169

Chapter 4

Influence of Historical Movements in the Fiction of Bharati

Mukherjee

Literary work is product of place, time and historical condition of the

society. Writer always explicitly or implicitly refers the political and

historical condition of the society in the work. Each strata of the society is

influenced by the historical and political movements of the country. Bharati

Mukherjee‟s works chiefly reflects condition of immigrant in America and

Canada. She writes about psychological, physical, and financial problems of

immigrants in host land. Her writings become more Americanized after her

moves to America. She discards traditional life of Old World and embraces

free lifestyle of New World where everyone can succeed. She identifies

herself as American and rejects hyphenated identity. She completely

integrates into the mainstream American Culture. She believes she has left

India before many years and now India is completely changed so she cannot

write about India. She writes in her article On Being Deliberately Misread:

I am now an American. I am not an exile, not an expatriate, not

a political or economic refugee. I am an immigrant. I have

voluntarily settled in the U.S. with my husband and sons…

Most importantly I have made emotional, social and political

commitments to the country I have adopted. What can be more

reasonable or more natural than… to write as an American on

American and immigrants themes. (Mukherjee, “On Being”15).

Bharati Mukherjee defends herself as mainstream American writer.

Even many times she does not give any answer of the questions regarding her

Indianness. Even she does not imitate writing style of Indian writers. In an

interview with Alison B. Carb, Bharati Mukherjee differentiates between her

writing and the writings of Indian writers:

There is a large difference between myself and these authors.

Unlike writers such as Anita Desai and R.K. Narayan, I do not

write in Indian English about Indians living in India. My role

models, view of the world, and experiences are unlike theirs.

These writers live in a world in which there are still certainties

170

and rules. They are part of their society‟s mainstream.

Wonderful writers as they are, I am unable to identify with them

because they describe characters who fit into their community

in different ways that my naturalized Americans fit into

communities in Queen or Atlanta. (Carb 27)

Bharati Mukerjee declares many times that she does not deal with

Indian themes in her writings but in reality one can feel touch of Indianness in

her writings. She cannot remain detach with political condition of her

motherland and she writes about revolutionary movements of India in her

fictional and non-fictional works. She has admitted presence of history in her

works. In an interview with Runar Vignisson she said, “Writers like me,

because of where we have come from, can‟t help but have, as novelists and

fiction writers, the social political vision-that fiction is not divorced from

social, political considerations.”

Although Bharati Mukherjee is exponent and depository of immigrant

writing, one can feel the presence of history in her writings. She wrote about

two crucial historical movements in The Tiger’s Daughter and Jasmine. She

wrote about Naxalite movement of West Bengal in The Tiger’s Daughter and

Khalistan movement of Punjab in Jasmine. The protagonists‟ of these novels

lives are affected by revolutionary movements. After the partition of India,

Naxalite movement spread across the boundaries of many states. Bharati

Mukherjee lived in Calcutta for almost two decades so she had seen the

beginning of Naxalite movement in West Bengal. She lived in luxurious

mansion in the compound of pharmaceutical factory which her father had set

up in outskirts of Calcutta. She was sheltered by her parents. At the time of

labour unrest or violence she was chauffeured to the school in a car

accompany with bodyguards and an escort vehicle in front of it to protect her

from unseen dangers. Her life was also affected by Naxalite movement so she

wrote about effects of Naxalite movement on upper middle class. She did not

objectively analyze Naxalite movement so she only wrote about threatened

class of revolution and not about ideology of the participant of the movement.

Tara Cartwright Banerjee, the protagonist of The Tiger’s Daughter,

returns to India after spending seven years in New York in order to find her

place in the family and society. Tara Banerjee is an upper middle class

171

Bengali Brahmin. She is the only daughter of the Bengal Tiger, an owner of

Banerjee & Thomas (Tobacco) Co. Ltd., and she lives in luxurious mansion in

Calcutta. She is sheltered by her parents so she hasn‟t seen real Calcu tta and

beginning of class conflicts in West Bengal. The Bengal Tiger takes tough

decision to send Tara at Vassar for higher study in order to save her from

class conflicts. Tara impulsively decides to marry David Cartwright, an

American author without thinking about its consequences. Her marriage with

foreigner and her seven years long stay in America changes her perceptions

towards things. When Tara comes back from New York, she looks at Calcutta

through the eyes of David. She observes life of her friends and relatives as an

outsider on visit. She comes back at a time when Naxalite movement is

plaguing West Bengal.

One has to know about ideology of Naxalite movement in order to

objectively analyze the role of participant and threatened class in the

movement. The Naxalite movement was originated in a small village of West

Bengal named Naxalbari. The Naxalite movement was known by the name of

origin of its place. Naxalites were radical communists and they believed in

Mao Zedong political theory. Originally the name of the party was

Communist Party of India (Marxist) but some leaders of the party were not

satisfied with the functioning of the party so they left the party and formed

separate party as Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist). Charu

Mazumdar, Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal were main leaders of the new

party.

