Sunday, January 5, 2014
The Battle of the Books-Jonathan Swift
Origin- Ancient versus Moderns Controversy
Swift’s The Battle of the Books was published in 1704 along with “A Tale of a Tub”. It is directly the product of a literary controversy regarding the comparative merits of the ancients and the moderns. (By the ancients we mean the writers of ancient Greece and Rome, the classical writers as we call them. The moderns are the European and English writers of a later date, generally those of the medieval age and later).
The controversy began in France. Bernard Fontenelle , a minor writer of the age of King Louis XIV published in 1688 a collection of his poems with a preface in which he claimed superiority for the moderns over the ancients not only in philosophy and mathematics but also in poetry and oratory. The next writer to deal with the question was Charles Perrault . In his poem The Age of Louis XIV, he made the claim that the moderns were superior. One of the moderns, the famous critic, Boileau (1631 -1711) disclaimed the honour and reiterated the orthodox view that the ancients were superior. Perrault continued his comparative studies undeterredly and he succeeded in dividing the French literary world into two opposing camps.
In England, Dryden’s Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668) was published twenty years before Fontenelle’s Prefaces. In it, there is a comparative study of ancient and modern drama. But the controversy was introduced into England by Sir William Temple’s Of Ancient and Modern Learning (1692). After summing up the controversy, he expressed his own view that the ancients were superior to the moderns. (He mentioned the Fables of Aesop and the Letters of Phalaris as specimens of great ancient literature. He didn’t go deep into the disputed question of authenticity).
But before this, William Wotton published a reply to Temple’s essay in his Reflections on Ancient and Modern Learning (1693). It is a corrective to the partisan attitude of Temple. It sought to give an impartial summing up of the merits of the writers belonging to both groups. Swift, however, in The Battle of the Books deals with Wotton as a champion of the moderns and adversary of the ancients.
Richard Bentley, the librarian of Royal Library at St. James held the view that Letters of Phalaris were forgeries at a later date and the Fables of Aesop were orally handed down for two centuries. As Bentley’s dissertation struck a heavy blow to Sir William Temple’s prestige, Swift came to the rescue of his patron, Temple by writing The Battle of the Books.
The Battle of the Books-The Spider and the Bee Episode
“The Battle of the Books” begins with a note from the bookseller to the reader, telling the reader that it refers to a “famous dispute … about ancient and modern learning.” Sir William Temple had taken the side of the ancients against Charles Boyle, who had praised the ancient writer Phalaris, but Wotton and Bentley had taken Boyle’s side. The controversy led to a battle between the books themselves, literally, in the King’s library. The manuscript about the battle is incomplete, so we still do not know who won.
Then comes a preface from the author in which the nature of satire is discussed. Most people do not see themselves in the satire, seeing only others, and it is not a problem when someone sees himself and get offended, since in anger his counter-arguments are weak. Weak satires apply “wit without knowledge,” while strong ones have depth.
The main tale begins with reflections about the causes of battles: mainly, pride and want. Like dogs, people fight over scarce resources but tend to be at peace during times of plenty.
The battle began, the story goes, when the Moderns, occupying the lower of the two tops of the hill Parnassus, grew jealous of the Ancients on the higher one. The Moderns offered to trade places or else to shovel down the higher hill, as a way of avoiding war, but the Ancients rejected the offer, surprised by the newcomers’ insolence. The Moderns should raise themselves up instead. Yet the Moderns rejected that alternative and, being of greater numbers, always with new if weak recruits, chose war, with the pen as the chosen weapon. Despite defeats, both sides set up victory marks.
When the tales of victory are repeated often enough, the two sides become entrenched in “books of controversy” in the library. For example, Scotus made trouble for Plato by turning Aristotle against him, which led to a policy whereby upstarts would be chained up and kept away from the others. This policy worked until the Moderns became a force to be reckoned with, despite being “light-headed.” Many of the Ancients had gotten out of place in the library as well, being stuck among the crowd of Moderns.
When the Moderns got ready for warfare, they got their best armor (ideas) from the Ancients. They claimed to be original, though, and since most of them had shoddy armor of their own making, Plato saw them and laughed in agreement that it was all their own.
There is a well-fed spider whose web-fortress is decorated “in the modern style” and who is best at science and mathematics. There is also a bee, who argues for the ancient values of “long search, much study, true judgment, and distinction of things” after getting caught briefly in the spider's web. The books are so transfixed by the discourse of the spider and the bee that they cease to quarrel.
Aesop takes the opportunity to escape to the side of the Ancients, remarking, characteristically, that the argument between bee and spider is a good allegory for that between Ancients and Moderns: the spider boasts “of his native stock and great genius,” particularly in architecture and mathematics, while the bee and the Ancients are content “to pretend to nothing of our own beyond our wings and our voice” and “whatever [else] we have got has been by infinite labour and search, and ranging through every corner of nature.”
This reflection inspires the books to prepare for battle, so they retreat to opposite sides of the library to choose their leaders and make their strategy. The moderns have lots of ugly weapons, some bulky fighters “without either arms, courage, or discipline,” including Aquinas, and a crowd of “disorderly” and generally worthless writers. There are far more Moderns than Ancients, the Ancients being primarily Greeks (Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Euclid, Herodotus) but also Romans such as Livy.
Fate alerts Jove about the impending battle, and (similarly to Homer’s Iliad) there is a big meeting of the gods. Momus is on the side the Moderns; Pallas (Athena or her close relative) is on the side of the Ancients. Jove consults the book of Fate and learns what will happen regarding the battle, but he tells nobody.
Momus engages with the Goddess Criticism in order to gain victory. She sits upon a mountain next to Ignorance and Pride, her parents, along with others including Opinion, Noise, and the like. After hearing of the battle, she proceeds to dispense her critical bile where it can be made use of—especially in England. She arrives at the library to see her son Wotton. She disguises herself as Bentley (the book version) to speak with him. She encourages him and leaves helpers with him (named Dulness and Ill-manners).
The battle finally begins. Details of the battle, we learn, are missing in some of the alleged gaps in the text. Aristotle flings an arrow at Bacon, which misses and hits Descartes. Homer kills many. Virgil is a bit slow and his helmet is too big. Dryden appears, claiming descent from Virgil, and tricks Virgil into changing armor with him. (Virgil’s was better.)
The Roman poet Lucan and the Modern epic poet Blackmore agree to exchange gifts and fight no more. The goddess Dulness gives the translator Thomas Creech a flying figure of the poet Horace to fight, but it goes badly for him—in the tradition of another poor translator, John Ogleby. The Greek poet Pindar slays many and finally faces the Modern named Abraham Cowley, to whom Pindar shows no mercy and cuts in two. Venus takes the better half of his body.
After another gap in the text comes “The Episode of Bentley and Wotton.” The Moderns are almost ready to retreat when Bentley takes up their cause. He is contentious and “malignant,” having a talent of lowbrow “railing,” which is serviceable enough in politics, at least. He is rude to the Moderns and turns to his friend Wotton for help, The two of them march past the tomb of Aldrovandus, the Modern naturalist.
