Tonight Time has Finally Come | Banhi Baran Ghosh

Abstract

This article seeks to review how and to what extent the claim by DESH, a well-known Bengali literary magazine in India published by ANANDA, on the eve of its first appearance, to be the mouthpiece of oppressed poor and downtrodden would be justified in the backdrop of colonial historiography and culture.

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Introduction

In the preface to Desh Subarna Jayanti Prabhandha Sankalon (Golden Jubilee Collection of Essays, Desh(Ananda Publication, 1983),Sagarmaya Ghosh, the Editor, tells us about the resolution that was adopted at the birth of Desh Magazine (1933-34). The resolution maybe placed as - "This new magazine will be a people’s mouthpiece in particular. We will look at the problems of the country from the perspective of the oppressed poor and the downtrodden. We will pay special attention to ensuring that those who are the majority of the country, who are the backbone of the nation, get acquainted with the current world through the Bengali language."(Translation is mine).

In the tumultuous moment of a subjugated nation, the significance of this declaration is considerable. The devastating famine of the twentieth century had not yet been fully comprehended, yet the country was not free from the impact of global economic recession, rather, an unknown, uncertain, and insecure future was being predicted. A group of conscious people were increasingly becoming alarmed by the various signs of poverty that were appearing like beads on the body of a society that had been degraded by the British. The determination to shape one’s own destiny had been looming large; the political movement was trying to find a specific direction through the formation of various characters. There arose the need for bringing about a transition in cultural consciousness, hence the declaration at the advent of the new magazine. But how does it seem to view the problem through the eyes of the oppressed, the poor and the needy! It is not easy to make the real craftsmen of history the heroes of history. The oppressed and needy are no one but the workers, farmers and artisans. When talking about them, it is necessary to listen to them. Otherwise, the attempt to create a narrative about them inevitably makes the presence of an alternative discourse inevitable.

A Critique at the backdrop of colonial discourse and culture

In the Bengali year 1340(1933-34) the accused in the Meerut conspiracy case were acquitted and the groundwork was laid for the formation of the Communist Party in India. Through the formation of this party, a new enthusiasm was created in the minds of a section of the countrymen. The foundation of the belief was laid that something like a support would soon be available for the deprived and helpless people of the society to hold on to. However, with the passage of time, the building of that trust began to falter through various changes. This may be attributed to the fact that there was not much time to experiment with how the language of the poor, helpless and destitute people would be expressed in the colonial culture and how it would become credible.

Almost a decade and a half later, on January 20, 1949, after taking the oath as President of the United States, Harry Truman would announce to the world a fair agreement that appealed to the United States and the world to solve the problems of underdeveloped countries which may be summed up as -
"The conditions in which more than half the people of the world live are gradually pushing them towards misery. They do not have enough to eat, they are victims of various diseases. Their economic life is stagnant and primitive. The poverty that accompanies them is frightening to them and to the developed world. For the first time in history, people have acquired the knowledge and skills with which it is possible to end the misery of these helpless people. I believe that if our wealth of technical knowledge is opened to all peace-loving people, they will be entitled to a better standard of living. It is necessary to implement development programs based on democratic principles, the key to progress and peace lies in realizing more production. And more production is possible through the rigorous application of scientific and technical knowledge."

This western epistemology endowed with the discourse of technology and knowledge seemed to have caused, as Spivak called it