The Communist Party of India‟s (Marxist) members who were known

as rightist favored an alliance with the Congress while the party‟s some

members who were known as leftists were anti-congress. The leftists believed

that the government‟s economic measures of establishing industries only

served landlords and businessman. The rightists believed that this economic

measure accelerated the growth of West Bengal. Charu Mazumdar, the leftist,

wrote eight articles between 1965 to 1967 in which he made clear the need of

armed revolution against the landlord and rich. He was in favor of building a

secret revolutionary party which would lead the class struggle. He created the

small groups of peasants and share croppers in every village and assigned

172

them the task of formation of arms squads and collections of ammunition.

Gradually in every villages arms squad was created to fight against landlords.

In 1967, non-Congress United Front Government won the election.

Peasants had to depend on the welfare of the landlords and they were

exploited by landlords. Land reform and food situation affected the lives of

poor and landless peasants. Hare Krishna Konar CPI (Marxist) was appointed

as the land revenue minister of West Bengal. He initiated the policy of quick

distribution of land to the landless. The government introduced the new food

policy and announced a higher purchase rate of rice. The process of land

transfer to the landless peasants was difficult task.

Charu Mazumdar criticized the government on the issue of land

transfer. In Darjeeling he established his party‟s headquarters. The party‟s

supporters were mobilizing the landless peasants and poor. He organized

conference of peasant under the guidance of the Siliguri Subdivision of the

CPI (Marxist). Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal were the prominent members

of the Darjeeling district‟s headquarter of the party. In the conference leaders

were favored redistribution of land through Peasant‟s Committee. Charu

Mazumdar was in favor of arming the peasants for class struggle. After the

week of the Peasant Conference, landlords‟ men attacked on sharecropper.

When the police team had come to arrest the peasant leader, the group of

peasants killed a police inspector. Peasants and share croppers were

stimulated by the event and many other peasants and tribals joined the

movement. The centre and state government ignored the incident and

considered it as administrative matter. Naxalites attacked frequently on the

landlords. The State minister visited the Naxalbari area and appealed the

peasants to avoid misguided act. Peasants founded Krishak Samiti in every

village.

The government of West Bengal launched a new policy on 12th

July

1967 under which the state police arrested Jangal Santhal and other peasant

leaders. After a year Kanu Sanyal was also arrested by the police. In 1969

West Bengal government released all prominent leaders including Kanu

Sanyal and Jangal Santhal. The government thought that the Naxalites leaders

were incapable of re-starting the revolutionary movement. The State

government never imagined that the Naxalite leaders would officially

173

establish a new party. Kanu Sanyal declared the formation of CPI (Marxist-

Leninist) party in Calcutta on 1969. Charu Mazumdar proposed a theory of

class annihilation. He declared the revolutionary should annihilate landlords

and rich so the government and landlords could not take revenge. The party

increased their activity from 1967 to 1972 in West Bengal. The government

launched a joint operation of the army and the police in West Bengal, Orissa,

and Bihar. The operation was started from 1 July 1971 to 15 August 1971 and

the code name of the operation was Operation Steeplechase. The army sealed

entry and exit routes of the bordering areas of West Bengal. The police force

arrested Naxalites and confiscated explosive and weapons. The party activists

went on other places from their hideouts for safety. The police arrested Charu

Mazumdar on 16th

July 1972. He died after few days of his arrest. During the

President‟s rule Congress leader Siddhartha Shankar Ray became the special

advisor of the State. Siddhartha Shankar Ray successfully suppressed the

Naxalites.

Although the government has taken countermeasures to suppress the

Naxalites but the government cannot completely suppress the movement.

Poverty, lack of facility, and shortage of food have been main reasons behind

Naxalite movement so Naxalites are active till today at the place where

people suffer from poverty and shortage of food. Till today Naxalites are

active in West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Chattisgarh. The

government has put into effect the Integrated Action Plan in 2010-2011

budgets for Naxalite affected areas. The government gave a special grant for

development of tribal and rural areas of sixty districts. After the

implementation of Integrated Action plan, influence of Naxalites is reduced in

these areas.

In the opening of the novel Bharati Mukherjee wrote about the Catelli -

Continental hotel which symbolizes the last remnant of the British Raj in

Calcutta. The upper middle class often visit the Catelli -Continental hotel and

they watch riots and rallies from the porch of the hotel. Naxalites are

opposing the Capitalist, landlords, and aristocrats outside the hotel. “While

small riots break out in the city, while buses and workers surround the

warehouses, these few come to the Catelli for their dai ly ritual of espresso or

174

tea” (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 4). The Catelli-Continental “is the navel of the

universe” for upper class after independence of India (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 3).

