Social realism in Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children

Peer Reviewed Refereed Journal [ISSN : 2319-5908] (U.G.C. Approved Journal No. : 41329) ISSN No. - 2319–5908 English Lit. : Shodh Sandarsh-VII, Vol.-XXII, March. 2019, Page : 362-367 General Impact Factor : 1.7276, Scientific Journal Impact Factor : 4.713 Social Realism In Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children Raushan Kumar* Abstract : The English novel began as a novel of social realism but not as a romance or historical romance. The raise of the novel in different countries was not purely a literary phenomenon. It was a social phenomenon, rather than a mere fulfilment of a social need or desire. It was associated with social, political and economic conditions of the country. Fiction is the off-shoot of the impact of Western literature on the Indian mind. The novel in India was purely a foreign import. The English novelists Henry Fielding, Daniel Defoe and Sir Walter Scott and the English translations of the illustrious European novelists Leo Tolstoy, Honor’Re de Balzac, Fyodor Mikhail, Ovich, Dostoevsky, Victor Hugo gave their best to show the social reality up to the mark.Salman Rushdie writers became aware of the latest achievements of their contemporaries in foreign tongues and produced work of a technically high standard. Keywords: Social Realism, Salman Rushdie, cultural issues, social reality etc. Salman Rushdie, earned his reputation as one of the well-knownauthors in English Language had his authorship over thirteen novels. The novel which has made him famous overnight is Satanic Verses which resulted issuing of fatwa against him and the publication led the death of all the associates who contributed in the writing and translation. The novel, drenched in magical realism was published in 1988. The story of the novel is inspired in part by the life of Muhammad. Critics adored it. The book won the Whitbread Award for novel of the year and was a finalist for the Booker Prize. The novel drew immediate condemnation from the Islamic world for what was perceived to be its irreverent account of Muhammad. In many countries with large Muslim populations, the novel was banned and on February 14, 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran, issued a fatwa requiring the author’s execution. A bounty was offered for Rushdie’s death and for a number of years the writer was forced to live under police protection. Salman Rushdie is afellow of the British Royal Society of Literature and has received many awards and honors including the Crossword Book Award in India, the Writers’ Guild Award, the James Tait Black Prize, the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel (twice), the European Union’s Aristeion Prize for Literature, the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, the London International Writers’ Award etc. * M.A. English (NET) Guest Faculty, Pg Department Of English, Purnea University, Purnea Shodh Sandarsh-VII  Vol.-XXII  March-2019  362 Peer Reviewed Refereed Journal [ISSN : 2319-5908] Before Satanic Verses, there is another novel entitledMidnight’s Children,won both the 1981 Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the same year. The novel is also the only Indian novel on Time Magazine’s list of the 100 best Englishlanguage novels since its founding in 1923. (Rushdie, Salman. April 1981) Midnight’s Children weaves characters from India’s cultural history with characters from Western culture presenting Indian culture, religion and storytelling, Western drama and cinema in Rushdie’s text with postcolonial Indian history. Saleem Sinai is a telepath with a nasal defect born at the exact moment that India becomes independent. Saleem is the principle character and narrator of the story and the book mentions various actual historical events in their fictional form. ―The novel is a piece of fiction - faction ‘, by one born in India but settled abroad who tries to recreate his homeland, mixing memory and desire, fact and fantasy, reality and vision, time and timelessness (Walsh 257). The novel comprises multiple major political events between 1947 and 1978. Saleem, whom Rushdie inhabits for his own objectives, is a character with many extraordinary powers, especially a psychic connection with all the children who are born at the same time with Saleem; at the very moment of modern India ‘s birth.(Schurer 49) The novel reports the experiences of three generations of Sinai family living in Srinagar, then in Bombay and eventually in Karachi. Saleem has a hybrid origin, where his mother is an Indian and his father is English. Rushdie uses the technique of magical realism when Saleem can read people ‘s mind and thoughts. Also, the children born at his time birth have supernatural powers and much more other extravagant events. There are several themes discussed throughout the novel; some of them are related to social political reality and others are related to historical and cultural reality.