INDIAN ENGLISH LITERATURE: IN SEARCH OF A NAME

INDIAN ENGLISH LITERATURE: IN
SEARCH OF A NAME
S.SUBRAHMANYA SARMA
When one thinks of Indian English Literature, one cannot but think of the
complexity and difficulty in choosing a name for it. The following names been given
with different interpretations suggesting different nuances and shades of meaning.
1. Anglo-Indian Literature
2. Indo-Anglian Literature
3. Indo-English Literature
4. Indian writing in English
5. Indian-English writing
6. Indian English Literature
It’s true that the literary nomenclatures are never fully resolved to the best
satisfaction of all. To start with it was referred to as an Anglo-Indian Literature (to
think of Edward Farley Oaten’s prize-winning essay with that title) and it covered the
writings of Englishmen in Indian on Indian themes but the word Anglo-Indian also
refers to a race, a microscopic minority in India and it somehow acquired a
pejorative dimension. But the Indian creative writing in English needs to be referred
by a name. The phrase Indian Literature, on the analogy of American Literature or
Australian Literature is not suitable here, for in America and in Australia, English is
the only language (may be with different dialects or creolized English as it happens
to be in the case of Black-American Literature) and the spoken medium of people.
But in India the case is different. Indian Literature would mean, any literature in any
Indian language, hence the difficulty.
It’s said that J.H.Cousins coined the term Indo-Anglian literature in 1883 and
later it was given currency by Sreenivasa Iyengar, the pioneer in this field. But
Iyengar himself feels that the phrase ‘Indo-Anglian’ is not much too happy an
expression and this phrase was used by him as a title for his handbook on Indian
writing in English, brought out by PEN- (All India Centre).
In this book he makes a reference to the phrase ‘Indo-Anglian’ and how it
was misprinted as Indo-Anglican by mistake and how he had to send an answer
when he was chastised for this odd expression by ‘Autolycus’. He feels that people
prefer ‘Indo-English’ to ‘Indo-Anglian’, though ‘Indo-Anglian’ can be used both as an
adjective and substantive. Referring to this body of literature he recalls Bottemley’s
phrase ‘Matthew Arnold in Sari’ – not so an appalling apparition, perhaps after the
passage of 150 or more years. Iyengar likens this body of literature to legendary
Sakuntala who was disowned by her parents and feels that it is a tributory and an
off-shoot of English Literature which he refers to as a new mutation.
The more surprising thing is two distinct streams flow together
simultaneously; one, the other Indian language classical works getting translated
into English and the other creative works in English. V.K.Gokak prefers the phrase
Indo-English to refer to the former work and the latter is termed as Indo-Anglian.
Surjit Mukherjee in his essay ‘Indo-English Literature’ refers to works like
‘Geetanjalai’ (works translated by the authors themselves into English) not merely as
translations and like to call them as trans-creations. Referring to ‘Geetanjali’ he says,
“Its unique quality was the result of the author endeavouring to be his own
translator, in which process, he went beyond the bounds of translations and achieved
something which may be called ‘trans-creation’”.[1] And he refuses to categorize
‘Geetanjali’ under either Indo-English or Indo-Anglian. For that matter any creative
work is a trans-creation, for, that in the sub-conscious is brought out as creation. It’s
a creative transformation.
It’s understandable that a distinction is kept between these two types of
translations;- one ,a work put into English by others, (other than the author) two, a
work translated into English by the author himself. The former is considered under
Indo-English writing and the latter is considered under Indo-Anglian or Indian English
Literature (a phrase coined by Dr.M.K.Naik for his critical survey of this body of
literature and accepted by Sahitya Akademi and \gained currency now for the simple
reason that it scores over other names, for it can widely cover the entire body of
Indian creative writing in English).
