Minorities have gained prominence all over the world and more specifically in the contemporary critical discourse. This has resulted in the movement of minorities from the periphery towards the centre. In other words, minorities, whose voices were once suppressed, have begun to subvert the centre. The dichotomy between the centre and the margin can be found in every society, especially in a country like India where diversity becomes the very soul of it. Though this dichotomy between the centre and the margin is apparent in such a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-linguistic and multi-cultural society, it works at different levels. In order to find the working of this dichotomy at different levels, it is fruitful to view the colonial and postcolonial period of India.
During the colonial period, the British marginalised the people of India on the basis of their physical, social, economic, cultural or behavioural characteristics. On the contrary, in the post-independence period of India, a few dominant cultures, which were once oppressed by the British, have developed the attitude of a coloniser and have started pushing other minor cultures to the margin. This does not mean that the oppression of these dominant cultures were completely absent during the colonial period. The difference between these two periods lies in the position of the colonised. In the colonial period, though there were some instances of resistance by the colonised, the voices of the colonised had been muted, whereas in the post-colonial period, the people, who were twice marginalised: first, by the British power and second,
by the dominant power of their own country, have begun to dismantle the centre. This has almost shaken the concept of a nation by not acknowledging the heterogeneities that prevail in India and interestingly, this subversion finds a place in literary representation.
In Sea of Poppies, Ghosh explicitly portrays the physical and mental traumas faced by the minority people who are doubly marginalised with different cultures and communities in the postcolonial era. Bill Ashcroft in his Post-colonial Studies: The Key Concepts says, “Everything that lay outside that centre was by definition at the margin or the periphery of culture, power and civilization” (PCS 36-37). As mentioned by him, the central characters Zachary Reid, a mulatto, Kalua, a low caste oxen rider, Jodu, a Muslim, Paulette, a young French woman, Raja Neel Rattan, a landlord, Ah Fatt, an opium addict, Munia, a flirtatious young girl and Serang Ali, the leader of the lascars are marginalised at the periphery of culture, power and civilisation.
Robin Cohen, the editor of Global Diasporas and The International Library of Studies of Migration, in his introduction of Global Diasporas, categorises Diaspora into five different types where India falls under Labour Diaspora. This novel revolves around such indentured labours of the nineteenth century who face a common destiny: a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean to Mauritius Islands. Most of these characters either willingly or out of compulsion become indentured labours being supplied to the British for the purpose of trade and plantation. These people as labours were supplied to them by the high caste people of their own country which gains evidence from Bill Ashcroft’s words, “Indenture became the main means of securing cheap labour after 1833, supplying the workers for British colonial plantations… Many diasporic groups, notably Indians and Chinese, were transported under this system.” (PCS 215).
The use of the word ‘slave’ has been replaced by the traders for their convenience as ‘labours’ in order to avoid the attention of the government. “When slavery was finally outlawed in colonial systems such as Britain’s, it was replaced by an extension of a system of employment called indentured labour.” (PCS 215), records Bill Ashcroft. This variation can be clearly analysed in Sea of Poppies, through a letter written by a European planter to another Irish slave-ship owner, Mr Burnham who is in need of some labourers. The message is passed through Zachary Reid, the Second Mate of the ship Ibis as, “‘My canes are rotting in the field, Mr Reid,’ said the planter. ‘Tell Mr Burnham that I need men. Now that we may no longer have slaves in Mauritius, I must have coolies, or I am doomed.” (SP 21). When Zachary asks the owner, Mr Burnham, an Irishman, if he tries to use the ship as a “slaver” (SP 79), Mr Burnham remarks:
“…I always say- slavery’ll be safe in America for a while yet. Where else could I have found a vessel like this, so perfectly suited for its cargo?’
‘Do you mean slaves, sir?’
Mr Burnham winced. ‘Why no, Reid. Not slaves-coolies. Have you not heard it said that when God closes one door he opens another? When the doors of freedom were closed to the African, the Lord opened to a tribe that was yet more needful of it-the Asiatick.’ (SP 79)
Though Zachary Reid is upset about this he does not wish to oppose or interrogate his boss. As he is a mulatto (born to an American slave owner and to a “Maryland freed woman” (SP 10) whose black heritage is concealed by his fair complexion transferred to him by his father. As explained by Bill Ashcroft, a mulatto means, “mixed or miscegenated society and the culture it creates.” (PCS 147). He joins the ship Ibis of Mr Burnham as a carpenter who is given a trademark as “black” (SP 12) by his colleagues. Though he cannot be exactly called a minority, his origin makes him inferior in front of others, more importantly, the Europeans. The writer is successful in making this oppressed mulatto to subvert the whites by making him an incarnation of Lord Krishna with the available traces of “black” (SP 12) identity and grease stained clothes.