(Schurer 50)The life of Saleem Sinai goes parallel to the changing fortunes of the country after independence. Midnight’s Children is a complete reflection of modern Indian history. This novel tells the lives of those 1,001 children who were born within the country’s first hour of Indian independence. The novel deals India’s pre and postcolonial history and whose stories cannot be ended in few numbers dealing with the great events which shapes the outline of the story. In the book, the narrator states: I paradoxically took my first tentative steps towards that involvement with mighty events and public lives from which I would never again be free . . . never (that is) . . . until the widow (Indira Gandhi, late Prime Minister of India) . . .There begins another story. (432) The author mixes up historical facts with fiction. His efforts appear to be making this novel a memorable work of history of both the countries – India and Pakistan. the novel documents social, historical, cultural, historical and multilingual realistic documents. The social and political events in the novel indicate the social and political reality of the present scenario. It is also a document of social realism. Uma Parameswaran, while extolling the virtues of the novel, doubts whether the interpretation of history in the text is reliable in view of their fictitious character. As Uma Parameswaran says: That Midnight’s Children is an excellent novel, that it gives us a variety of ideas and techniques, that it gives a fairly authentic history of contemporary India in the matter of facts, but that its interpretation of history is not always reliable. (1998: 32) Shodh Sandarsh-VII  Vol.-XXII  March-2019  363 Peer Reviewed Refereed Journal [ISSN : 2319-5908] The novel records a document of social, historical, cultural, historical and multilingual background of India. The social and political events in the novel indicate the social and political reality of the time pre and postcolonial. The political event which accounts in the novel is the time of emergency during the rule of prime minister Indira Gandhi as far as the history is concerned, we find the novel enriched with modern history with collective experience. The use of myth in the postmodernist manner is evident. Social concern, that is the transformative power of fiction, is the relationship between man and society. Rushdie deals with a series of historical events before Independence such as: the Jallian Wallah Bagh tragedy, the Quit India Movement, the formation of Muslim League and its role in national politics which led to partition and the riots and bloodshed on the aftermath of partition, etc. After independence there we find the post-independence issues like Chinese Aggression and Pakistan War; liberation of Bangladesh and above all the proclamation of emergency etc. The Act of 1919 proved to be total for the Indian shikhs residing in the province of Punjab. They have been imprisoned without trail which is in fact a repressive measure unheard of at any given time in the past.The protagonist captures the situation in one of his angst-ridden moods: Brigadier Dyer’s fifty men put down their machine-guns and go away. They have fired a total of one thousand-six hundred and fifty rounds into the unarmed crowd of these, one thousand-five hundred and sixteen have found their mark, killing or wounding some person. (38) The novel has a very fresh and realistic vision of the Indian subcontinent through the eyes of a young man born at the mid of the hour of independence. The title somewhat details the idea about the children at the midnight but makes it clear going through the novel that exactly it talks about those children who were born at midnight in the day of independence. His deeds are mirrored in public events and national affairs of his sibling India: Children, like India, were partially the offspring of their parents- ‘the children of midnight were also the children of the time: fathered … by history’. (137) Rushdie’s selective representation of events and happenings in India in Midnight’s Children reflects his understanding of the post-1947 developments in the country whereas the case of Pakistan is a little bit different as his selection of details regarding the understanding of what Pakistan meant to him appears suggestively in the very title of the novel Shame. Midnight Children presents in abundantly the post-independence political turmoil on post-modern lines. The author integrates myth into the structure of the novel taking history as its medium. He employs his literary art as a system of signs or semiotic exercises. It does not reflect the impression of being imposed upon the incidents and characters but is set to turn up as the myth of idealism. It shows how the rulers of the day uses and abuses their power around the nation during and after independence movement. There is also an allegorical description of the elections of 1957. ‘Boss’ Patil, his rival, a fictional stand appears for S.K. Patil,the Congress leader threatening the masses. There is commander Sabarmati, whose character reminds Commander Nanavati of the Indian Navy which describes the infamous Nanavati Case. Rushdie also narrates descent Shodh Sandarsh-VII  Vol.