...Let us now examine what were the characteristic features of Saratchandra's contemporary period. It was the period of the Renaissance movement of India, when the mighty surge of the anti-imperialist freedom struggle was sweeping across the country. In our country Renaissance movement is deemed to have started with Raja Rammohan Roy. He initiated the Renaissance movement in our country through religious reformation, through fusion of the bourgeois humanist concepts and moral values of the European Renaissance with the main theme of religion. As a result, the Renaissance movement of this country proceeded along the course of religious reformation. The emergence of Vidyasagar thereafter was a landmark in the Renaissance movement, because, in my opinion, it was he who, for the first time, brought about a break with its religious orientation. He, for the first time on our soil, tried utmost to develop the humanist movement, as far as was possible in the then condition, on the firm foundation of science, history and logic. ...Our countrymen regard Vidyasagar as a great man and do respect him greatly no doubt, but how many of them could really understand him ? Most of the people take him for an orthodox Brahmin from his outward appearance and traditional Brahmin dress. True, his dress and appearance made him look like a theologist and an orthodox Brahmin, but, in reality, he was a true humanist in the then social environment of our country. He wanted to bring about a rational integration of the Indian civilization with the scientific concepts of the West. So his firm opinion was : Teach the students English, teach them the 'Logic' of Mill as it is not possible to make this crippled nation stand erect on its moral backbone through teaching Sanskrit. ...For the resurgence of this nation, our countrymen must be made conversant with the treasure-house of knowledge and science of the world. What is more, it is through the knowledge of English that our students and youth may be made acquainted with the history, logic and modern scientific ideas as well as with the materialist philosophy of Europe. Therefore, opposing Ballantyne's view, he said that as Sankhya and Vedanta were false systems of philosophy, so also was the philosophy of Berkeley of Europe. ...In order to be free from the influence of such erroneous philosophies, our people should get acquainted with the knowledge of science and the materialist philosophy of Europe. Then and then only our countrymen, knowing the material world meticulously, would be able to grasp truth and on the basis of that alone could they evolve a new philosophy of life and a new sense of values. That is why he was vehemently opposed to teaching such inane idealist philosophies. A close examination of his outlook on education would clearly reveal that Vidyasagar marked a distinct break with the trend of religious reformation which our Renaissance movement had been following since its inception. The thoughts and activities, the approaches and attitudes, habits and practices of his entire life prove beyond doubt that he wanted to free the humanist movement, as far as possible in the then condition, from the religious tutelage.
...Barring this distinct role of Vidyasagar and after his period, our Renaissance movement started moving once more along the path of religious reformation. ...The country witnessed, on the one hand, a strong tide of the Brahmo religious movement, with a view to reforming the Hindu society from its serious aberrations and vices, while, on the other hand, as a reaction to it, the Hindu revivalist movement swept across the country. The Hindu religious reformers following the tradition and heritage of the Hindu religion appeared on the scene to free the Hindu society from the curses of casteism and its other vices. It was in this period that Ramakrishna made his debut. ...Vivekananda was an outstanding product of this Hindu revivalist movement. He did not keep the Renaissance movement confined within the bounds of mere religious reformation, but, instead, he laid more stress on the Karma-Yoga[1] in place of worship and meditation and was able to instil a deep sense of national pride and patriotism throughout the country. ...The sense of nationalism and patriotism with which he awakened the country was based on the Vedanta philosophy and the spiritual pride of ancient India. ...It was mainly for this reason that the mighty independence movement that grew and developed throughout the country remained basically a Hindu-religion oriented nationalist movement. ...It was in such a period, when the urge for freedom and the freedom movement were gradually intensifying in our country, that Saratchandra appeared as a litterateur in Bengal. ...Just as the role of Vidyasagar marked a distinct break in the Renaissance movement in the matter of freeing the humanist movement from the religious tutelage in the then social condition, so also, in the independence movement, Saratchandra marked a distinct break with the Hindu-religion oriented nationalism as well as with the decadent humanism making compromise with religion. The literary thoughts and outlook of Saratchandra were basically materialist. Where, in the literary outlook, he could not maintain a consistently materialistic position, he remained an agnostic. But never did he indulge in idealist thinking, nor did he ever make any compromise with supernaturalism in his literary thoughts and ideas. In the yardstick of progress and reaction in the then social context we shall have to judge which of the two trends -- the compromising or the uncompromising -- that were reflected in both the political and cultural fields in our anti-feudal, anti-imperialist freedom movement, is helpful and conducive to the growth and development of our present-day movement for social progress. We shall have to determine in continuity with which of these two trends can today's new class-consciousness, the anti-capitalist revolutionary consciousness and the proletarian cultural movement be given birth to. Judged on this yardstick, it will be clear that the proletarian culture of our country can grow and develop today only in continuity with the most militant and youthful, secular and uncompromising tone of humanism that found its best expression in the thoughts and values of Saratchandra's literature. Though it is true that the proletarian cultural movement of our country would develop today on the firm foundation of the thoughts and sense of values of Saratchandra, still a contradiction between these two is also inevitable.