They find two Ancients asleep. Bentley goes forward while Wotton stands back. Bentley is about to kill an Ancient, when Affright (a child of one of the deities), sensing danger, stops him, with the two Ancients scaring him simply by moving in their sleep. He at least takes their armor.
Wotton, meanwhile, tries to drink at the fountain on Mt. Helicon (sacred to the Muses; the fountain is named Helicon), but Apollo prevents him from getting anything but mud. Wotton attempts to kill Sir William Temple (a Modern who seems to be on the Ancients’ side) with divine help, but fails. Apollo is so furious at Wotton's attempt that Apollo orders Boyle to get revenge. Boyle catches up to the fleeing Wotton but, seeing Bentley with the armor, chases Bentley. The three of them fight. The divine Pallas helps Boyle. Bentley and Wotton are killed with a single stroke, and the two men die intertwined, almost indistinguishable from one another, like a pair of skewered woodcocks.
Analysis
Although the bookseller suggests that this story is not allegorical and not about real people, this story is very much an allegory. While the books may not be interchangeable with the authors, they at least represent the ideas contained within the books. It is not literally a battle of books. One can go far, however, simply by putting Swift’s words in present-day English. Just restating the story in one’s own words is in itself a demonstration of understanding, for doing so requires the reader to unravel the allegory.
The more you know of the works of each author mentioned, the better able you will be to see Swift’s jokes and evaluate the claims behind them. For instance, is the great theologian Aquinas really “without either arms, courage, or discipline,” or is this just an anti-religious bias? Is Thomas Creech really that bad a translator of Horace that the best way to (humorously) portray him is that he was pursuing a flying vision of Horace, created out of dullness, that was not even the real Horace? Homer is incredibly strong and able, implying that Swift considered him one of the best Ancients, defeating other writers with his works. When Aristotle flings an arrow at Bacon but hits Descartes, Swift is implying that Aristotle’s work is superior to that of Descartes but perhaps not to Bacon’s.
The allegory also works at a more general level. For example, the offer to level the Ancients’ hill is a dig against the Moderns, who the author here casts as young upstarts who, at least in the eyes of the Ancients, should be grateful that they can labor under the protection of the Ancients’ longstanding achievements. Instead, the Moderns seem to make a business out of rooting out problems in the Ancients’ writings. The moderns are “light” intellectually but have large rears, yet they at least have numbers on their side.
The spider and bee also rather transparently represent, respectively, the Moderns and the Ancients. The spider is known for the scientific precision in his intricate web, yet the bee points out that he eats bugs instead of the nectar of better things, spewing out bile instead of honey, suggesting the relative advantages of each group.
It takes someone with knowledge of the Ancients to appreciate many of Swift’s flourishes; the preference once again is for the Ancients. When it is said of the bee in the spider’s web, “Thrice he endeavoured to force his passage, and thrice the centre shook,” this is an allusion to dramatic passages of Homer, where for example Odysseus “thrice” tries to reach out for his mother in the Underworld. Likewise, the intervention of the gods in a battle is most likely an allusion to Homer’s Iliad. The activity of the Goddess of Criticism with respect to her son Wotton, and the scenes of the battle in general, reflect similar scenes in the Iliad. The Iliad, for instance, contains an exchange of armor that is similar to the one here.
When the author “petition[s] for a hundred tongues, and mouths, and hands, and pens” in order to tell the tale of the battle itself, he is indeed drawing on epic writers, mainly Ancients, who called on the gods to help give them the language they need to capture the details. Aesop, master of fables (involving animals that signify humans), of course could be mistaken for a Modern when he takes the form of an ass.
Swift uses the deities to make further suggestions about the Ancients and Moderns. The Goddess of Criticism supports the Moderns along with Momus, god of satire, implying that criticism and mockery characterize the Moderns’ writings. Swift of course is a modern satirist, so this does not simply mean that the modern satirists are all bad. Remember that there is “criticism” but also “true criticism,” according to Swift's “Digression of the Modern Kind” in A Tale of a Tub. This Goddess, however, seems to represent much the worst kind, given her description as something like an ass full of spleen. The gods, for the most part, take the side of the Ancients and those few Moderns who are on the side of the Ancients.
In the final section, Swift parodies Bentley’s and Wotton’s close intellectual friendship and relatively weak abilities to fight the Ancients or even to drink at their fountain of wisdom. At the end, they are bound together just like in real life (in one book, both of their writings were bound together), basically indistinguishable. It is also comical that the great authors somehow need the help of these two men. It is fitting that when they die at the end, the battle rages on perfectly well without them. This is a lesson for other critics.
The gaps in the text permit Swift to turn easily from one topic to another. They also suggest the high degree to which the battle is unfinished, both overall and in the details of the conflicts between specific individuals. That the story ends without a conclusion might suggest the futility of the entire argument between Ancients and Moderns, since both sides have their virtues and each writer should be taken on his own merits. Given the intervention of the gods and the looming prophecy of Fate, there might not be much that men can do to affect the outcome.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
SWIFT:GULLIVER'S TRAVELS
1. How did Lemuel Gulliver come to Lilliput?
2. How was Gulliver taken to Mildendo, the capital city of Lilliput?
Lemuel Gulliver was the son of a land owner in England, His ambition was to travel and hence he became a doctor. As a doctor on board a ship, he travelled all over the world. Gulliver’s Travels is the strangest story of the voyages he undertook. In Part I, Gulliver tells the story of his shipwreck on the island of Lilliput.
In May, 1699, the journey started. Near the coast of Sumatra, a terrible storm arose. The ship was broken into pieces by the tidal waves. All died except six of the crew. Gulliver was one of the crew who escaped in a boat. After travelling three miles, the boat was turned over by a mountainous wave; Gulliver was the only man to swim the land. The land to which he came was a strange and lonely place. He was tired and soon he fell asleep on the grass.
When he woke up, he could not move as his legs and hair were tied down to the ground. He heard the hum of feeble voices. He was frightened and puzzled. Now he felt the movement of a large insect like being. When it came into his sight, he could see a tiny man less than six inches high. Along with the tiny man, forty little men were marching on Gulliver’s chest with bows and arrows. When he cried out, all ran away. Then all came back and climbed over his body. Gulliver could not understand their language. When he freed his left arm, loosened his hair and seized the little men, they ran away once again but hit his hand with a hundred arrows. He decided to lie still.
More and more little men came around Gulliver and built a stage about 18 inches high. An important officer climbed to the top of the stage and made a long speech. From the speech, Gulliver guessed that he had come to a country called ‘Lilliput’. After the speech, he put his finger in his mouth showing that he was hungry. He was given many baskets of meat and vegetable which were small in size. Barrels of water were brought for him. The Lilliputians danced on him with excitement. Then an official came up his chest with an order from the king of Lilliput that Gulliver should be taken to the capital city, Mildendo. The Lilliputians made Gulliver sleep with medicine mixed in water.
Five hundred carpenters and engineers built a cart to carry Gulliver to Mildendo. The cart was seven feet long and four feet wide. Nine hundred strong men lifted Gulliver on the cart with ropes. Fifteen hundred horses (each four inches high) pulled the cart. After travelling for two days, Gulliver reached Mildendo. Many people had come there to see the arrival of man-mountain (Gulliver was called so). The king had come with his family and servants. Until Gulliver was securely tied, the king was not allowed to see him. A house (once a temple) was ready for Gulliver. Though it was a big building, it was too small for Gulliver. He was just able to creep and lie down there. He was tied with ninety chains and thirty three locks.
