri Lanka are able to live without interference from tyrannical State authority. vi Ágrip Ritgerð þessi er á sviði nýlendu- og eftirlendufræða og bókmennta minnihlutahópa. Rýnt er í skáldsögur Sinhala og Tamíla, brottfluttra jafnt sem heimamanna, sem skrifaðar voru á ensku á árunum 1948-2012 um átökin í Sri Lanka. Nýlenduástand hafði ríkt í Sri Lanka í 450 ár þegar landið fékk sjálfstæði frá breska heimsveldinu árið 1948. Öll þjóðarbrotin væntu að sjálfstæðinu myndi fylgja nýir og betri tímar með efldum fjárhag og bættum stjórnarháttum. Stjórnar- og menningararfleifð Breta reyndist þó ekki fallin til þess að takast á við vandamálin sem blöstu við næstu fimm áratugi sjálfstæðis. Tvær uppreisnir voru gerðar, sú fyrri árið 1971 en sú seinni á árunum 1987-89, og við bættust langtíma átök á milli Sinhala meirihlutans og minnihluta Tamíla. Uppreisnirnar voru uppgjör menntaðra ungmenna úr dreifbýli sem þeir fundu sér ekki farveg í því samfélagi sem stjórnvöld mótuðu að fengnu sjálfstæði, en krafa Tamíla um aðskilnað og sjálfstæði ýfðu upp aldagamlar krytur og árekstra á milli Sinhala og Tamíla og ollu borgarastyrjöld sem stóð í þrjátíu ár. Helstu niðurstöður þessarar rannsóknar eru að enskar skáldsögur