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...It is not for the litterateur to enter into learned discussions on theories, and in scholastic discourses deal with their intricacies -- he is a creator of rasa. Herein lies the real worth of a litterateur. In my opinion, those who always seek high theories in stories and novels and judge their merit on this yardstick alone are totally unfit to be literary critics. The worth of literature does not lie in dispensing scholastic discussions. Its utility in society is elsewhere. There has never been any dearth of personalities in the world giving learned lectures. For that there are big personalities in the society, who can be regarded as more accomplished in their own spheres than the litterateurs. There are the philosophers, the economists, the political thinkers and the scholars in different branches of science and epistemology, but what they cannot do is done by a litterateur. And it is because of this that the litterateurs are admired and esteemed, respected and adored even by them. They are effective where we are incapable. The ideas and thoughts which the philosophers and the thinkers want to convey are portrayed by the litterateurs so aesthetically, in such an artistic and lucid manner, in such diverse forms through rasa, that even if a man fails to grasp these due to lack of intellectual aptitude, still, while relishing the beauty, going repeatedly through the artistic expressions and mastering the dialogues, he becomes used to these and undergoes some changes in outlook. Thus, in bringing about a revolutionary change in the mental make-up and a cultural revolution in the society, literature is a very effective and powerful weapon. Litterateurs are to perform precisely the task of preparing the necessary cultural background for any political movement, be it a freedom movement, a socialist revolution or any struggle for bringing about a radical transformation of society. Herein lies their progressive role. Judged in this context, Saratchandra was the pioneer playing the most progressive role in the field of literary creations conducive to the on-going Renaissance movement, national freedom struggle and the movement for social revolution. Through his writings, Saratchandra did convey the most advanced thoughts of his time. But he did so through the weaving of stories, through the medium of rasa. He never resorted to theoretical discourse to convey his ideas. And herein lies his greatest worth and success as a litterateur.
So, we see, because of such an objective and scientific outlook and approach of Saratchandra, there arose a great difference between him and Rabindranath on the question of how to fight superstition. It is quite natural that any rational man would regard superstition and casteism as social vices. During the days of struggle for independence, no great men of our country ever supported these practices, but as regards the very method of fighting these vices Saratchandra was not in agreement with Rabindranath and others. Saratchandra knew that the ritualistic practices of untouchability and casteism, prevalent among the people, are nothing but superstition. When, through long practice, something develops into a social habit -- without judging right or wrong, when people get accustomed to abide by it -- it becomes a kind of deep-rooted prejudice, a superstition. Saratchandra tried to explain this problem in many of his articles and short stories. Citing instances, he shows how even a loving mother weeps haunted by the fear of her son becoming an outcast by going to a foreign land. On his return, if he falls ill, she does not fail to nurse him with supreme affection and endurance, caring little for her food ; but thereafter, she will take her food only after a bath in the holy water of the Ganga. Tears may roll down her cheeks, still she would not take the food touched by her outcast son. When superstition is so deep-rooted, can it be eradicated by such naive logic as Gurudev[5] has advanced : 'Is man inferior to even a cat ? How is it then that the sanctity of your caste remains unaffected even when your pussy cat eats from your dish, but is lost at once when a person of lower caste or of different religion touches you !' With deep pain Saratchandra replied with a tinge of banter to Rabindranath, wondering how plants and animals could at all enter into discussions on human problems. And how do such examples help ? What do they prove at all ? "The right and wrong of human conduct can never be judged by such sophistries as why a cat is favoured to sit on one's lap, or an ant is allowed to creep into one's dish. ...However apt it may sound, or however dazzling it may appear, on close scrutiny such kind of analogy turns out to be of little worth". On Rabindranath's remark -- "When the pet cat of a Brahmin lady sits on her lap with 'unclean mouth',[6]her purity is not blemished, she does not object" -- Saratchandra said in jest : "Probably she does not ; but how does it help ? Citing the example of cats, one cannot argue : You do not object when a cat, an inferior animal, sits on your lap. I am a much superior being ; naturally, therefore, you should not refuse my sitting on your lap". Is this a logic at all ? Those who properly understand the problem of casteism know that it is not so simple that one refuses to take food from an outcaste or a lower caste person out of disrespect only. Where there is not even the slightest disrespect, where there is the deepest of love and affection, even there superstition stands in the way of accepting food. He tried to highlight this problem by depicting the character of Ram Babu in his novelGrihadaha. He showed how prejudice instantaneously turned such a kind and affectionate man into a rigid and rude one. When his love and affection for Achala had almost taken him out of the narrow bounds of religion, how his prejudice, all at once, turned him, a man with great emotion and compassion, into almost a brute. So, by portraying the characters in this way, by evoking pain and anguish in the minds of the readers, Saratchandra tried to make them realize that these norms, rituals and superstitions and adherence to casteism and untouchability, which make man inhuman, make him forget his duties and responsibilities, dry up his feelings and emotion, should better be rejected. He wanted to fight out these superstitions by arousing pathos and compassion in man. Because he knew it well that without developing a social movement against all sorts of prejudices and superstitions, without striking at the very roots of these social evils, the society cannot be freed from their pernicious effects. Once he remarked with pain that a man like Vidyasagar had tried to introduce widow-marriage in revolt against the society without paying heed to the then social mind ; he had tried to do it with the help of legislation, and had even arranged marriage of a few widows. Yet he had failed to really introduce widow-marriage, because it had not taken the form of a social movement. If it would have assumed that character it would have succeeded. Though widow marriage got legal sanction, still prejudice about widow-marriage remained entrenched in the social mind. If the contemporary authors, by arousing pathos and compassion, could have changed the attitude and mental make-up of the people and could have convinced them of its necessity, then an opinion might have developed in society in favour of its introduction. This can be achieved not by simply harping on its necessity in articles or speeches, but by bringing the issue into bold relief through sympathetic and beautiful portrayal of the pathos of widows to arouse compassion in the minds of the readers -- as, for example, Saratchandra has artistically done in the episode of Roma and Ramesh. 2ff7e9595c
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