Amarjit Singh feels that “The appellation ‘Indo-English’ or even the less
felicitous ‘Indo-Anglian’ suggests only a part of the difficulty in trying to place the
literature produced by Indians in English within clear, national, regional or linguistic
boundaries.”[2]
Mulk Raj Anand – himself an established writer- prefers the phrase ‘Indian-
English writing’ and says,” I feel that Indian-English writing has come to stay as part
of world-literature”. [3] But somehow the phrase Indian-English has not yet coughed
off its pejorative colouring. Also Indian-English cannot be considered as pidgin-
English, for it is nothing short of degradation, for Indian-English is almost on par
with English barring a few irregularities in speech, nor can it be considered as
creolized English as seen in some parts of the world.
In this connection, the remarks of M.K.Naik are quite appropriate. Referring
to the origins he says “Indian English Literature began as an interesting by-product
of an eventful encounter in the eighteenth century between a vigorous and
enterprising Britain and a stagnant and chaotic India”.[4] Later, almost coining a
phrase , he explains it thus: “The Sahitya Akademi has recently accepted ‘Indian
English Literature’ as the most suitable appellation for this body of writing. The term
emphasizes two significant ideas: first, that this literature constitutes one of the
many streams that join the great ocean called Indian Literature, which though
written in different languages, has an unmistakable unity; and secondly that it is an
inevitable product of the nativization of the English Literature appears to be more
acceptable than the other phrases discussed earlier.
Indian-English Literature has acquired a new identity as much identity as
American and Austrian literature have acquired which of course is quite distinct from
Indian English. The efforts by writers like Raja Rao in Indianizing English language
cannot be ignored though it is very difficult to express the Indian sensibility in
English. I am reminded of my own remarks in this connection: “to clothe the very
Indianness in English tongue – though it has gone into the very system of our life –
without making it appear bizarre is yet another difficulty for the cloth which
sometimes is either too long or too short which makes one prefer the naked majesty
itself. A rapprochement is somehow wrought between Indianness and the English
tongue and sometimes vice verse”.[6]
People feel that Indian writing English at the moment is more an illusion
than of reality and more a promise and less an achievement. It’s too early to pass
such a judgment. While dealing with this mass of literature, the Carlylean approach
of dealing with the literary biography as a first-phase in tracing literary history is
needed but it is not all, for “Indian writing English produced over the last hundred
odd years does not reveal a homogenous continuity, but rather a critical cyclical
continuity .”[7]
The role of a literary historian in tracing this great unwieldy mass of Indian
English Literature is a no mean task. The early writers and their immediate
demandings followed by the next successive phases and writers before and after
Independence present a much too complex picture to analyse. The pioneering efforts
of Sreenivasa Iyengar followed by the pursuing efforts of professors like M.K.Naik
and C.D. Narasimhaiah in this direction, deserve not only complaints but even
commendation.
REFERENCES
1. Surjit Mukherjee,”Indo-English Literature”- CRITICAL ESSAYS ON INDIAN
WRITING IN ENGLISH, (eds) M.K.Naik et. al, (Macmillan –Madras-1977),p.21.
2. Amarjit Singh, “Contemporary Indo English Literature – An approach”,
ASPECTS OF INDIAN WRITING ENGLISH (ed.) M.K.Naik,(Macmillan-1987)p.3
3. Mulk Raj Anand, “Pigeon-Indian- some notes on Indian-English writing”-
ASPECTS OF INDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH, (ed) M.K.Naik (Macmillan –
1979);p.44.
4. M.K.Naik, A HISTORY OF INDIAN ENGLISH LITERATURE .(Sahitya Akademi
1982),p.1
5. Ibid., p.5.
6. S.Subrahmanya Sarma, ”Foreword” ETERNAL CREATIONS (Amar publications,
Madras, 1982) p.v
7. D.V.K.Raghavacharyulu, “The Task Ahead”, CRITICAL ESSAYS ON INDIAN
WRITING IN ENGLISH (eds) M.K.Naik et.al (Macmillan-Madras 1977)-p.33.
Prof. Dr. Subrahmanyam S Sarma
Head – Department of English
Nizwa College of Technology, Nizwa
Sultanate of Oman
Post Box-No-358 – Postal Code-611