J. S. Asian Stud. 03 (03) 2015. 407-415 Available Online at ESci Journals Journal of South Asian Studies ISSN: 2307-4000 (Online), 2308-7846 (Print) http://www.escijournals.net/JSAS NEGOTIATING EVERYDAY VIA THE ACT OF READING RESISTANCE POETRY: A STUDY BASED ON THE ANALYSIS OF READERSHIP OF POETRY BY AGHA SHAHID ALI ON KASHMIR Aatina N. Malik* Freelance Researcher, Delhi, India. A B S T R A C T Kashmir conflict dates back to the time of Indo-Pak Independence in 1947, but it was the uprising of 1989 when people of Kashmir themselves became active participants in resistance movement against the state rule. Due to twin effect of military and militancy, the lives of people revolved around loss, fear, and insecurity that made up their everyday and in turn, the modes of resistance by people acquired different forms ranging from street protests to stone pelting to online blogging. This paper seeks to locate how the act of 'reading poetry' based on Kashmir conflict by Agha Shahid Ali acts as a means of incorporating resistance in the everyday of people when overt resistance is unsafe and subject to surveillance by the authorities. The paper addresses the theme of ‘everyday’ in two ways, firstly, in terms of violence and insecurity that makes up the ‘everyday’ of people in Kashmir and secondly, how they negotiate ‘everyday’ via the act of reading resistance poetry. Keywords: Everyday, Fear, Insecurity, Poetry, Resistance, Violence. INTRODUCTION people read him and what impact does reading such “Literature is not a discrete entity, sui generis, but has poetry generate. The study draws a nexus between links with the social world. The nature and consequence violence/conflict and the way people negotiate their of the connections between a society and its literature everyday lives via the acts of reading conflict poetry. The are the province of literary sociology” (Griswold, 1981). study examines how reading and identifying with poetry Griswold (1993) in her article, Recent Moves in the gives place to everyday of people in terms of reflecting Sociology of Literature, brings out the relationship their fears, insecurities, loss etc. and at the same time between literature and readers response to the same. how it becomes a means to incorporate resistance in the Here, the reader is conceptualized as a “creative agent” everyday lives of peoples so as to oppose the atrocities rather than a “passive recipient” and a concept called of the dominant structures usually in covert forms. ‘reception aesthetics’ (Griswold, 1993) is used to Agha Shahid Ali has been selected as the focus point of understand the way construction of meanings is done by this research, firstly, because of the growing popularity the readers. As per this concept, the readers never of the poet in conflict-ridden Kashmir in the recent past approach a text as blank slate but instead with certain only, even when his work had started to get published in expectations and various positions like gender, the early 70’s. Secondly, it is due to my lack of familiarity occupational status, nationality, class and above all life with the written Kashmiri language that I chose a poet experiences influence how the readers read. This paper who writes in English. For the study, In-depth interviews is based on the analysis of readership of poetry on have been conducted with readers regarding their Kashmir by Agha Shahid Ali (A Kashmiri-American interests in poetry, focusing on why they read Ali’s ______________________________________poet), so as to explore the reasons___________________________ as to why Kashmiri poetry and how it affects them. These interviews were to * Corresponding Author: begin with conducted in the premises of Kashmir Email: [email protected] University and then the collection of samples for study © 2015 ESci Journals Publishing. All rights reserved. was done using the technique of snow- ball sampling. 407 J. S. Asian Stud. 03 (03) 2015. 407-415 Some of the interviews were also conducted over the masses about the political situation of the valley, other internet and in some cases unstructured, open-ended than this there was electrification of many villages in questionnaires were sent across India to the Kashmiri Kashmir, which led to their encounter with mass media readers focusing on their interest in Ali’s poetry and the thus bringing about large scale awareness. More than impact such poetry generates. this, however, the elections of the 1987 in Kashmir were UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL CHANGE AND RESISTANCE unfair and rigged whereby the National Conference- THROUGH ART Congress alliance won sixty-six seats and the opposition Caroline Turner (2002) in her book Art and Social Muslim United Front won just four seats. The political Change: Contemporary Art in Asia and Pacific, talks about agents of the Muslim United Front were frustrated by art as a reflection of socio-political changes taking place what was believed to