The Glass Palace

HISTORY PROJECT “To use the past to justify the present is bad enough—but it’s just as bad to use the present to justify the past.” — Amitav Ghosh, The Glass Palace Srijon Sinha Class XI-H1 – The Shri Ram School, Moulsari THE GLASS PALACE WRITTEN BY AMITAV GHOSH TABLE OF CONTENTS Research Question .......................................................................... 2 Abstract ....................................................................................... 2 Reason for choosing the topic ......................................................................2 Methods and materials ...............................................................................2 Hypothesis ..............................................................................................2 Main Essay .................................................................................... 2 Background and context .............................................................................2 Explanation of the theme ...........................................................................3 Interpretation and analysis .........................................................................5 Conclusion .................................................................................... 5 Bibliography ................................................................................. 6 1 RESEARCH QUESTION What are the historical, cultural and political forces that shape the progression of the plot, the characters, their actions, and furthermore, how do the characters take to their rapidly changing world? ABSTRACT REASON FOR CHOOSING THE TOPIC This particular topic was chosen because as a student of both history and literature, it is important for me to understand how much of the plot of the novel is driven by the historical context, how deeply connected the two are, and whether the choices and personality traits of the characters can truly be separated from their historical setting. METHODS AND MATERIALS To carry out this project, I read my book over the course of a week, making notes along the way. Then I read a few reviews and analyses of the book, and of the historical period (as cited in the bibliography). Following this, I started my project, writing it out on Microsoft Word and referring to my sources along the way. I also downloaded and added relevant images. The project was then printed and spiral bound. HYPOTHESIS The choices of the characters and direction of the plot are ultimately guided by the setting and conditions they are thrust into, more than by any other factor. MAIN ESSAY BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh (A. Ghosh) spans across a century’s worth of events from the 1890s to the 1990s, and is set across diverse locations in the countries of Burma (now known as Myanmar), India, Singapore, Siam (now known as Thailand), and Malaya (now known as Malaysia). The book mainly deals with major events and turning points in the history of India and Burma during the early twentieth century. It is roughly split into seven parts. Beginning with the movements of a young eleven Mandalay Palace, Myanmar year-old Indian boy called Rajkumar in the Burmese city of Mandalay, we are introduced to various elements of life in Burma at the time – the discrimination faced by Indians, the reverence given to the Burmese monarchy, and the livelihoods of people. This is set in a time before the British have invaded the city, and King Thebaw and Queen Supayalat of the Konbaung dynasty are the ruling monarchs of the land. (Turtle) 2 (Geographx) (Aung, Aung-Thwin and Steinberg)invasion of the land, leading a siege of the palace and capturing the royal family. The king and queen and a handful of escorts are exiled to the city of Ratnagiri. This event ended the third Anglo-Burmese war and provided the means for the British to annex Burma as a province of India, with Rangon (now Yangoon) as the capital. (Aung, Aung-Thwin and Steinberg) With Rajkumar going on to become a successful teak merchant, it is clear just how valuable this wood was to the British. At certain As time goes by, a character called Uma Dey (the widow of the District Collector of Ratanagiri) travels to New York and becomes involved with the Gadar Party (originating from the Urdu Gadar Party meeting, 1930s word for revolt), an organization (Singh) advocating for Indian independence based in America. They made large strides towards communicating the plight of colonialism as experienced by Indians in their homeland and gained prominence in media circles by publishing newsletters and articles. (Fernandes) Later on, a character called Arjun joins the Indian Army and is sent to French Indo- China to fight the Japanese during WWII. He eventually defects and joins a group called the Indian National Army. This was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in south-east Asia during WWII. It joined forces with the Japanese in order to achieve its objective of securing Indian independence from British rule. This group inspired numerous mutinies and defections from the