Tara‟s great grandfather Hari Lal Banerjee is the Zamindar of village

Pachapara. Hari Lal Banerjee has a premonition of violence on the night of

her daughter‟s wedding. He foresees his own death in the village. His Friends

enjoy their status and luxurious life without noting change in the society.

“The Shadows of suicide or exile, of Bengali soil sectioned and ceded, of

workers rising against their bosses could not have been divined by even a

wise man in those days” (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 8). After the marriage of Hari

Lal Banerjee‟s daughter, someone kills him with knife while he is medicating

a feud. With the death of Hari Lal all the reputation of the Banerjee family

died. Jute Mill Roy Chowdhury buys all the property of the Banerjees. Roy

Chowdhury is conscious about class struggle and his safety.

Outside their compound, sometimes on the bathing steps of

rivers, or in red diet alleys the led to the market place, they saw

angry, fanatical faces. There were more unreasonable murdess,

suspicious drawings, bloody and mutilated bodies discovered in

paddy fields. There were also more communal riots. Eventually

Panchapara was apportioned on the map as foreign sail…But

then it was too late for the villagers to remark on the anatomy

of change. (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 10)

Eventually the lives of the Bengali Zamindars have been changed with

the time but they cannot imagine that the change might be fatal. Santana, Hari

Lal‟s eldest daughter leaves Pachapara with her barrister husband long before

the Naxalite movement begins. Naxalite movement begins in the villages first.

Peasants and share croppers start to attack on Zamindars under the guidance

of the Naxalite leaders. If Santana and his husband remain in the village, they

might become the victim of the revolutionary movement. Santana‟s husband

buys a lumberyard in Assam and a tobacco factory in Calcutta.

Tara‟s father the Bengal Tiger remains Powerful, just and fearless

during the time of disorder in Calcutta. Laborers are rising against the owners

of the company. “Calcutta was losing its memories in a bonfire of effigies,

buses and trams” (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 12). The Bengal Tiger remains busy in

expanding the tobacco firm. He foresees the tough time for future generations

175

so he takes decision to send Tara at Vassar for further study at the age of

fifteen. Tara‟s life is indirectly affected by Naxalite movement.

Tara marries with David, an American author, without informing her

parents. When Tara cannot find her place in American Society, she decides to

come back to India in search of her inherited identity. She returns back to

India after seven years without her husband. She comes back to Calcutta at a

time when the Naxalite movement is tormenting the people. She first gets the

hint of the movement after her arrival in Calcutta. She sees riots and relies

from the porch of the Catelli-Continental hotel. Joyonto Roy Chowdhury

plays an important role in the novel. He plays an important role in the novel.

He represents the falling bourgeois class of Calcutta who are losing their

power and strength on the city. He compares past and present of the city and

he feels sorry for present aristocratic class.

Joyonto Roy Chowdhury is an owner of tea estate in Assam. He

everyday comes to the Catelli-Continental hotel for the coffee and he watches

the disorder of Calcutta from the porch of the hotel. “In time the sidewalks

beneath Joyonto grow restless with refugees from East Bengal and Tibet.

Rioters become insolent. Powerful landowners were at first tormented later

beheaded. Businessman padlocked their factories and smock off like ghost to

richer provinces” (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 49). Unjust distributions of land,

shortage of food and law wages of labour are the main reasons of Naxilite

movement. Bangladesh‟s refuges illegally cross the border and take refuge in

unprotected places of Calcutta which increased the disorder in Calcutta.

Pronob, Sanjay, The Bangal Tiger and Joyonto Roy represent aristocratic

class who becomes the victim of Naxalite movement.

Tara comes to the Catelli-Continental to meet her friends. Joyonto Roy

listens Tara friends‟ views about violence in Calcutta. They mainly speak in

English and occasionally they use Bengali words. They discuss about the

movies they have seen or party they have attended. They reverently talk about

imported gadgets, transistors, blenders, and percolators to show their

familiarity with foreign country‟s lifestyle. Joyonto Roy thinks they are like

him when he was in his twenties and their superficial attitudes frightened him.

Even they talk about current events to show off their familiarity with Time

Magazine or Reader‟s Digest. “The real Calcutta, the thick laughter of bru tal

176

men, open dustbins, worm and dark where carcasses were sometimes

discarded, did not exist. He knew Calcutta would not be as kind to them as it

had been to him” (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 52).

Pronob is an owner of the factory so his life is also affected by

Naxalite movement. He is disgusted by workers‟ strike for higher wages. He

complains that the owners of the companies pay medical insurance for

workers, pension plans, education taxes for their kids and in return they

gherao company‟s owners. If workers‟ gherao the aristocratic class often, they

would have to move Bombay side.