-XXII  March-2019  364 Peer Reviewed Refereed Journal [ISSN : 2319-5908] of Dr. Aadam Aziz from the paradise of Kashmir to Amritsar in 1919. From Amritsar to Agra and from Agra to Delhi are the journeys of his maternal grandfather Dr. Aadam Aziz. The progress of the story of that journey goes parallel with the progress of Indian freedom movement. Dr. Aadam Aziz goes through difficult situations in this period. He is associated with every event of India’s history and social politics and reality. Although the name in the novel is chosen different but we can see the exact relevance with the personality who in fact exists. No doubt Rushdie has presented the social, cultural and political realism.Rushdie describes the historical-political event of Partition, the socio-cultural milieu of the Indian Muslim.It ultimately signifies the political and historical concern on ethnic, religious, cultural amalgamation in India. As the narrator notes in Midnight’s Children: If I seem a little bizarre, remember the wild profusion of my inheritance… perhaps, if one wishes to remain an individual in the midst of teeming multitudes, one must make oneself grotesque’. (126) The novel is a colorful gallery of characters most of which stand for the different symbolicpersonalities. The technique of social realism finds liberal expression throughout the novel which constructs the parallel to the country’s history. The narrative framework of the novel is in the form of a tale which goes with his life-story. Saleem Sinai verbally recounts this life-story to his wife-to-be Padma. This self-referential narrative within a single paragraph Saleem refers to himself in the first person: “And I, wishing upon myself the curse of Nadir Khan . . .I tell you, Saleem cried, it is true . . .” Midnight’s Children left an indelible impression over the readers for its vast historical, social, cultural and political sweep. It recalls Gunter Grass’s Tin Drum. But its dazzling pyrotechnic display of style distinguishes it. The novel is enriched with the dizzying array of puns and alliteration, a word-play and rhyme. Rushdie’s characterscelebrate Indian literature, music, film and food standing at the Centre of the novel. Most of them are British Muslims, or not particularly religious persons of Muslim background, struggling with just the sort of great problems that have arisen to surround the book, problems of hybridization and ghettoization. Rushdie’s being an avid reader proves himself to be an acute observer of history and comes up as his narrative skill dealing with Indian politics and history through fictionalizing it, and this he does by performing a historian as well as a novelist at the same time. But that was nine years later... meanwhile, early in 1957, election campaigns had begun: the Jan Sangh was campaigning for rest homes for aged sacred cows; in Kerala, E.M.S. Namboodiripad was promising that Communism would give everyone food and jobs; in Madras, the Anna-D.M.K. party of C.N. Annadurai fanned the flames of regionalism; the Congress fought back with reforms such as the Hindu Succession Act, which gave Hindu women equal rights of inheritance... in short, everybody was busy pleading his own cause; I, however, found myself tongue-tied in the face of Evie Burns, and approached Sonny Ibrahim to ask him to plead on my behalf. (Rushdie, 1983, p. 256) Shodh Sandarsh-VII  Vol.-XXII  March-2019  365 Peer Reviewed Refereed Journal [ISSN : 2319-5908] He neatly entwins Indian historical context with the personal narrative which revolves around the protagonist. Rushdie’s understanding and weaving into narrative form make it difficult for the readers to come up to a decision what is real and unreal. He stands Shiva to play a part in the General Elections of 1957 without taking names of the party. He criticizes Indian political system as being corrupted “One member of the Midnight Children’s conference played a minor role in the elections. Winkie’s supposed son Shiva was recruited by- well, perhaps I will not name the party, but only one party had really large sums to spend- and on polling day, he and his gang, who called themselves Cowboys, were to be seen standing outside a polling station in the north of the city, some holding long stout sticks, others juggling with stones, still others picking their teeth with knives, all of them encouraging the electorate to use its vote with wisdom and care...and after the polls closed, were seals broken on ballot-boxes? Did ballot-stuffing occur? At any rate, when the votes were counted, it was discovered that Qasim the Red had narrowly failed to win the seat; and my rival’s paymasters were well pleased. (Rushdie, 1983, p. 308) Rushdie does not coin the name of any political party but hints that he chooses leading the readers to formulate their perspective make it resemble with the fact. Here one can also notice on that part of Rushdie who is trying to establish an alternative political history of the 1957 elections, thus problematizing the mainstream political history. His narrative appears