International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-10(4), October, 2016 Impact Factor: 4.535; Email: [email protected] A Panorama of the Role of Literature in Preservation of Human Rights Dr. Poonam Rani Gupta, Associate Professor, Dept. of English Studies and Research, B. D. K. Girls (P.G.) College, Baluganj, Agra, U.P. Abstract: The talk of human rights can never be completed without the mention of female rights and there psyche. In the later decades of the same century has witnessed the rise of feminism with strong protest against the atrocities inflicted upon the female folk in the contemporary society. Feminism has grown from Kamala Markandaya, Anita Desai, R.P. Jhabvala and Nayantara Sahgal to pave way for Shobha De, Shashi Deshpande, Nina Sibal, Anees Jung, Raji Narsimhan, Bharati Mukharjee and others. These newer female voices have highlighted the interior landscape of the emancipated woman’s sensibility and her psychological pragmatism. Modern woman has now acquired substance and an unconventional character and has paved way for a new dimension of the Indian novel in English. The novelists of today have begun to delineate the psychology of the characters and the complex environs which has greatly affected them. Key words: psychological, pragmatism, Feminism, “I hold that literature must have a social purpose. It must place before the reader something from the society’s point of view. Art is not necessarily for art’s sake. Purposeless art and literature which is much in vogue does not appear to me as a sound Judgment”.─ Bhabani Bhattacharya ‘Human Rights’ are those rights which Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and belong to an individual as a consequence Human Rights defines human rights as: of being a human being. ‘Civil liberties’ Human rights are moral principles are ‘the rights guaranteed to citizens or or norms, which describe certain residents of a country or territory as a standards of human behavior, and are matter of fundamental law’. It is birth regularly protected as legal rights in right inherent in all the individuals municipal and international law. They irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, are commonly understood as inalienable sex and nationality. Human Rights, fundamental rights "to which a person is essential for all round development of the inherently entitled simply because she or personality of the individual in society he is a human being. and therefore, ought to be protected and be made available to all individuals. In State responsibility towards serious sense of speaking ‘Human Right’ provide basic amenities means the right of life, liberty, equality It is the primary duty of every country and the dignity of an individual and state to provide the right of adequate irrespective of caste, creed and sex. food, health. These rights should be used www.ijar.org.in 1 International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-10(4), October, 2016 Impact Factor: 4.535; Email: [email protected] by every citizen without considering sex, confronting in day to day life. They religion, caste, class or sect. Violation of accept the reality as it is presented before human right has become very common in them. They see the society and its world. Newspapers, T.V. channels inform development with an ironic detachment us that every day and every moment, and accept reality ungrudgingly. Human Rights are being violated. The Writers’ perception protection and preservation of these human rights is a great challenge for The writers of Indian writing in English every country. Cases of domestic violence, are keenly aware of the fundamental traditional practices, female genital problems which the poor, the mutilation, son preference, sexual downtrodden, the children and the harassment, prostitution and trafficking feminine folk are forced to face in day to violence against women migrant workers, day life. The novelists like Mulk Raj custodial violence against women, come Anand, R.K.Narayan, Raja Rao, Bhabani in the category oh violation of human Bhattacharya, Manohar Malgonkar, Ruth rights. Literature has substantially Prawar Jhabvala, Anita Desai, Chaman contributed to the protection of human Nahal, Arun Joshi, Salman Rushdie, rights. Literature can inspire us to Amitav Ghosh, Kamala Markendeya, change our world and give us the Nayanatara Sahgal, Arundhati Roy, and comfort, hope, passion and strength that several others have made their we need in order to fight to create a contribution in the presentation of better future for us. The literary creation human rights issues. such novels, plays, short-stories, poems The heroes of R.K. Narayan etc., attempt to mirror the realities of present the ironies of life and the society. heroines expose the deprivation of From time immemorial literature common house-wives who are denied has substantially contributed to the equal rights in their day to day life. Mulk protection of human rights. The chief Raj Anand is a great humanist and his goal of literature has always been to prime concern is human predicament in relate human rights and to combine the the contemporary society. Manohar literary driving force with the motivation Malgoankar presents the pathetic life of for action, what is a fundamental and the labourers of tea-plantation of Assam. integral element of the struggle for Kamla Markandaya highlights pitiable protection of human rights. The conditions of peasants of India. Anita literature which deals with the human Desai shows the denial of social justice to predicament, thus, directly or indirectly, women. Khuswant Singh and Salman promotes values of human rights. Indian Rushdie draw attention towards sexual Writing in English is no exception to this. abuse of children. Thus, literature carries The literary creations in Indian Writing the human experience which reaches the in English are the mirror of society. All heart of those who have been treated writers of various genres specially the improperly by denial of basic human novelists are fully aware of this priority. rights. Present paper is an attempt to The Indian novelists in English are explore how far human right issues are keenly aware of the fundamental dealt in Indian English literature. incongruities which life and world are www.ijar.org.in 2 International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-10(4), October, 2016 Impact Factor: 4.535; Email: [email protected] The early decades of the twentieth Tagore translated some of his Bengali century witnessed the rise of many works into English which helped in writers whose literary manifesto was to laying the foundations of the Indian write for social, political and economic English novel. His novels are mostly purpose. The purpose was not only to novels of ideas. He adopted the novel throw light upon the social evils and genre to depict the inner changes in the malpractices prevailing in the society in lives of characters in relation to time and those days but also to employ their space. Tagore’s influence is all pervading, writings to the cause of social as seen in the novels of his successors amelioration. The proliferation of Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and score literature in Indian English manifests of others. Sarath Chandra and Prem itself multifariously encompassing almost Chand carried the novel a little further every aspect of Indian social life. In the by extending its range and demonstrated last one hundred years or so, this the plight of average and below average staggering branch of literature has people. Their preoccupation was with the blossomed like a fragrant flower and has downtrodden and the destitute. Their become golden gate for the world to see realistic and bold depiction of the misery India through. of the lower classes foreshadows the best fiction of Mulk Raj Anand in English. The most important figure on the literary scene in the pre and post In the 1930s the indispensable trio independent India was Rabindranath of the gigantic Indo – Anglian writers Viz. Tagore, a multifaceted genius, and Noble Mulk Raj Ananad, R.K.Narayan and Raja Prize winner. He concentrated not only Rao and a few other Indian novelists on the social evils but also on the began to write in English about the atrocities inflicted upon the Indians by atrocities inflicted upon the weaker the Britishers. He exhorted the Indians sections of the society. Mulk Raj Anand is for their human rights through his an Indian English novelist who depicts thought provoking works. He exerted a the lives of the poor peasants, women and tremendous influence on the minds of the the downtrodden in his novels. Mulk Raj people with the choice of his themes. He Anand, who is famous chiefly as a writer directly dealt with the public and human of sociological novels incorporates some right issues. Tagore started by first of the most glaring social evils like imitating Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, untouchability, exploitation of labourers till he found his own choice with Choker and poor workers, position of women etc. Bali (1908). To Tagore goes the credit of to arouse the social conscience. In fact, nurturing the infant genre at its most there is hardly any ugly or depressing important stage of growth. He brought a aspect of the Indian social life which has new force into the form as embodied in not been attacked by Anand in his Gora (1923), The Home and The World fictional world. They have made a sincere (1919), Binodini (1959), The Wreck attempt to articulate the subdued (1919), Four Chapters (1950) and feelings and suppressed emotions of their Farewell My Friend (1956). Tagore’s countrymen. His most popular novels Untouchable Coolie novels helped the Indians to rediscover (1935) and (1936) themselves and also created a new examine the problems of poverty, ill- awareness about their culture and rights.