Pronob becomes victim of Naxalite movement. Workers surround him

and his family for eighteen hours. There is no water and food available for

them. When they ask for water, the workers send coke bottles filled with

urine. When Tara hears the incidents of gherao at Pronab‟s house, she thinks

about the future of the upper class Bengalis. She thinks only Marwaris can

stand up against the communist. The Marwaris are insensitive and less

vulnerable while the Bengalis are sensitive and easily threatened by

Naxalites. Tara thinks about the condition of the Bengalis in future. “The

poor Bengalis, the descendants of Hari Lal Banerjee who had inherited not

earned, their wealth, their frailties, their conscience? Bombay, she knew was

no answer. It was like Chekhov, she felt, yearning for Moscow but staying”

(Mukherjee, Tiger’s 57).

Tara and her friends regularly meet at the Catelli-Continental even

when the riots break out in Calcutta. They indifferently listen the English

news. Tara listens the news of minor fights between the police and

demonstrators on Rashbehari Avenue on radio. She is scared by the news of

violence but Reena consoles her and says it‟s normal in Calcutta and it used

to be worse before. Pronob takes it as political stunt and not as revolutionary

movement. He says, “farms are being looted, landlords are being clubbed to

death. This is reform.?”( Mukherjee, Tiger’s 72) The aristocratic class never

tries to find out the reasons behind the revolutionary movement and they

blame political leaders, workers, peasants, and sharecroppers.

The procession is on its way to the Catelli -Continental hotel. Tara and

her friends view the procession from the hotel‟s perch. Some marchers walk

into the stores to loot it. They overturn car parks at the sidewalk. Reena views

177

this procession as movie show and even she tells Tara to enjoy it like movie.

Reena‟s reaction shows that upper middle class are not serious about the class

war. Tara objectively views the procession from the safe distance.

From Tara‟s perch (she had climbed on a chair for a better

view), at first the procession looked like a giant caterpillar,

sluggish and quiet harmless, on the busy road. Then she was

able to make out banners, picket signs, bricks, soda bottles,

bamboo poles. The leaders run back and forth, coaxing people

to shout louder and to get in the way of the traffic. From the

roof of the Catelli, Tara saw Calcutta, squeezed horribly

together, men, women, infants, some scratching their crotches,

others laughing like tourists in an unfamiliar section of town.

And always the heartbeat of the slogans. “Blood bath! Blood

bath! Blood bath! Blood bath! (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 75)

Tara is scared by the view of the procession. She thinks how she can

go to home but Reena says there is no need to worry. This kind of

demonstration is routine for Calcutta‟s people. The aristocratic class always

complains about labour problems in factories and tea gardens. Even the

Bengal Tiger advises Tara‟s friends to apply for immigration to Canada or

America because he thinks future of Calcutta is very bleak. Tragedy is

common in Calcutta. “The newspapers were full of epidemics, collision, fatal

quarrels, and starvation. Even murders, beheadings of landlords in front of

their families” (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 119). Bharati Mukherjee depicts the lives

of poor and beggars in Calcutta. Even the poor are easily misguided by

Naxalite leaders and they become scapegoat in the hands of Naxalites, and

political leaders. Tara has never seen real Calcutta. She is sheltered by her

parents so she hasn‟t seen poverty, bustee, and beggars. Reena accuses Tara

for being too self-centered and European. Tara hates Calcutta because it has

given her kids eat yoghurt off dirty sidewalk. She is bothered by the child

beggar and she thinks it is her responsibility to do something for the child

beggar. Reena bluntly replies that it is not her responsibility to do something

and the child beggar is not her responsibility. She says the child beggar is

paid professional of the Marwari. Tara becomes upset after watching the child

beggar.

178

Tara had been outraged by Calcutta, that there were too many

people sprawled in alleys and storefronts and staircase. She

longed for the Bengal of Satyajit Ray, children running through

cool green spaces, aristocrats despairing in music rooms of

empty palaces. She hated Calcutta because it had given her kids

eating yoghurt off dirty sidewalks. (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 128)

Tara‟s perceptions of looking at things are changed during her stays in

New York which creates confusion in her life. Bharati Mukherjee writes about

lives of bustee dwellers and their hatred for aristocratic Class. Joyonto Roy

invites Tara and Reena to visit the bustee. Tara, Reena, and Joyonto Roy go to

Tollygaunge. The road to Tollygaunge is circuitous, kutcha and full of cracks

and bumps. Tara is bewildered by the first view of the squatters. “All she

show was the obvious. Goats and cows grazing in the dust, dogs chasing the

friskier children, men sleeping on string beds under a banyan tree. Children

playing with mud beside a cracked tube well. Rows of hovels and huts”

(Mukherjee, Tiger’s 139). Tara sees naked children playing near the tube

well. She thinks these children would be perfect for adoption ads in western

periodicals. She wants to adopt all the children. Reena‟s reaction is different

towards the squatters and naked children. According to Reena this is criminal

and how can they illegally seize Joyonto Roy‟s private property. Joyonto Roy

is prodigal and danger to aristocratic class according to Reena. She thinks if

aristocrat class gives their private property to poor people, in future there is

no way to stop them by seizing private property. Here Reena represents

thought and action of aristocratic class. Her reaction towards poverty and

poor is very superficial. She notes down the details of squatters and she gives

it to Joyonto Roy to serve bustee dwellers new eviction notices. Tara and

Reena follow the old man Joyonto Roy. Tara sees anger and hatred for them

on the faces of bustee dwellers. “Tara thought they had sly eyes and

imprudent ears. She thought she saw abrasive distrust on their faces- anger

against people who were obviously not squatters” (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 141).