to be a fine document of a social and political critique of the contemporary time. The connection between Saleem and history is established through one in the text when he says, I was linked to history both literally and metaphorically, both actively and passively, in what our (admirably modern) scientists might term ‘modes of connection’ composed of ‘dualistically-combined configurations’ of the two pairs of opposed adverbs given above. This is why hyphens are necessary: actively-literally, passivelymetaphorically, actively- metaphorically and passive- literally, I was inextricably entwined with my world. (Rushdie, 1983, p. 330-331) He employs true historical facts by using his absolute social overview to make history in the view of historian. India’s defeat in the Indo-China war resembles with the familiar cry of the day ‘Saleem is India, and India is Saleem’. He narrates in depth the details his own defeat in M.C.C; On October 20th, the Indian forces were defeated- thrashed- by the Chinese at Thag La ridge. An official Peking statement announced: In self-defense, Chinese frontier guards were compelled to strike back resolutely. But when, the same night, the children of midnight launched a concerted assault on me, I had no defense. They attacked on a broad front and from every direction, accusing me of secrecy, prevarication, high handedness, egotism; my mind, no longer a parliament chamber, became the battleground on which they annihilated me. (Rushdie, 1983, p. 414) The novelist combines myth with history using his narrative techniques. The text is accessible to the new historicist concept and conviction of ‘overdetermining’ nature of the literary texts. These texts are relatively autonomous. The novel is concentrated Shodh Sandarsh-VII  Vol.-XXII  March-2019  366 Peer Reviewed Refereed Journal [ISSN : 2319-5908] on the social concern, social milieu, socio-political and cultural mixture of history and myth. With Midnight’s Children, it is proved his meticulous narrative and composing skill. There is an inseparable link between the protagonist Saleem Sinai and Indian history of the day in the narrative structure of the novel. Uma Parameswaran says: “Events are not recreated but merely recorded, not interpreted but merely inserted into the fabric of narrative.” (1998: 5) Rushdie speaks about many Indian and many versions of reality in his epic novel Midnight’s Children. The novel is narrative in technique. The narrator protagonist of the novel, Saleem Sinai, is the proponent of this Indian mindset, and proclaims: “To understand just one life, you have to swallow the world.” Rushdie examines the relationship between the self and the nation, and fictionalizes the events of Indian history and social realism from the moment of the birth of nation state in 1947 carries it till the declaration of the ‘Emergency’ by the Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1976. It concentrates on projecting the kind of fuller historical truth that incorporates the social and historical reality of the times. He frames his own literary authenticity which truthfully incorporates factual as well as experiential truth. The story of the novel traces the various crises in the life of protagonist that synchronize with the major events and movements of modern India. The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy, the Quit India movement, the struggle for freedom, the role of Muslim League, the post-independence riots, the Five-Year Plans, the reorganization of the states in India, the language agitation, the Chinese aggression, the war with Pakistan, the Independence of Bangladesh, the Emergency and other historical and social realities have been mentioned in this novel. There is a co-incidence of Sinai’s birth and independence. Every incident in Sinai’s life is linked with some incidents of the life in nation such as; the elections of 1957 take place before his tenth birthday,at his eleventh birthday taking place the elections of 1962 just as ‘status quo’ is mentioned in India, in 1971, after the period of exile in Pakistan returning to IndiaMrs. Gandhi be celebrating her fresh lease of life in Indian politics, the wedding celebration of Saleem and Parvati synchronizes with Republic Day festivities, Parvati’s son Adam Sinai born on 15th June 1975 and the day the Emergency was imposed in India. So, we find every event of his life is associated with the chronological Indian history. Rushdie, no doubt, is not a novelist but an acute observer of Indian History that in the story of a single character dealt all the political scenario and social reality that go parallel with the developing life of the protagonist. References Primary Sources  Rushdie, Salman, Midnight’s Children. London: Picador, 1981. Print.  “An Interview with Salman Rushdie,” Justice 1 (May 1985), 15 An Article in The New Statesman, 15 October, 1988. Print. Secondary Sources: Parameswaran, Uma. “Handcuffed to History: Salman Rushdie’s Art.” ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature 15.1 (1984). ***** Shodh Sandarsh-VII  Vol.-XXII  March-2019  367