be a mockery of their political in the region. She goes on to elucidate the relationship aspirations and as Tavleen Singh (cited in Salahuddin, between art and social change in terms of globalization 2000) writes, “it were these agents of Muslim United and geopolitical influences that have a remarkable Front who were determined to fight their rights influence on the development of art. “Artists through differently and had no option but to pick up guns”. Other their work reflect the values and aspirations of the than this, some external factors also contributed to the society they live in; some react with cynicism and others armed rebellion include the Iranian Revolution in 1979 produce art of resistance. Over the past two decades, the and the rise of Palestinian Intifada. These movements artists have resisted colonialism; cultural loss; had a rolling effect on Kashmir fueling the consciousness environmental degradation; war violence; racism and so of Kashmiris around the same time. The year 1989 thus, on. Artists can transcend and perhaps even change marked a remarkable change in the scenario of Kashmir society as well as reflect its tragedies” (Turner, 2002). conflict when the Kashmiri Muslims population rose up “The Kashmir conflict dates back to the time of Indo- Pak against the state suppression. Many young Kashmiris Independence i.e. 1947 whereby being a princely state during that time went across the border to Pakistan to the then ruler of Kashmir, Raja Hari Singh chose to be acquire arms training and came back to fight against the neutral instead of Kashmir’s accession to either India or Indian state. These men were taken to be ’terrorists’ or Pakistan. However, an attack on the north west of ‘militants’ by the state for waging a war against their Kashmir by the Pakistani tribesmen in 1948 led him to own nation and ‘jehadis’ (one’s who sacrifice their lives take military assistance from India, which led to the for religion) by Pakistan as they were fighting state’s deployment of Indian army in Kashmir, which after that oppression against the Muslims. Since 1989, “Kashmiris never left and instead of support began to subjugate. have lived in the fear of gun, whether it’s of the militant Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India, however, made or the Indian security forces“ chofield (2003). “Their it clear that the people of Kashmir would choose their sons as militants, militant sympathizers or suspected fate through a plebiscite, which never took place. militants have been arrested, tortured, killed or just Kashmiris thus, continue to challenge the legitimacy of disappeared. Nearly every Kashmiri has a sad tale to tell the way in which Kashmir was acceded to India and of a family member who has been picked up by security perceive it to be the bond of subjugation and thus resist forces on suspicion of being a militant” (Schofield, 2003). Indian rule over the state” (Hussain, 2013). Thus, we “According to Amnesty International, the ‘brutality of have two versions of the history, the Pakistani one, torture in Kashmir defies belief’. For the majority of which considers Kashmir accession to India forceful and people, ill effects of living under siege have been illegal, and the Indian version, which considers the tremendous. Injuries in cross firings between militants accession legal and proclaims Kashmir to be an integral and security forces have taken a heavy toll. There are part of India. The voices of the people of Kashmir have approximately 600,000 Indian military forces--including been away from the scene for a very long time and it was regular army, para-military troops, border security force only in 1989, because of various ‘internal’ and ‘external’ and police currently deployed in Kashmir and the nature factors (Salahuddin, 2000) that they started coming out of legislation in force to counter the insurgency in the open and defying Indian rule. The internal factors operations includes employment of acts like the Armed included the rise in literacy and education rate in Jammu Forces Special Powers Act, Terrorist and Disruptive and Kashmir, which led to increased awareness of the Activities Act, the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act 408 J. S. Asian Stud. 03 (03) 2015. 407-415 and the Jammu & Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act which outside Kashmir but he would visit Kashmir during have been termed as ‘draconian’ by the International vacations because his parents lived there. These Court Of Justice.” (Schofield, 2003c). occasional visits along with a smaller network of family The target attacks by militants, reprisal by the and friends in Kashmir kept him updated about the government and security forces, search operations, situation in his native land. An interview with one of his disappearances, and call for strikes, fake encounters closest aides (Personal communication, Jan 2014, have become a part of the daily life of a Kashmiri.