The little girl stops their way. The girl is suffering from leprosy. Suddenly the

little girl screams and throws herself on Tara. Tara loses her mind and starts

screaming, “Don‟t touch me, Don‟t touch me” (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 145). Tara

is sheltered by her parents and she has never tried to see real Calcutta when

179

she was in Calcutta. During her stay in hostel when dormitory girls asked her

about poverty, bustee dwellers, beggars and riots, she could not say anything

to them. From her life in hostel she came to know about the condition of

Calcutta through her friends questions. She cannot describe her experiences at

bustee in a letter to David. She looks at the bustee like watching a movie. She

is disgusted with bustee dweller and poverty. She writes in a letter

Absolutely incredible, David. I mean you can‟t imagine how

terrible it was. Like seeing it at the movies or something,

certainly not like the beggars everywhere on the streets.

Anyway I don‟t think I want to talk about it. Enough to say that

poverty is an art your people will never master” (Mukherjee,

Tiger’s 155).

David thinks the customs which Tara has praised merely humiliate the

poor. He wants Tara should take a stand against poverty, hunger, injustice and

unemployment. He analogizes between Calcutta and Czarist Russia on the eve

of revolution. He thinks bloody struggle between two classes are inevitable.

Tara cannot tell David that, “the misery of her city too immense and blurred

to be listed and assailed one by one. That it was fatal to fight for justice; that

it was better to remain passive and absorb all shocks as they came”

(Mukherjee, Tiger’s 157). Bharati Mukherjee also depicts how foreigner looks

at the class struggle and poverty through the character of David, McDowell,

and Antonia Whitehead. The upper class never looks at the revolution and

class struggle objectively. For them it is not their responsibility to do

something for the society. Their attitude towards revolution is very

superficial.

The political leader P.K. Tuntunwala is the strongest conservative

candidate. The aristocratic class and landowners support P.K.Tuntunwala.

Tara knows he is very dangerous man and he can create whatever situation he

needs for winning the election. He is very different from Pronob and the

Bengal Tiger. He is very energetic, ferocious, and aggressive so Pronob seems

flabby in comparison with him. Tara thinks what will happen to her father and

businessman like Pronob in future. Deepak Ghose is the leader of the poor

and peasants. The price of rice has risen up suddenly so the informal general

strike is declared. The followers of Deepak Ghose loot grocery store and

180

overturns cars. Tara and her friends go to Nayapur for picnic. At the guest

house, she meets P. K. Tuntunwala. He invites her to show industrial progress

of Nayapur. Tara goes with him but when she returns back at the guest house,

she finds her friends go to watch movie without informing her. Tara suffer s

from headache so P.K. Tuntunwala invites her in his suite to p ick up

medicine. He takes advantage of her condition and rapes her. Tara cannot say

anything about the incident to her friends and leaves for Calcutta alone by

train. She decides to go back to New York so she books a flight ticket to New

York. She goes to the Catelli-Continental to inform her friends about her

departure. When she reaches the Catelli-Continental, the demonstration is on

the way to the hotel. At the traffic lights and intersections the rioters overturn

the car and burn it. The young men in the crowd have bamboo poles and axes.

The policemen soon arrive on the place to stop the procession. A group of

young marchers comes out of the procession and hits two policemen and then

they again vanish in the procession.

Reena is overwhelmed by the sight of the procession. She stands by the

parapet and shouts at the mob. At first Tara‟s friends frighten by the sight of

rioters but after seeing the recognize faces of the police men they feel relieve.

The men and children loot the shops and then they burn the shops. Suddenly

the police men stop the cars and order passengers to run to safe place. People

abandon their cars in the middle of the street. The waiter requests the patrons

of the hotel to go home before the rioters sack the hotel. When Tara‟s group

tries to go out of the hotel, a splinter mob force them back into the entrance

hall of the hotel. Some marchers smash glass panel of the hotel entrance with

bricks. Somehow Tara‟s group manages to run to the fiat.