Indian soldiers in the Indian Army, and at a point, came to be led by Subhas Chandra Bose. (Roysam) Towards the end of the novel set in the 1990s, we are given a glimpse into the oppression faced by those living under the military dictatorship of General Ne Win. This was a violent time in the history of Myanmar, with protests almost always violently suppressed by the military. [5] (Fink) EXPLANATION OF THE THEME Although the novel tackles various aspects of life in India and Burma during the twentieth century, the underlying theme that sets the tone for the entire narrative is the impact of the colonial rule in both India and Burma. The novel reveals how tactfully the British conquered countries and subjugated whole population exiling kings to erase them completely from public memory at home. The last of the Mughal King, Bahadur Shah Zafar, deportation to Rangoon, a generation ago, after killing the two princes right in front of the public, and the Burmese King Thebaw and Queen Supayalat’s exile to Ratnagiri in India were such astute moves by the conquering Britain. (Fernandes) When the British army marches into the city of Mandalay, the (Scott) realisation dawns on the people of the city that this army consists not of Englishmen, but of Indians. In a moment, the hostility of the crowd is turned upon Rajkumar (who is a mere eleven year-old at the time) and the other Indians in the city. Indians serving under the British rule in the British Indian army are weapons in the rulers’ hands. They are mere tools without 3 a head or heart. One of the characters, a Chinese man named Saya John, reveals the details of his interactions with the Indian soldiers he encountered in a hospital in Singapore. These men had been drawn to the army solely by the promise of money. Yet what they earned was a few annas a day, not much more than a dockyard coolie. The matter of colonised subjects and their reactions under their subjugation is explored in many forms. Later in the novel, a young man of Bengali origin called Arjun joins the Indian army in a period preceding the World War Two. As one of the only Bengalis in a regiment dominated by Sikh men, the “divide and conquer” tactic so famously used becomes evident. Nevertheless, Arjun develops a fierce love for his comrades and for what he does, seeking the honour of his British superiors. “There seemed never to be a moment when he was not haunted by the fear of being thought lacking by his British colleagues. And yet it seemed to be universally agreed that he was one of the most successful Indians of his generation, a model for his countrymen. Did this mean that one day all of India would become a shadow of what he had been? Millions of people trying to live their lives in conformity with incomprehensible rules?” Along the way, however, he is subject to harsh questioning. (Bayly and Harper) “From whom are you The Indian National Army defending us? From ourselves? From other Indians? It’s your masters from whom the country needs to be defended.” As the Second World War begins, the British army is sent into French Indo- China to engage in conflict with the Japanese. Arjun and his comrades experience fear, terror, pain, and hardship like never before. Soon enough, they learn of a subsection of the British army that has defected and joined forces with the Japanese. They call themselves the Indian National Army, and seek to engage in conflict with the British to secure the independence of their home land. Arjun and his regiment too join the INA. “You don't understand. We never thought that we were being used to conquer people. Not at all: we thought the opposite. We were told that we were freeing those people. That is what they said—that we were going to set those people free from their bad kings or their evil customs or some such thing. We believed it because they believed it too. It took us a long time to understand that in their eyes freedom exists wherever they rule.” At one extreme we have individuals like the District Collector of Ratnagiri who has made every attempt possible to appear as westernized as he can to seem capable to his colleagues, and at the other extreme, people like Uma Dey, who travelled to New York and integrated herself into the 4 strands of the freedom struggle abroad. In between, there are individuals belonging to different degrees. The problem for these individuals is to come out of the shell of British influence and set through the hypocrisy of their master’s intentions towards the colonized people. Rajkumar’s life-story is a story of the struggle for survival in the colonial turmoil. As a colonized subject from Bengal, he becomes a colonizer in Burma transporting indentured labourers from South India to other parts of the colonial world. He has even sexually exploited a woman worker on his plantations. His post-colonial consciousness represents a conflict. In fact, the post-colonial narrative is explored in great detail in the last chapter, wherein one of Uma’s descendants seeks to learn more about her ancestors during the 1990s.

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