PHENOMENOLOGY OF SUBALTERNITY IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, GIRISH KARNAD AND RATAN THIYAM: A STUDY IN POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVES (Thesis submitted to the Nagaland University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English) By YANGERLA. B Registration No. 696/2015 Under the Supervision of PROF. NIGAMANANDA DAS DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES &EDUCATION NAGALAND UNIVERSITY, KOHIMA CAMPUS MERIEMA 2017 1 DECLARATION I, Yangerla. B, do hereby declare that the thesis entitled Phenomenology of Subalternity in William Shakespeare, Girish Karnad and Ratan Thiyam: A Study in Postcolonial Perspectives is a bonafide research done for the award of Ph.D. in English under the supervision of Prof. Nigamananda Das during the period of 2014- 2017 and that it has not been submitted either in full or in part or previously formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma or title on the same title to any other university. Kohima Yangerla. B Dated: 9th October 2017 Regn.No.696/2015 Countersigned by Head, Department of English Supervisor 2 Nagaland University (A Central University established by the act of Parliament, 35/1989 ) Department of English Kohima Campus, Kohima-797004 NU/ Eng/2017/ 9th October 2017 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that thesis entitled Phenomenology of Subalternity in William Shakespeare, Girish Karnad and Ratan Thiyam: A Study in Postcolonial Perspectives is a bonafide record of research work done by Ms. Yangerla B, Regn. No.696/2015, Department of English, Nagaland University, Kohima Campus, Meriema during 2014-17. Submitted to the Nagaland University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English, this thesis has not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma, associateship, fellowship or other title and that the thesis represents independent and original work on the part of the candidate under my supervision. This is again certified that the research has been undertaken as per UGC regulations 2009 and 2016 and the candidate has fulfilled the criteria mentioned in the University Ordinances- OC-4, sub-section 5(i) of the section-9 for submission of the thesis. The 9 th of October, 2017 Kohima SUPERVISOR Dr. Nigamananda Das Professor Department of English Nagaland University, Kohima Campus, Meriema Kohima-797004, Nagaland, Mob.-+919436608904 [email protected] 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Nigamananda Das, for his constant support and invaluable guidance throughout the course of my study. I am indebted to Ms. Moasenla Imchen for her helpful aid and for being the best study partner. My due thanks and appreciation to all the faculty members of the Department of English, the Dean, School of Humanities and Education, and the officials of Nagaland University for their help and judicious assistance. I would also like to acknowledge my appreciation to the libraries and staff of Nagaland University, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, for welcoming and assisting in search of relevant books for my research. My sincerest gratitude goes to my sister Caroline who helped me with all the typing and editing. Also my parents and brothers, who have supported and encouraged me constantly and special thanks to my dear friend Vikabo Swu for his daily dose of psychological therapy to stay focused. Above all, I thank the Lord Almighty for his abundant blessings showered upon me in my entire endeavour and always. Date: 9th October 2017 (Yangerla. B) 4 CONTENTS Particulars Page No Preface Chapter I Introduction Chapter II Phenomenology of Shakespeare’s Subaltern Ideology Chapter III History, Subaltern and the Contemporary in Girish Karnad Chapter IV Human Destiny and the Art of Living in Ratan Thiyam Chapter V Comparative Poetics of William Shakespeare, Girish Karnd and Ratan Thiyam Chapter VI Conclusion Bibliography 5 PREFACE The postcolonial subaltern ideology is understood as universal because there is no denying that every human being is subalternized by someone or the other. There is no escaping the fate that one is destined for, whether it is good or bad. The subalternization of one another by human beings has brought about the issue of power struggles and ultimate violence in trying to claim one’s freedom and individuality. Thus, the quest for power and domination has blinded humanity and has driven them to be on top of one another mercilessly killing each other. The superiority that one feels over another person has also lead to the subalternization and exploitation, making them hate each other. From time immemorial the desire to have the upper-hand over others has been a crippling issue. Wars are waged, natural resources are destroyed, and innocent people are killed just because of the selfish desire to dominate. There is no peace or equality in the world and this has been proven over and over by different characters in various plays in the present study. The postcolonial theme of subalternization runs throughout the various plays and show that people haven’t changed their desire to dominate and exploit, rather we have become more sadistic in our selfish quest. The present study focuses on three prominent playwrights who have intentionally or unintentionally exposed the evil desires of human beings to destroy or dominate. Time becomes insignificant among the three playwrights as their view on human nature corresponds in parallel to the theme of subalternization. (Yangerla. B) 6 Chapter I INTRODUCTION Postcolonialism is a theoretical perspective that attempts to study the effects of colonialism on a particular society’s politics, history, economics and culture which dates back to the sixteenth century till the present day. Postcolonialism also reflects a quest for cultural identity where a nation reclaims its true individuality by discarding its colonizer’s imposition of their culture. Postcolonialism is thus a “theoretical approach in literary and cultural studies, but it also, as importantly, designates a politics of transformational resistance to unjust and unequal forms of political and cultural authority which extends back across the twentieth century, and beyond” (Boehmer 340). To understand the true nature of postcolonialism, past colonial and imperial rule of the European countries must be looked into. Colonialism, as it is so called, is the process of expansion of a nation’s rule over an area beyond its boundaries and subjecting another populace under its political ascendancy. Colonialism not only conquers the physical territory of a place but also the culture, mindset and individuality of the population, whereby, they are forced to accept their inferiority without complaint. The colonizer controls the social, economic and political structures of the colony by implementing fundamental decisions for their own selfish interests and in the process it adversely affects the colonized people. The belief of the European superiority lead to their rejection of cultural compromise with the colonized nations bringing in a rift between the superior and the inferior, thus, leading to opposition, resistance and confrontation between the colonizer and the colonized resulting in the end of colonial rule. The ‘white man’s burden’ of obligation negates itself with the way they ruled their colonies by projecting a gory atmosphere where the colonized had to salvage what was left of their dislocated nation. Thus, “the postcolonial(ism) is that which questions, overturns, and/or critically refracts colonial authority – its epistemologies and forms of violence and 7 its claims to superiority. Postcolonialism therefore refers to those theories, texts, political strategies, and modes of activism that engage in such questioning, that aim to challenge structural inequalities and bring about social justice” (341). Postcolonial studies gained prominence since the 1970s in the western academy with the publication of Orientalism by Edward Said in 1978 which critiques the European mindset of the Orient. Earlier, “Commonwealth” or “Third World” literatures were being tagged to Postcolonial writings but these names were incorporated with the publication of the book The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures in 1989 by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin and the word postcolonialism gained its momentum. “‘Commonwealth’, which denotes the loose grouping of the independent nation- states which are historically linked by having once been colonized by Britain, is less favoured nowadays for its seemingly imperial associations” (343). There are a lot of debates over the clear-cut limitations of the definition and field of the term postcolonialism. Thus: Responses to the category of postcolonialism have been equally varied. While some critics consider it an enabling category which facilitates self-assertion, others are conscious of its limiting and controlling nature as it persists in exclusion rather than inclusion. There is a third response which bases on a refusal to be included. It looks upon postcolonialism as a position which emphasises difference (Jain 13). The Oxford Dictionary defines postcolonialism as “the political or cultural condition of a former colony” (“Postcolonialism” http://en.oxforddictionary.com); the Collins Dictionary defines postcolonialism as “existing or occurring since a colony gained independence” (“Postcolonial” http://www.collinsdictionary.com)