The king who was watching from a tower came down now and had a close look at Gulliver, the man mountain. He spoke at him several times. But neither of them understood the other. Priests and lawyers tried to speak to Gulliver. Gulliver replied in the languages he knew. Nobody understood him. Some citizens foolishly shot arrows at Gulliver. The captain of the guard prevented this. As a punishment, he captured six of them and gave them to Gulliver. The crowd was afraid now. Then Gulliver took them in his right hand and put five of them in his coat pocket. With an angry face, he pretended to eat the sixth man. He took the pen knife. Everyone pitied him. Gulliver put him gently on the ground. One by one ,the other five prisoners were released. The crowd was relieved .The soldiers and the people were pleased by Gulliver’s kindness.
3. How did Gulliver make friends with the people of Lilliput?
After Gulliver was taken to Mildendo, crowds of people came to see him from every corner of the island. Villages were almost empty. The farm work was neglected. The king ordered that no one could visit Gulliver more than once. Many advisers warned the king of the danger of keeping Gulliver alive. They feared that Gulliver might destroy the kingdom with his great strength or ruin Lilliput if the people had to provide him with a large quantity of food. The advisers wanted Gulliver to starve or to be killed with poisoned arrows.
The king, pleased with Gulliver’s gentle behavior and kindness towards six prisoners decided to keep him alive. He ordered the villagers near Mildendo to bring sixty cattle, forty sheep, and a great quantity of bread and milk everyday. Six hundred servants were employed to look after Gulliver. Three hundred tailors were set to work to make a suit of clothes. (Gulliver got down on his knees so that the tailors could climb up his shoulders using ladders. Tapes were dropped to the ground and Gulliver was measured.). Clothes were made of hundreds of small pieces.
Three hundred cooks lived in huts near Gulliver’s house. He made himself a low table and a chair. His meals were served on this table. He would eat fifty or sixty dishes of their food. One day the king with his family dined with Gulliver. Every one was happy except the Treasurer (who was worried about the cost). Six of the king’s wisest teachers taught Gulliver the language of Lilliput. Very soon he learnt it. The king himself helped him in the lessons .Gulliver’s first request was to give him freedom.The king replied that before Gulliver was released, he must be sure that the latter would do no harm to Lilliputians. Then Gulliver’s pockets were checked by the officers so as to remove any weapons.Gilliver helped them to do the search. He handed over the gun to them (Before that he fired it once into the air and those around him fell to the ground in fear) His sword was also taken from him.
Gulliver was gentle with the Lilliputians in order to earn liberty. Sometimes he would let people dance on his hand. He allowed boys and girls to play ‘hide and seek’ in his hair. Now he began to talk about tight-rope dancing. Applicants for official posts had to prove their skill in this sport. Those who jumped highest on a white thread hung three feet above the ground were judged successful in the examination. Many were killed. Gulliver arranged an entertainment for the king. He made a platform by tying his handkerchief to the tops of nine trees. A small army of soldiers and horses marched about on it and gave the king much amusement. One day it had to be stopped as a horse ‘kicked’ and put a hole in the handkerchief. A written agreement was drawn up after the king was sure of Gulliver’s friendship. The king decided to set Gulliver free on condition that he should not leave the kingdom without permission, that he should not injure anybody that he was not to enter Mildendo without warning that he had to keep to the main roads and not lie down in the main fields. Gulliver agreed to deliver any express letters for the king and to help the workmen in lifting heavy stones for the royal palace. For these promises, he was untied and given freedom. Food was sent to him everyday. He was treated with kindness and consideration.
4. How did Gulliver defeat the enemies of Lilliput?
Gulliver came to know that there was a hatred between the two political parties of Lilliput, called the High Heels and the Low Heels were in power. At present the Low Heels were in power. The king wore heels lower than those of anyone else in the country. The people of Lilliput were worried because the heir to the throne wore one high heel and one low heel giving an impression that he might favour his High Heel friends in government offices.
Lilliput was also in danger of invasion from abroad-especially from an island called ‘Blefuscu, as large and powerful as Lilliput. The Lilliputians thought that there were no other countries except their own and Blefuscu. The two countries had been at war with each other for three years.The cause of the war was ridiculous. The great grandfather of the present king of Lilliput made a law that everyone in Lilliput had to open the eggs at the smaller end. The reason was that when his son (the grandfather of the present king) cut his finger when he broke an egg at the big end. This law made the people angry. They did not want to change their habit of opening the eggs at the big end. Hence there were six rebellions in Lilliput. One king had lost his life and another his crown during rebellions.
The rebels had moved to Blefuscu. They were called ‘Big Endians’. The Big Endians were helped by the king of Blefuscu. At the time Gulliver arrived, Lilliput was weaker than Blefuscu. Blefuscu had a powerful fleet of ships. Gulliver sent a message to the king of Lilliput that he was ready to risk his life for protecting Lilliput against Blefuscu.
The island of Blefescu lies northeast of Lilliput. The strip of water is six feet deep in the middle. Gulliver examined the enemy fleet by looking across the water. Fifty warships like toy boats and a large number of ships were ready for the attack. Gulliver wanted to take immediate action as Lilliput had only a few ships. He prepared a long rope and fifty hooks. He swam across the water with the rope and hooks. The enemies were frightened when he rose out of water. He didn’t hurt anyone when they jumped over board from their ship. He fastened the hooks to the front of each warship and tied them together on the rope. Before he finished his work, the enemies shot poisoned arrows at him. Though they caused pain, Gulliver began to pull on the rope but the ships didn’t move as they were anchored. He cut the anchor ropes with his pen knife. Then he safely swam to Lilliput with the ships while the enemies shouted with helpless anger. The king of Lilliput with a great crowd of people received Gulliver with praise. He also honoured Gulliver with the highest title Nardac. Thus Gulliver defeated the enemies of Lilliput.
5. How did the enemies of Gulliver plan to destroy him?
After Gulliver defeated the enemies of Lilliput, the king of Lilliput wanted to make Blefuscu into a colony of Lilliput. He wanted Gulliver to capture the rest of the Blefuscu ships. As Gulliver did not like to carry on the quarrel between the two countries, the king became angry with him. When Gulliver asked the king to allow him to visit the king of Blefuscu, the king began to suspect him.
One night a friendly officer went to Gulliver’s house and informed him that the Treasurer in the kingdom to Lilliput had accused Gulliver of disloyalty to Lilliput. The officer also told Gulliver that the latter was going to be put to death. The Treasurer and his friends advised the king to burn Gulliver alive or to kill him with poisoned arrows. The king intended to put Gulliver’s eyes out and to starve him slowly to death. After listening to plan of the king of Lilliputian from the friendly officer, Gulliver decided to run away. He was not ready to wait patiently for punishment.
Gulliver wrote a letter to the king that he wanted to be away for a few days and would come back soon. He pretended ignorance regarding the plan of the king to kill him. Taking one of the warships with him, Gulliver swam across the ocean and reached Blefuscu.