The mob pressed against the sides of the car, pointed to soda

bottles, and bamboo sticks, and shook tiny fists at the four

people inside. Then a bomb exploded somewhere… Looters

carried off sheets and towels. Sullen policemen arrived

swinging lathi. Marchers kicked Sanjay‟s fiat as they ran

towards the steps of the hotel. There was no way Sanjay could

back his car out into the street. The friends crouched in the little

car with doors locked and windows rolled tight. Now and then a

181

stone or broken bottle hurled against a door… On the other side

of the street a bus was burning slowly. (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 244)

Rows of constable are lined up near the doorway of the hotel. They

stop marchers and one police officer shouts in a megaphone to fall back from

the private property of Mr Tuntunwala. Joyonto Roy in his attempts to go

outside is caught by the marchers. The marchers kick him and toss him from

line to line. Pronob comes out of the car to save Joyonto Roy but before he

saves Joyonto Roy the mob seize him.

A soda bottle burst against Pronob head. He had no time to

scream. Tara had not seen so much blood on a friend before; a

fat man bleeds profusely. They punched him while he was still

bleeding. Pronob fell against the side of the taxi and they kept

punching. He would never know that his gesture had been

useless. (Mukherjee, Tiger’s 247)

Pronob in his efforts to save Joyonto Roy is killed by the mob. The

novel ends in media res. “Tara, still locked in a car across the street from the

Catelli-Continental, wondered whether she would ever get out of Calcutta,

and if she did not, whether David would ever know that she loved him

fiercely”( Mukherjee, Tiger’s 247- 248).

In the novel Bharati Mukherjee writes how the life of upper middle

class is affected by Naxalite movement. In the novel she portrays the Naxalite

movement as more destructive than revolutionary. She does not try to analyze

ideology of Naxalite movement and she only presents the loss and destruction

in the society. She only writes about the aristocratic class of Calcutta and

does not give voice to the subaltern classes.

Bharati Mukherjee wrote about Khalistan movement in Jasmine. After

partition of India, the Khalsa Sikhs believed that their Sikh identity was under

threat so they demanded a separate Sikhs state. First one has to understand

ideologies of Khalistan movement in order to analyze the influence of

Khalistan movement in the novel.

According to census of Punjab in 1981, Sikhs constituted 60.7percent,

Hindu 36.93percent; the rest one percent were the Christians and some

Muslims. Punjabi and Hindi were the official languages of Punjab. Most

people were Punjabi speaking, but in the urban centers many people speak

182

Hindi. Punjab is one of the smallest states in the Indian union, in term of

population and of size. In 1986 Punjab, after Goa and the Capital territory of

Delhi, had the highest per capita income of Rupees 4519. Its success in

improved agricultural production through employment of modern technology

was considered phenomenal.

Sikhism was founded in Punjab in the late 15th

century by Kharti

Nanak Chand. Sikhism was influenced by the Bhakti, the northern India‟s

Sant tradition, and Islam, particularly its Sufi tradition. Guru Nanak rejected

the cast system and stressed the worship of one God. He upbraided the

contemporary Muslims as well as Hindu religions and political establishment

for their corrupt ways and urged true worship of the timeless God. He advised

his disciples to participate actively in societal affairs with a view to achieve

solution through hard work and piety rather than by hermetic withdrawal and

solitary meditation. Sikhism remained a peaceful sect during the time of the

first four Gurus.

As the time passes Sikhism became more orthodox and rigid religion.

The tenth and last guru of orthodox Sikhs, Gobind Rai (1666-1708),

abandoned the conciliatory policy which had characterized the attitude of his

predecessors. He maintained a regular army of well trained disciples. Most of

his soldiers came from the poorer section of the peasantry and artisan caste.

The Sikhs began to collect revenue and other taxes from area under their

control, and the Sikh power became a dominant force in the politics of

northern India.

In 1966, Guru Gobind Rai summoned his followers to gather at

Anandpur in northern Punjab. At this gathering he instituted the system of

baptism. In this gathering five men, a Brahmin, a Kshatriya, and three men

from the Sudra caste were chosen to drink out of one bowl to signify their

initiation into the fraternity of the Khalsa (literally, the Pure). Gobind Rai

gave them one family name; Singh, which means lion. The baptism meant that

they had given up their previous profession and became soldier of the Khalsa

and also they had given up rites and rituals not sanctioned by the Sikhs faith.

Further five emblems were introduced: hair and beard must keep unshorn

(Kes); a small comb must be carried (Kangha); a knee length pair of breeches

must be worn (Kach); steel or iron bracelet must be worn (Kara); and a small

183

dagger must be carried (Kirpan). Gobind Rai declared further that there was

no guru after him. The Sikh holy book „the Granth Sahib‟ would be the ever

present guru from which the Sikhs seek guidance. In 1799 the Sikhs came on

the power under Ranjit Singh in Punjab. The Sikhs ruled over Punjab for

eighty two years.