The minority does not depend on number but power. This fact has been denied by the parties politically and also religiously, whereas, a prejudicial opinion of number forming a group as a majority or minority prevails all over the country. This fact is made clear through the statement made by Zachary Reid who believes that a man of power acts in different ways, “he took for granted that power made its bearers act in inexplicable ways – no matter whether a captain or bossman or just a master, like his father” (SP 305).
Mutual attitude prevails over the recent postcolonial era where people still believe in number rather than power that build the term majority. This people of the majority often tend to forget that it depends on the position of the colonised, who are fragile in power or authority. The present postcolonial India has categorised five religious groups that have been given the official status of National Minorities where Muslims and Christians are included as closely studied by Emanual Nahar in his article “Minority Rights in India: Christian Experiences and Apprehensions” in a weekly online mainstreamweekly.net. Yet the portrayal of how a Muslim has been treated brutally from the colonial time is visible to the readers while looking at the pathetic Jodu. He is a Muslim who has lost his mother recently and joins the Ibis as a lascar. He is young and is naturally attracted by a young coolie, Munia. She is a flirtatious and immature girl who flirts with Jodu. They are caught red-handed by the officials and Bhyro Singh, a high caste Hindu who is in charge of the indentured labours of the Ibis . Being a Muslim, still labelled as a minority, Jodu is brutally tormented and embarrassed by them in front of all others until he bleeds badly. “Jodu tried to twist his head around to look the subedar in the face. I didn’t do anything, he managed to say. We were only talking just a few words- that’s all.” (SP 469). Subedar Bhyro Singh becomes wild and shouts at him, “You cut-prick lascar- where did you get the balls to go sniffing after our girls?” (SP 469). Munia on her part is taken into a room and locked for quite a long time. When the other coolies query about her disappearance, the subedar yells at them, “Worried, are you? – the sneer was audible-why weren’t you worried when she was whoring herself to a lascar? A Muslim at that? (SP 472).
Not only are the Muslims given such an aggressive treatment, but the people of Hindu religion suffer the same pains as well. People of the same religion (Hindus) are not united. They are divided in the name of castes and communities. India is covered mostly by Hindus and they consider themselves as the majority. Yet they are fragmented to various groups and communities according to their professions. This division brings in the concept of minority within themselves and the whole idea of Hindus as the majority becomes otherwise. The so-called high castes assume themselves to be equal to the colonisers through their influence and dominate the already oppressed minority people belonging to various professions like vegetation, weaving, washing, sweeping, etc.
Kalua, an oxen-rider is categorised this way as a low caste man belonging to the leather worker’s community, whereas Hukam Singh and Deeti are high caste Rajputs in Bihar who degrade the low caste men for their caste and profession. Kalua is a giant in size and dark-complexioned. He is the one who takes Hukam Singh to the opium factory. Since he belongs to a low caste, he is believed to bring ill omen to the people of high caste.
Kalua the driver of the ox-cart was a giant of a man, but he made no move to help his passenger and was careful to keep his face hidden from him: he was of the leather-worker’ caste and Hukam Singh, as a high-caste Rajput, believed that the sight of his face would bode ill for the day ahead. (SP 4)
Deeti, a caring and a pious lady who gets ready to burn herself on her husband’s funeral pyre is saved by Kalua. She has a secret attraction for him from the time she saved him from the filthy hands of a few drunken landlords at night. Kalua also reciprocates this attraction by saving her from the ordeal and they run away for their lives and seek shelter in the Ibis as coolies. Born in a high caste, Deeti is bound not even to look at Kalua. Her husband has always considered it a bad omen, but it has become topsy-turvy as time goes on. Later in the Ibis , they change their identities as Madhu and Aditi. Yet at a circumstance, luck fails to favour them and they are trapped in the ship by Bhyro Singh, the uncle of Deeti’s husband. He torments Kalua in front of the other coolies and the Whites – the First Mate and the Captain, till he struggles for his breath. The First Mate Mr Crowle and the captain Mr Chillingworth accept the wish of Bhyro Singh to punish Kalua. Normally the Whites consider all Indians as minorities and some people claiming to be majority are ignorant of this fact and treat their own people as minorities and subjugate them. This fact is clear in the words of the captain Mr Chillingworth, who says,
“… And what right do we have to deny them the vengeance that we would certainly claim as our due? ‘… no sir, I will not deny these men, who have served us faithfully, the justice they seek. For, this you should know, gentlemen, that there is an unspoken pact between the white man and the natives who sustain his power in Hindoosthan- … The day the natives lose faith in us, as the guarantors of the order of castes-that will be the day, gentlemen, that will doom our rule. (SP 482)
Bhyro Singh is the uncle of Deeti’s husband who has been the person behind the making of this pair. He has urged Deeti’s father to get her married to the disabled Hukam Singh, who has once served in a few overseas campaigns as a sepoy. Bhyro Singh favours the owner of the ship Ibis and becomes in charge of allotting places for the indentured coolies onboard.