When Gulliver reached the island of Blefuscu, all the little people there ran about in all directions like ants out of fear. Gulliver left the ship with all his possessions in the water and sought the help of guides to go to the capital city of Blefuscu, all. He showed the people that he had come as a friend by his behaviour. With the help of two little guides Gulliver reached the town and met the king of Blefusco. He did not tell him the hatred of the king of Lilliput. He lay down on the ground and kissed the king’s hand to show his friendship. The king of Blefusco received Gulliver with kindness and ordered his servants to make him comfortable. Gulliver stayed on the island of Blefescu for a few days and planned for his escape to his own country.
6. How did Gulliver escape from his enemies and returned to his own country?
Though Gulliver came to the island of Blefuscu and enjoyed a comfortable stay, he did not feel safe. He wanted to return to his own country and his family. It was difficult for him to build a big boat in Blefuscu for his sea voyage. One day he saw a big boat floating upside down on the water. He sought the help of the king of Blefuscu to bring to land. The king lent him ten of his biggest ships and three thousand sailors under the command of an Admiral. With their help, Gulliver brought the boat to the land. He made some oars from the biggest trees and rowed the boat. The people of Blefuscu wondered at the size of the boat.
Now Gulliver needed much help to make the boat ready for the journey- sails, food and drinks. Before he got the help from the king of Blefuscu, the king of Lilliput had sent a message that Gulliver should be sent back to Lilliput for punishment. He added that Gulliver had to be bound head and foot. The king of Blefuscu secretly asked Gulliver to enter his service. As Gulliver did not like the service of kings, he replied that he had to return to his country. This reply was acceptable to the king of Blefuscu and he wrote to the king of Lilliput that it was very difficult to bind Gulliver head and foot. He also told the Lilliputian king that Gulliver was ready to sail away in the newly found boat to his country.
Without waiting for an answer, the king of Blefuscu gave Gulliver all that he needed. Sails and masts were ready. Gulliver made the ropes himself. He packed the boat with the meat of one hundred cattle and three hundred sheep, six live cows, two bulls and sheep were added to the stores of Gulliver. The king forbade Gulliver to take any of the little people with him. He gave him as a present fifty purses, each containing two hundred gold coins and a life size of painting of himself. Gulliver said good bye to all and sailed away, leaving behind the strange countries of Lilliput and Blefuscu. There was good wind behind him and in three days he was able to see a ship bound for England. The captain of the ship welcomed Gulliver with kindness and thus Gulliver reached his country.
Satire and Allegory in Gulliver’s Travels
‘Gulliver’s Travels’ was one of the last works of Swift to be published during his exile in Ireland (1726). While in London, Swift along with Pope others formed ‘Scriblerus Club’ and planned a satire on the vices of mankind in the form of the ‘Memories of Martin Scriblerus’. He was to contribute an account of Martin’s voyages into the unknown parts of the world, Parts of ‘Memories of Scriblerus’ published by Pope bear close resemblance to Gulliver’s voyages. ‘Gulliver’s Travels’- atleast its first two books is so entrancing like fairy tales. But there is much more in it than a fairy tale. Critics have unfolded a political allegory in it.
In Part I, Lilliput is England after the Treaty of Utrecht. The people are reduced in stature with their vices magnified. Blefuscu is France. The Emperor is George I and his ministers are the corrupt Whig statesmen. Gulliver is Bolingbroke who has done so much for his country and yet suffers because of the ingratitude of the king and his ministers. The queen is Queen Anne. Flimnap, the prime minister of Lilliput – a fine rope dancer -represents Walpole, a slippery opportunist who could so easily change his policies.Skyresh Bolgolam, the naval chief, represents Nottingham,England’s First Lord of Admiralty. (The Lilliputian emperor fancying himself to be the terror of the universe satirises the absurd ambitions of kings in general. In his boundless ambition, he wants Gulliver, after he had destroyed the navy of Blefuscu, to crush the country completely. When Gulliver refuses to do that, the Emperor wants to put out his eyes and starve him to death.
Gulliver does a timely service to the Queen by putting out the fire in her place by urinating over it. Instead of being grateful to Gulliver, she becomes very angry with him. So also, Swift had done a great service to his Queen by writing ‘A Tale of a Tub’ condemning Roman Catholics and Dissenters. But instead of thanking Swift, Queen Anne became so angry with him as to bar him once and for all from becoming a Bishop.
Among the Lilliputians, there are two parties distinguished by High Heels and Low Heels (corresponding to the Tories and the Whigs respectively). There are the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians corresponding to Roman Catholics and the Protestants. The Emperor of Lilliput favouring the Low Heels and the Little Endians refers to George I favouring the Whigs and the Protestants. The thousands of High Heels and Big Endians taking refuge in Blefescu is a satire on the Tories and Roman Catholics being exiled to France. The award of green, red and blue ribbons by the emperor of Lilliput to courtiers who cut the highest capers is a satire on George I’s presentation of various orders to his favourites. The impeachment of Gulliver in Lilliput is a satire on the impeachment of Bolingbroke, Oxford and Ormond.
In Part II, Swift’s satire is more general. Satire was the predominant motive in all writings of Swift. Even in this apparent fairy tale, it can be seen looming so large. Much of the satire in it ,however, is impersonal and directed against human nature. It has not offended much as Swift once wrote.
No individual could resent, where thousands equally were meant. In a way it was good that Swift generalized his satire. For personal satire is short lived, perishable like Pope’s Dunciad But the butts of Swift’s satire in ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ –man’s pride, ambition, treachery and ingratitude are changeless, and that explains the perennial interest of the book.
2. How was Gulliver taken to Mildendo, the capital city of Lilliput?
Lemuel Gulliver was the son of a land owner in England, His ambition was to travel and hence he became a doctor. As a doctor on board a ship, he travelled all over the world. Gulliver’s Travels is the strangest story of the voyages he undertook. In Part I, Gulliver tells the story of his shipwreck on the island of Lilliput.
In May, 1699, the journey started. Near the coast of Sumatra, a terrible storm arose. The ship was broken into pieces by the tidal waves. All died except six of the crew. Gulliver was one of the crew who escaped in a boat. After travelling three miles, the boat was turned over by a mountainous wave; Gulliver was the only man to swim the land. The land to which he came was a strange and lonely place. He was tired and soon he fell asleep on the grass.
When he woke up, he could not move as his legs and hair were tied down to the ground. He heard the hum of feeble voices. He was frightened and puzzled. Now he felt the movement of a large insect like being. When it came into his sight, he could see a tiny man less than six inches high. Along with the tiny man, forty little men were marching on Gulliver’s chest with bows and arrows. When he cried out, all ran away. Then all came back and climbed over his body. Gulliver could not understand their language. When he freed his left arm, loosened his hair and seized the little men, they ran away once again but hit his hand with a hundred arrows. He decided to lie still.
More and more little men came around Gulliver and built a stage about 18 inches high. An important officer climbed to the top of the stage and made a long speech. From the speech, Gulliver guessed that he had come to a country called ‘Lilliput’. After the speech, he put his finger in his mouth showing that he was hungry. He was given many baskets of meat and vegetable which were small in size. Barrels of water were brought for him. The Lilliputians danced on him with excitement. Then an official came up his chest with an order from the king of Lilliput that Gulliver should be taken to the capital city, Mildendo. The Lilliputians made Gulliver sleep with medicine mixed in water.