In the early twentieth century conflicts arose among Hindu and Sikhs

about status of Sikhism. Some Hindu and the Sikhs leaders believed that the

Sikhs were a part Hinduism while extremist Khalsa Lions declared that

Sikhism was different religion. The Sikhs established the Akali Dal in 1920 to

promote Sikh community and cultural identity. The Akali Dal started non

violent movement to take possession of Sikh temples from the British

government. They opposed continuously for five years against the British

appointed priests. The British government gave possession of Sikh temples to

elected Sikh body Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC). The

Akali Dal gradually took interest in politics. When Muslims demanded a

separate Muslim country before independence, the Sikhs also demanded

separate Sikh state in India. The Sikhs were thinly spread in Punjab state so

they could not pressure government for separate state. The Muslim League

and Congress party both tried to take the Sikhs on their side and the Sikhs

decided to become a part of secular India. Jawaharlal Nehru made promise to

the Sikhs leaders that Sikhism was considered as separate religion and the

Sikhs separate identity would be preserved. The Sikhs leaders opposed the

government‟s decision to give entire Punjab province to Pakistan. They

demanded the Muslim majority areas of Punjab should be given to Pakistan

and the Sikhs majority areas should be remained in India. The Sikhs leaders

started riots in Punjab and forced Muslims to flee West Punjab which was

going to Pakistan. The Sikhs shifted to East Punjab from West Punjab. The

riots broke out after partition. After partition the Sikhs of West Punjab took

refuge in East Punjab and there the government allotted them land. The

Punjab government declared Punjabi and Hindi languages as regional

languages of Punjab. The Akali Dal demanded redrawing of state borders on

linguistic basis. They wanted Punjabi as the sole regional language of the

state. The government did not accept the Sikhs demand to redrawing state

boundaries on the linguistic basis. The Sikhs leader Tara Singh started

184

movement for Punjabi state on communal terms. Tara Singh led the Sikhs in

1955 for a separate Punjabi suba. During the war between India and Pakistan

in 1965which was fought on Punjab borders, the Akali Dal and the Sikhs

opposed Pakistan. In 1962 Fateh Singh, a new leader of the Akali Dal,

demanded a separate Punjabi suba purely on linguistic base. Mrs Indira

Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, accepted the Sikhs demand of Punjabi suba

on Linguistic base in 1966. Hindi speaking districts separated from Punjab

and it became part of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Indira Gandhi

interfered greatly in Punjab state administration and ran administrat ion on

highly personalized manner. The Akali Dal demanded various economic,

religious, and political benefits from the government in 1973. Indira Gandhi

did not accept the Akali Dal‟s demands so she was defeated in the general

election of 1977.

Indira Gandhi wanted to come back in Punjab politics so she chose

Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a religious preacher, as a leader against the

Akali Dal. Bhindranwale became popular among the lower class Sikhs and in

Punjab administration. He urged the Sikhs to stop living immoral life and

maintained the Sikhs identity. He advised the Sikhs to live a pure life of a

strict Khalsa. Many unemployed educated and non-agricultural caste Jats

attracted towards him.

When Indira Gandhi came on power in 1980, she began to dislike

Bhindranwale‟s extremist attitude which ignited conflicts between

Bhindranwale and Congress Party. Bhindranwale arrested that time but the

Akali Dal pressured government for his release. Bhindranwale joined hands

with the Akali Dal. He maintained his personal army of well trained Sikhs

soldiers. Gradually many Sikhs attracted towards his ideologies of the Khalsa

Lions. He preached the Sikhs to live pure life and the Sikhs must avoid

smoking, and drinking. Thousands of the Sikhs from the villages of Punjab

became his followers. His followers spread violence in Punjab and they

attacked on Hindu and other Sikhs whom they believed impious Sikhs. The

government started to take actions against the follower of Bhindranwale for

spreading violence.

Bhindranwale with his several armed followers entered the Golden

Temple on 12th

June 1982 in search of protection from the government action.

185

He started campaign against the government and he demanded an independent

Sikh state Khalistan. In Punjab video- cassette tapes of his speeches were

available. He often mentioned about the details of mistreatment against the

Sikhs by the police and Hindus. He urged the Sikhs to act violently against

Hindu and the police. He favored return of pure Khalsa Lions. He ran his own

government. In many foreign countries the Sikhs organizations favored the

demand of separate Khalistan state. For two years the State and Centre

government did not take any decisive steps against Bhindranwale and his

followers. The Sikhs leaders in U.K., Canada, and North America supported

the demand of independent Sikh state Khalistan. Bhindranwale‟s followers

stored ammunitions in the temple in 1984.