…an uncle who had risen to the rank of subedar in the East India Company’s army: on his retirement from active duty this uncle had found a lucrative job with a merchant house in Calcutta, and had been instrumental in finding good posts for the relatives-it was he, for instance, who had procured a much coveted job in the opium factory for Hukam Singh, the groom-to-be. (SP 31)
He humiliates Kalua, Jodu and the triply marginalised Deeti and Munia. Joining hands with the Whites, he treats them as minorities to be negligent of their identities and dignity. These aSPects reflect the legal values framed by the Indian Constitution that are neglected by the people. As per the arguments put forth by Emanual Nahar, Article 14 favours every individual the equality before the law and to protect them.
The law further favours in protecting the people of all religion, despite their status as majority or minority. The basic rights given to the people as mentioned in Article 15 that finds no discrimination against any citizen on the basis of religion, caste, gender, place, etc does not fit into the norms of the postcolonial era where people fail to accept the heterogeneities around them. But they happen to be otherwise. Earlier the Europeans had settled all over India for the purpose of missionary and trade. Many people belonging to diverse cultures were converted to Christianity, and now even such converted people are considered minorities by the people inside and outside India.
As of now, the natives are quite aware of this notion of the outsiders and have come to the realisation of it, more like the people who were the once colonised, by rebelling against the colonisers. In the same way, the action of the Whites and Bhyro Singh on Kalua causes a heavy burden on the inmates of the Ibis who turn rebellious against their nature of being suppressed and oppressed all the while. The once subjugated people who are the minorities have started protesting their colonisers, both Europeans and their own country people. Kalua, Jodu, Serang Ali and the two convicts – Raja Neel Rattan and Ah Fatt who have been conditioned to foil often reminds the readers of the socially deviant people who have ended up with the traumas entrusted on them. And they decide to escape to move away from the place bidding goodbye to their kiths and kins.
Zachary on his part helps them get rid of that ship, once a schooner carrying labourers and now the indentured coolies as a “slave-ship” (SP 11). More importantly, these minority people are culturally depicted as failures in several aspects like Bhyro Singh humiliating Jodu for his cultural and religious differences. As Bibhash Choudhary points out, “The problem also resides in the haunting presence of the European imagination…, in structures where ideologies and ideas are fashioned to reflect standard Western expectations” (AG 174), in aSPects like Bhyro Singh tormenting Kalua, Zachary transforming from a mulatto into a white male as in profession, culture and as an individual as well.
These characters have been doubly marginalised by the colonisers of West and the colonisers of their motherland culturally, religiously, socially and economically. This differentiation has been in existence in India even before colonisation and it has become stronger with the colonial power that has ended up to worse creating a long-lasting impact even in the postcolonial era. The minority discourse has become a matter of seriousness by the writers, eSPecially Indian writers and this has been well proven in the earnest work of Amitav Ghosh who has made the oppressed voice out and come out of the periphery by the reach of the dichotomy between the nation and the periphery.
Hence this paper tries to thrust upon the fact that every man carries his own cultural characteristics and values along with him through the novel taken for study both in the colonial and postcolonial era. Acceptance of this diversity in India is being lost as time fades away. They look at their own people as minorities due to the available caste and community differences; whereas British look at the whole country as a minority which is highly pathetic and an undeniable fact. To put it in a nutshell, the issue of majority and minority cannot be treated equally but sensitively through which minorities may not feel much minor and majority does not take much of privileges upon them.
Works Cited
Ashcroft, Bill., Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffins. Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts.
Choudhury, Bibhash, ed. Amitav Ghosh : Critical Essays
Ghosh, Amitav. Sea of Poppies.
Nahar, Emanual. “Minority Rights in India: Christian Experiences and Apprehensions”.
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