Five hundred carpenters and engineers built a cart to carry Gulliver to Mildendo. The cart was seven feet long and four feet wide. Nine hundred strong men lifted Gulliver on the cart with ropes. Fifteen hundred horses (each four inches high) pulled the cart. After travelling for two days, Gulliver reached Mildendo. Many people had come there to see the arrival of man-mountain (Gulliver was called so). The king had come with his family and servants. Until Gulliver was securely tied, the king was not allowed to see him. A house (once a temple) was ready for Gulliver. Though it was a big building, it was too small for Gulliver. He was just able to creep and lie down there. He was tied with ninety chains and thirty three locks.
The king who was watching from a tower came down now and had a close look at Gulliver, the man mountain. He spoke at him several times. But neither of them understood the other. Priests and lawyers tried to speak to Gulliver. Gulliver replied in the languages he knew. Nobody understood him. Some citizens foolishly shot arrows at Gulliver. The captain of the guard prevented this. As a punishment, he captured six of them and gave them to Gulliver. The crowd was afraid now. Then Gulliver took them in his right hand and put five of them in his coat pocket. With an angry face, he pretended to eat the sixth man. He took the pen knife. Everyone pitied him. Gulliver put him gently on the ground. One by one ,the other five prisoners were released. The crowd was relieved .The soldiers and the people were pleased by Gulliver’s kindness.
3. How did Gulliver make friends with the people of Lilliput?
After Gulliver was taken to Mildendo, crowds of people came to see him from every corner of the island. Villages were almost empty. The farm work was neglected. The king ordered that no one could visit Gulliver more than once. Many advisers warned the king of the danger of keeping Gulliver alive. They feared that Gulliver might destroy the kingdom with his great strength or ruin Lilliput if the people had to provide him with a large quantity of food. The advisers wanted Gulliver to starve or to be killed with poisoned arrows.
The king, pleased with Gulliver’s gentle behavior and kindness towards six prisoners decided to keep him alive. He ordered the villagers near Mildendo to bring sixty cattle, forty sheep, and a great quantity of bread and milk everyday. Six hundred servants were employed to look after Gulliver. Three hundred tailors were set to work to make a suit of clothes. (Gulliver got down on his knees so that the tailors could climb up his shoulders using ladders. Tapes were dropped to the ground and Gulliver was measured.). Clothes were made of hundreds of small pieces.
Three hundred cooks lived in huts near Gulliver’s house. He made himself a low table and a chair. His meals were served on this table. He would eat fifty or sixty dishes of their food. One day the king with his family dined with Gulliver. Every one was happy except the Treasurer (who was worried about the cost). Six of the king’s wisest teachers taught Gulliver the language of Lilliput. Very soon he learnt it. The king himself helped him in the lessons .Gulliver’s first request was to give him freedom.The king replied that before Gulliver was released, he must be sure that the latter would do no harm to Lilliputians. Then Gulliver’s pockets were checked by the officers so as to remove any weapons.Gilliver helped them to do the search. He handed over the gun to them (Before that he fired it once into the air and those around him fell to the ground in fear) His sword was also taken from him.
Gulliver was gentle with the Lilliputians in order to earn liberty. Sometimes he would let people dance on his hand. He allowed boys and girls to play ‘hide and seek’ in his hair. Now he began to talk about tight-rope dancing. Applicants for official posts had to prove their skill in this sport. Those who jumped highest on a white thread hung three feet above the ground were judged successful in the examination. Many were killed. Gulliver arranged an entertainment for the king. He made a platform by tying his handkerchief to the tops of nine trees. A small army of soldiers and horses marched about on it and gave the king much amusement. One day it had to be stopped as a horse ‘kicked’ and put a hole in the handkerchief. A written agreement was drawn up after the king was sure of Gulliver’s friendship. The king decided to set Gulliver free on condition that he should not leave the kingdom without permission, that he should not injure anybody that he was not to enter Mildendo without warning that he had to keep to the main roads and not lie down in the main fields. Gulliver agreed to deliver any express letters for the king and to help the workmen in lifting heavy stones for the royal palace. For these promises, he was untied and given freedom. Food was sent to him everyday. He was treated with kindness and consideration.
4. How did Gulliver defeat the enemies of Lilliput?
Gulliver came to know that there was a hatred between the two political parties of Lilliput, called the High Heels and the Low Heels were in power. At present the Low Heels were in power. The king wore heels lower than those of anyone else in the country. The people of Lilliput were worried because the heir to the throne wore one high heel and one low heel giving an impression that he might favour his High Heel friends in government offices.
Lilliput was also in danger of invasion from abroad-especially from an island called ‘Blefuscu, as large and powerful as Lilliput. The Lilliputians thought that there were no other countries except their own and Blefuscu. The two countries had been at war with each other for three years.The cause of the war was ridiculous. The great grandfather of the present king of Lilliput made a law that everyone in Lilliput had to open the eggs at the smaller end. The reason was that when his son (the grandfather of the present king) cut his finger when he broke an egg at the big end. This law made the people angry. They did not want to change their habit of opening the eggs at the big end. Hence there were six rebellions in Lilliput. One king had lost his life and another his crown during rebellions.
The rebels had moved to Blefuscu. They were called ‘Big Endians’. The Big Endians were helped by the king of Blefuscu. At the time Gulliver arrived, Lilliput was weaker than Blefuscu. Blefuscu had a powerful fleet of ships. Gulliver sent a message to the king of Lilliput that he was ready to risk his life for protecting Lilliput against Blefuscu.
The island of Blefescu lies northeast of Lilliput. The strip of water is six feet deep in the middle. Gulliver examined the enemy fleet by looking across the water. Fifty warships like toy boats and a large number of ships were ready for the attack. Gulliver wanted to take immediate action as Lilliput had only a few ships. He prepared a long rope and fifty hooks. He swam across the water with the rope and hooks. The enemies were frightened when he rose out of water. He didn’t hurt anyone when they jumped over board from their ship. He fastened the hooks to the front of each warship and tied them together on the rope. Before he finished his work, the enemies shot poisoned arrows at him. Though they caused pain, Gulliver began to pull on the rope but the ships didn’t move as they were anchored. He cut the anchor ropes with his pen knife. Then he safely swam to Lilliput with the ships while the enemies shouted with helpless anger. The king of Lilliput with a great crowd of people received Gulliver with praise. He also honoured Gulliver with the highest title Nardac. Thus Gulliver defeated the enemies of Lilliput.
5. How did the enemies of Gulliver plan to destroy him?
After Gulliver defeated the enemies of Lilliput, the king of Lilliput wanted to make Blefuscu into a colony of Lilliput. He wanted Gulliver to capture the rest of the Blefuscu ships. As Gulliver did not like to carry on the quarrel between the two countries, the king became angry with him. When Gulliver asked the king to allow him to visit the king of Blefuscu, the king began to suspect him.
One night a friendly officer went to Gulliver’s house and informed him that the Treasurer in the kingdom to Lilliput had accused Gulliver of disloyalty to Lilliput. The officer also told Gulliver that the latter was going to be put to death. The Treasurer and his friends advised the king to burn Gulliver alive or to kill him with poisoned arrows. The king intended to put Gulliver’s eyes out and to starve him slowly to death. After listening to plan of the king of Lilliputian from the friendly officer, Gulliver decided to run away. He was not ready to wait patiently for punishment.
Gulliver wrote a letter to the king that he wanted to be away for a few days and would come back soon. He pretended ignorance regarding the plan of the king to kill him. Taking one of the warships with him, Gulliver swam across the ocean and reached Blefuscu.
When Gulliver reached the island of Blefuscu, all the little people there ran about in all directions like ants out of fear. Gulliver left the ship with all his possessions in the water and sought the help of guides to go to the capital city of Blefuscu, all. He showed the people that he had come as a friend by his behaviour. With the help of two little guides Gulliver reached the town and met the king of Blefusco. He did not tell him the hatred of the king of Lilliput. He lay down on the ground and kissed the king’s hand to show his friendship. The king of Blefusco received Gulliver with kindness and ordered his servants to make him comfortable. Gulliver stayed on the island of Blefescu for a few days and planned for his escape to his own country.
6. How did Gulliver escape from his enemies and returned to his own country?
Though Gulliver came to the island of Blefuscu and enjoyed a comfortable stay, he did not feel safe. He wanted to return to his own country and his family. It was difficult for him to build a big boat in Blefuscu for his sea voyage. One day he saw a big boat floating upside down on the water. He sought the help of the king of Blefuscu to bring to land. The king lent him ten of his biggest ships and three thousand sailors under the command of an Admiral. With their help, Gulliver brought the boat to the land. He made some oars from the biggest trees and rowed the boat. The people of Blefuscu wondered at the size of the boat.
Now Gulliver needed much help to make the boat ready for the journey- sails, food and drinks. Before he got the help from the king of Blefuscu, the king of Lilliput had sent a message that Gulliver should be sent back to Lilliput for punishment. He added that Gulliver had to be bound head and foot. The king of Blefuscu secretly asked Gulliver to enter his service. As Gulliver did not like the service of kings, he replied that he had to return to his country. This reply was acceptable to the king of Blefuscu and he wrote to the king of Lilliput that it was very difficult to bind Gulliver head and foot. He also told the Lilliputian king that Gulliver was ready to sail away in the newly found boat to his country.
Without waiting for an answer, the king of Blefuscu gave Gulliver all that he needed. Sails and masts were ready. Gulliver made the ropes himself. He packed the boat with the meat of one hundred cattle and three hundred sheep, six live cows, two bulls and sheep were added to the stores of Gulliver. The king forbade Gulliver to take any of the little people with him. He gave him as a present fifty purses, each containing two hundred gold coins and a life size of painting of himself. Gulliver said good bye to all and sailed away, leaving behind the strange countries of Lilliput and Blefuscu. There was good wind behind him and in three days he was able to see a ship bound for England. The captain of the ship welcomed Gulliver with kindness and thus Gulliver reached his country.
Satire and Allegory in Gulliver’s Travels
‘Gulliver’s Travels’ was one of the last works of Swift to be published during his exile in Ireland (1726). While in London, Swift along with Pope others formed ‘Scriblerus Club’ and planned a satire on the vices of mankind in the form of the ‘Memories of Martin Scriblerus’. He was to contribute an account of Martin’s voyages into the unknown parts of the world, Parts of ‘Memories of Scriblerus’ published by Pope bear close resemblance to Gulliver’s voyages. ‘Gulliver’s Travels’- atleast its first two books is so entrancing like fairy tales. But there is much more in it than a fairy tale. Critics have unfolded a political allegory in it.
In Part I, Lilliput is England after the Treaty of Utrecht. The people are reduced in stature with their vices magnified. Blefuscu is France. The Emperor is George I and his ministers are the corrupt Whig statesmen. Gulliver is Bolingbroke who has done so much for his country and yet suffers because of the ingratitude of the king and his ministers. The queen is Queen Anne. Flimnap, the prime minister of Lilliput – a fine rope dancer -represents Walpole, a slippery opportunist who could so easily change his policies.Skyresh Bolgolam, the naval chief, represents Nottingham,England’s First Lord of Admiralty. (The Lilliputian emperor fancying himself to be the terror of the universe satirises the absurd ambitions of kings in general. In his boundless ambition, he wants Gulliver, after he had destroyed the navy of Blefuscu, to crush the country completely. When Gulliver refuses to do that, the Emperor wants to put out his eyes and starve him to death.
Gulliver does a timely service to the Queen by putting out the fire in her place by urinating over it. Instead of being grateful to Gulliver, she becomes very angry with him. So also, Swift had done a great service to his Queen by writing ‘A Tale of a Tub’ condemning Roman Catholics and Dissenters. But instead of thanking Swift, Queen Anne became so angry with him as to bar him once and for all from becoming a Bishop.
Among the Lilliputians, there are two parties distinguished by High Heels and Low Heels (corresponding to the Tories and the Whigs respectively). There are the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians corresponding to Roman Catholics and the Protestants. The Emperor of Lilliput favouring the Low Heels and the Little Endians refers to George I favouring the Whigs and the Protestants. The thousands of High Heels and Big Endians taking refuge in Blefescu is a satire on the Tories and Roman Catholics being exiled to France. The award of green, red and blue ribbons by the emperor of Lilliput to courtiers who cut the highest capers is a satire on George I’s presentation of various orders to his favourites. The impeachment of Gulliver in Lilliput is a satire on the impeachment of Bolingbroke, Oxford and Ormond.
In Part II, Swift’s satire is more general. Satire was the predominant motive in all writings of Swift. Even in this apparent fairy tale, it can be seen looming so large. Much of the satire in it ,however, is impersonal and directed against human nature. It has not offended much as Swift once wrote.
No individual could resent, where thousands equally were meant. In a way it was good that Swift generalized his satire. For personal satire is short lived, perishable like Pope’s Dunciad But the butts of Swift’s satire in ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ –man’s pride, ambition, treachery and ingratitude are changeless, and that explains the perennial interest of the book.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
literature
THE RELIGION WE NEED
-S.Radhakrishnan.
In The Religion We Need, Dr.Radhakrishnan makes a detailed
examination of true religious life and the ideal of universal brotherhood. He states that the supreme creative power of the universe cannot be an
extraneous force and it is one, not many.
Supreme spirit or God:Dr.Radhakrishnan begins the essay by saying that evolution of living organism is not mechanical but is the expression of a purposive force. The supreme spirit is at work in the whole course of evolution. Science is incomplete and looks forward to something beyond itself. Darwin, Herbert Spenser, Hegel and Bradley accept this view. Spenser called the supreme spirit or the mysterious reality as ‘the inscrutable God’. Philosopher-scientists like Lloyd Morgan and Whitehead acknowledge God.
From the primitives to the great faiths of today, men have felt that God is the reality. If the human life is a constant quest for God, then God is a conditioning factor of our being. According to Radhakrishnan, we can be sure of what God is not, but not of what God is. He is neither a mechanical engineer who devised the world nor a supernatural proprietor of the universe but an inherent spirit working in and through the universe. He is the self of the universe.
Concept of soul and god:The soul of man is infinite in character. The God whom it seeks is equally infinite. As the birds fly in air, as the fish swim in the sea, leaving no traces behind, even so in the pathway to God traversed by the seeker of spirit. Our idea of God is the result of the interaction between the subject and the object. God is impartial to his devotees whatever form of address and approach they may adopt. Provincialism in religion is not a sign of culture. The deepest religious souls have always been Catholic. The mystics want us to get behind and beneath all outward churches and religions. They ask us to worship the nameless who is above every name. They are certain that the supreme is one, though he has many names.
Religion:A religion represents the soul of the people, its peculiar spirit, thought and temperament. It is an expression of the spiritual experience of the race and a record of its social evolution. It is an integral element of the society. Without general knowledge and moral sense, no improvement can be effected in the religious concepts. The people who are satisfied with some symbol in wood or stone or words are unable to grasp the highest conception of God head.
God’s creation is an eternal process. There is no divorce between the natural and the supernatural. The two are continuous. The relation between them is enveloped in mystery and hence we cannot say how the universal spirit works through the cosmic process. The creative process is still going on and is unfinished in several respects and waits for man’s willing and heroic service. The future evolution of man on earth is not likely to be on the organic side, it will be in the ideal direction.
Religious life:Religious life is not in the acceptance of academic abstractions or celebration of ceremonies. It is the conviction that love and justice are at the heart of the universe, that the spirit will further his perfection. Radhakrishnan quotes the saying of Spinoza that he who loves God cannot want that God should love him in return. Highest love does not expect any return, reward or recompense. It is an utter self surrender, a pure self-giving. It is a deep acceptance of life and death. We cannot reach this ideal of religious life without deep meditation and strenuous self discipline. The unusual gifts of spiritual power come only to those who are given to solitude and self denial. We should develop the spiritual or transcendental attitude which is the very heart of religion. Religious life is a perilous adventure to be carried out on the principle of “die to live”. The aim of life is not safety and comfort, but heroism and happiness. Radhakrishnan finds fault with people who do not practise self control. Socrates, Jesus, the Hindu saints had the strength of spirit and this should be developed by the people who are anxious for religious life.
Aim of Religion:
Self perfection is the aim of religion. The Hindu civilization, the Hellenic and the Roman civilization perished because of ignorance and barbarism.The religious soul must seek for divine fulfillment both in heaven and on earth. According to the Mahabharata, there is nothing nobler than humanity. Brotherhood of all men, irrespective of race or nationality is the ideal aim. The feuds and agitations which sow seeds of hatred among different nations and the fratricidal strife are the substance of irreligion. We must wage war against oppression and injustice wherever found. All cases of exploitation of one individual by another and of one historical group by another and of one historical group by another and of one nation by another are characterized as ‘prostitution’ by Dr.Radhakrishnan. A civilization based on injustice cannot last long. Religion is not a simple spiritual state of the individual. It is the practice of the divine rule among men. The believer in God loves his fellow men as he loves himself, redemptive service and self sacrifice. He will put justice above civilization, truth above patriotism. Human unity can be achieved on earth only by strong religion and souls whose patriotism knows no limit of geography or of history but only those of justice and truth, freedom and fair play, God and humanity. The need of our age is a more vivid and deeper sense of the one universal God.
-S.Radhakrishnan.
In The Religion We Need, Dr.Radhakrishnan makes a detailed
examination of true religious life and the ideal of universal brotherhood. He states that the supreme creative power of the universe cannot be an
extraneous force and it is one, not many.
Supreme spirit or God:Dr.Radhakrishnan begins the essay by saying that evolution of living organism is not mechanical but is the expression of a purposive force. The supreme spirit is at work in the whole course of evolution. Science is incomplete and looks forward to something beyond itself. Darwin, Herbert Spenser, Hegel and Bradley accept this view. Spenser called the supreme spirit or the mysterious reality as ‘the inscrutable God’. Philosopher-scientists like Lloyd Morgan and Whitehead acknowledge God.
From the primitives to the great faiths of today, men have felt that God is the reality. If the human life is a constant quest for God, then God is a conditioning factor of our being. According to Radhakrishnan, we can be sure of what God is not, but not of what God is. He is neither a mechanical engineer who devised the world nor a supernatural proprietor of the universe but an inherent spirit working in and through the universe. He is the self of the universe.
Concept of soul and god:The soul of man is infinite in character. The God whom it seeks is equally infinite. As the birds fly in air, as the fish swim in the sea, leaving no traces behind, even so in the pathway to God traversed by the seeker of spirit. Our idea of God is the result of the interaction between the subject and the object. God is impartial to his devotees whatever form of address and approach they may adopt. Provincialism in religion is not a sign of culture. The deepest religious souls have always been Catholic. The mystics want us to get behind and beneath all outward churches and religions. They ask us to worship the nameless who is above every name. They are certain that the supreme is one, though he has many names.
Religion:A religion represents the soul of the people, its peculiar spirit, thought and temperament. It is an expression of the spiritual experience of the race and a record of its social evolution. It is an integral element of the society. Without general knowledge and moral sense, no improvement can be effected in the religious concepts. The people who are satisfied with some symbol in wood or stone or words are unable to grasp the highest conception of God head.
God’s creation is an eternal process. There is no divorce between the natural and the supernatural. The two are continuous. The relation between them is enveloped in mystery and hence we cannot say how the universal spirit works through the cosmic process. The creative process is still going on and is unfinished in several respects and waits for man’s willing and heroic service. The future evolution of man on earth is not likely to be on the organic side, it will be in the ideal direction.
Religious life:Religious life is not in the acceptance of academic abstractions or celebration of ceremonies. It is the conviction that love and justice are at the heart of the universe, that the spirit will further his perfection. Radhakrishnan quotes the saying of Spinoza that he who loves God cannot want that God should love him in return. Highest love does not expect any return, reward or recompense. It is an utter self surrender, a pure self-giving. It is a deep acceptance of life and death. We cannot reach this ideal of religious life without deep meditation and strenuous self discipline. The unusual gifts of spiritual power come only to those who are given to solitude and self denial. We should develop the spiritual or transcendental attitude which is the very heart of religion. Religious life is a perilous adventure to be carried out on the principle of “die to live”. The aim of life is not safety and comfort, but heroism and happiness. Radhakrishnan finds fault with people who do not practise self control. Socrates, Jesus, the Hindu saints had the strength of spirit and this should be developed by the people who are anxious for religious life.
Aim of Religion:
Self perfection is the aim of religion. The Hindu civilization, the Hellenic and the Roman civilization perished because of ignorance and barbarism.The religious soul must seek for divine fulfillment both in heaven and on earth. According to the Mahabharata, there is nothing nobler than humanity. Brotherhood of all men, irrespective of race or nationality is the ideal aim. The feuds and agitations which sow seeds of hatred among different nations and the fratricidal strife are the substance of irreligion. We must wage war against oppression and injustice wherever found. All cases of exploitation of one individual by another and of one historical group by another and of one historical group by another and of one nation by another are characterized as ‘prostitution’ by Dr.Radhakrishnan. A civilization based on injustice cannot last long. Religion is not a simple spiritual state of the individual. It is the practice of the divine rule among men. The believer in God loves his fellow men as he loves himself, redemptive service and self sacrifice. He will put justice above civilization, truth above patriotism. Human unity can be achieved on earth only by strong religion and souls whose patriotism knows no limit of geography or of history but only those of justice and truth, freedom and fair play, God and humanity. The need of our age is a more vivid and deeper sense of the one universal God.
DEMOCRACY IN INDIA-DR.AMBEDKAR
'Democracy in India' is an extract from the speech made by Dr.B.R.Ambedkar after the Indian Constitution was drafted and read in the Constituent Assembly. According to Ambedkar, political freedom without equality in social and economic life has little value. In this extract, he talks about the charges against constitution and expresses his fears about maintaining the new born democracy. He also discusses the tasks lying ahead of the Indians after independence.
Dr.Ambedkar points to certain specific charges in the constitution and gives a detailed explanation for them. The first charge is that there is too much of centralization and the states have been reduced to municipalities. Ambedkar rejects this charge saying that it is an exaggerated view based on the misunderstanding of the constitution. The second change that the centre has been given the power to over-ride the states is admitted. The overriding power- use and operation are expressly confined to emergencies only. That is, these are not in the normal feature of the constitution. Quoting an extract form The Round Table, he says that when an emergency is declared, the loyalty of the citizens must be to the centre and not to the states.
Ambedkar expresses his fears and doubts over the maintenance of Indian independence. As he says, India lost her independence by the
infidelity and treachery of her own people. The commanders of king Dahar during the invasion of Sind by Mohammed Bin Kasim accepted bribes and did not fight on the side of the king. Jaichand was responsible for Mohammed Gori’s invasion of India and the resultant fight against Prithiviraj when Shivaji fought for the liberation of Hindus, the other maratha noblemen and Rajput kings took sides with the Mogul Emperors. Gulab Singh was silent when the Britishers tried to destroy the Sikhs. In
1857, the Sikhs watched the war of Independence as silent spectators. These are examples of treachery India has witnessed in the past. In this context, Ambedkar appeals to the Indians to the place the country above their creed. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop our blood.
The second thought or fear that comes to Dr.Ambedkar’s mind is whether India will be able to maintain her democratic constitution.
According to him, democracy is not new to India. India had many republics and even where there were monarchies they were elected or limited. Parliaments or parliamentary procedures could be found in the Buddhist Bhiksh sanghas . The sanghas were nothing but the present day Parliaments. They observed all the rules of Parliamentary procedures known to modern times: Motions, Resolutions, Quorum, Censure motions etc. But there was no democracy for quite a long time. Because of its long disuse, Ambedkar expresses the fear that there is danger of democracy giving place to dictatorship. Hence we must maintain democracy not merely in form but also in fact.
According to Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, there is danger of democracy giving place to dictatorship. If we want to maintain democracy, we must hold fast to constitutional methods. We must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non cooperation, and Satyagraha. As there are constitutional methods open for us now. We must avoid unconstitutional methods to achieve economic and social objectives.
The second thing to maintain democracy is that we must observe the caution given by John Stuart Mill. That is, we have to avoid bhakthi or hero worship in politics. Bhakthi in religion leads to salvation
whereas it will lead to degradation and dictatorship in politics. Ambedkar states there is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered life long services to the country, but there is a limit to it.
The next thing is that we must not be content with mere political democracy. We should make it a social democracy. Social democracy means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. Without liberty there can not be equality. There can never be fraternity without liberty and equality. Fraternity is the principle which gives unity and solidarity to social life.
Ambedkar is deeply worried about casteism.As there are many castes in India unlike the USA, they bring out a separation in social life.In this sense, and we are not a nation. Fraternity can be a fact only when there is a nation Hence we should realize the necessity of becoming a nation in the social and psychological sense. Independence is, no doubt, a matter of joy.But at the same time it has thrown on us great responsibilities.
Dr.Ambedkar points to certain specific charges in the constitution and gives a detailed explanation for them. The first charge is that there is too much of centralization and the states have been reduced to municipalities. Ambedkar rejects this charge saying that it is an exaggerated view based on the misunderstanding of the constitution. The second change that the centre has been given the power to over-ride the states is admitted. The overriding power- use and operation are expressly confined to emergencies only. That is, these are not in the normal feature of the constitution. Quoting an extract form The Round Table, he says that when an emergency is declared, the loyalty of the citizens must be to the centre and not to the states.
Ambedkar expresses his fears and doubts over the maintenance of Indian independence. As he says, India lost her independence by the
infidelity and treachery of her own people. The commanders of king Dahar during the invasion of Sind by Mohammed Bin Kasim accepted bribes and did not fight on the side of the king. Jaichand was responsible for Mohammed Gori’s invasion of India and the resultant fight against Prithiviraj when Shivaji fought for the liberation of Hindus, the other maratha noblemen and Rajput kings took sides with the Mogul Emperors. Gulab Singh was silent when the Britishers tried to destroy the Sikhs. In
1857, the Sikhs watched the war of Independence as silent spectators. These are examples of treachery India has witnessed in the past. In this context, Ambedkar appeals to the Indians to the place the country above their creed. We must be determined to defend our independence with the last drop our blood.
The second thought or fear that comes to Dr.Ambedkar’s mind is whether India will be able to maintain her democratic constitution.
According to him, democracy is not new to India. India had many republics and even where there were monarchies they were elected or limited. Parliaments or parliamentary procedures could be found in the Buddhist Bhiksh sanghas . The sanghas were nothing but the present day Parliaments. They observed all the rules of Parliamentary procedures known to modern times: Motions, Resolutions, Quorum, Censure motions etc. But there was no democracy for quite a long time. Because of its long disuse, Ambedkar expresses the fear that there is danger of democracy giving place to dictatorship. Hence we must maintain democracy not merely in form but also in fact.
According to Dr.B.R.Ambedkar, there is danger of democracy giving place to dictatorship. If we want to maintain democracy, we must hold fast to constitutional methods. We must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non cooperation, and Satyagraha. As there are constitutional methods open for us now. We must avoid unconstitutional methods to achieve economic and social objectives.
The second thing to maintain democracy is that we must observe the caution given by John Stuart Mill. That is, we have to avoid bhakthi or hero worship in politics. Bhakthi in religion leads to salvation
whereas it will lead to degradation and dictatorship in politics. Ambedkar states there is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered life long services to the country, but there is a limit to it.
The next thing is that we must not be content with mere political democracy. We should make it a social democracy. Social democracy means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life. Without liberty there can not be equality. There can never be fraternity without liberty and equality. Fraternity is the principle which gives unity and solidarity to social life.
Ambedkar is deeply worried about casteism.As there are many castes in India unlike the USA, they bring out a separation in social life.In this sense, and we are not a nation. Fraternity can be a fact only when there is a nation Hence we should realize the necessity of becoming a nation in the social and psychological sense. Independence is, no doubt, a matter of joy.But at the same time it has thrown on us great responsibilities.
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