Indira Gandhi ordered Indian army to enter into the Golden Temple

after failure of negotiation between the center government and Bhindranwale

on 3 June 1984. The army surrounded the Golden Temple under the command

of Major General Kuldip Singh. The army ordered Bhindranwale and his

militants to surrender but they were not ready to surrender themselves. Even

the army requested the militants to send pilgrims safely out of the Golden

Temple but the militants used the pilgrims to stop the army‟s actions. The

militants had stored machine gun and firepower in the temple so they fought

with the army. After twenty four hours fight, the army entered into the

temple. In this crossfire many innocent pilgrims were killed. Bhindranwale,

Shahbeg Singh and his followers were slain in the holy temple. The army took

control of the Golden Temple in the morning of 7th

June. In this battle the

holy takht, the Sikhs‟ sacred relics and documents were damaged. Hundreds

of people were killed in this crossfire. Many political parties and the Sikhs all

over the world criticized Indira Gandhi for this operation. Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her two Sikhs security guards on 31

October 1984. After assassination of Indira Gandhi, the riots were broke out

against the Sikhs across the North India. The riots and violence were broken

out everywhere between the Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab region for decade.

The Sikhs militants killed the police officer and their family members. Even

extremist Sikh assassinated the Chief Minister Beant Singh on 31 August

1995.

186

After the Operation Blue Star, the Sikh Diaspora started to take interest

in Punjab politics. For the Sikh Diaspora, the Operation Blue Star was an

attack on the entire Sikh community. The Sikh Diaspora financially supported

Khalistan movement. The Khalistan Council and Babar Khalsa were started to

spread ideologies of Khalistan movement in the U.K., Canada, and U.S.A.

After the Operation Blue a conference was held under the leadership of Major

General Jaswant Singh and Didar Singh Bains. They declared that the Sikh

identity and faith would be safe only in the Sikh separate state- Khalistan. Dr.

Jagjit Singh Chauhan, a former finance minister of Punjab, migrated to the

U.K. in 1971. He became leader of British Khalistan council. Jagjit Chauhan

and other groups believed to get help from Pakistan for Khalistan movement.

Many Sikhs immigrated to Canada after partition. The members of the

Babar Khalsa emigrated to Canada and there they spread ideology of separate

Sikh state. After the Operation Blue Star, one of the members of the Babar

Khalsa group bombed Air India Flight 182 on 23 June 1985. The route of the

flight was Montreal, Canada- London, U.K.- Delhi, India. The flight crashed

into the Atlantic Ocean. All passengers and crew members were killed into

this bombing. In order to take revenge for launching the Operat ion Blue Star

in the Golden Temple, the Sikhs militant bombed Air India Flight in which

329 innocent people were killed.

After 1990 the violence in Punjab increased. The State and Center

government could not reduce the activity of the Sikhs militants. Thousands of

people killed in this violence. Gun fire, bomb blasting, killing of politician,

and kidnapping became common during this period. The Center government

declared an election on 19th

February 1992 in Punjab in which Sardar Beant

Singh became the minister. The new government remained successful in

bringing peace in Punjab at some level. During 1993 the Sikhs militant ‟s

violence decreased and Beant Singh‟s government remained successful in

establishing peace.

The roots of the Khalistan movement laid in the partition of India.

During the partition thousands of Sikhs were killed in the riots. Thousands of

the Sikhs from East Punjab which became part of Pakistan took refuge in

Punjab and Delhi. The Sikhs began to think that in Hindu majori ty state, they

187

could not sustain their separate identity and religion so their demand for

Khalistan increased with the time which had terrifying consequences.

Bharati Mukherjee in her third novel Jasmine presents immigrant‟s

journey from India to America as a process of unhousement and rehousement.

There is paradigm Shift in her writing from expatriate to immigrant

sensibility. Jasmine, the protagonist of the novel, transforms herself severally

to assimilate in alien land. Bharati Mukherjee personifies her Americanness

through the character of Jasmine. Her writing becomes more Americanized

with each passing year. The new changing America is the theme of her

stories. Bharati Mukherjee declares herself as American writer after her

assimilation in American mainstream culture. She rejects hyphenation. She

discards her old identity and as the time passes her notion of identity is

changed. She says, “I see my „immegrant‟ story replicated in a dozen

American cities, and instead of seeing my Indianness as fragile identity to be

presented against (or worse, a „visible‟ disfigurement to be hidden), I see now

as a set of fluid identities to be celebrated” (Kerns 665). Jasmine changes her

name severally which indicates her gradual progress towards

Americanization. Bharati Mukherjee writes about how third world immigrants

transform themselves in order to reroot themselves in America and in the

process of their transformation, they also transform Americans, so it is two

way process. Jasmine transforms herself Six times from Jyoti of Hasnapur to

Jane of Iowa.

Jyoti is born in Hasnapur, a feudal village of Punjab. She is the fifth

daughter of her parents. Jyoti is born in gender biased society in which

daughter is undesirable and curse. Daughter is punishment from the God for

sins committed in other incarnations by the woman. Jyoti is rebellious,

survivor and adopter from the beginning of her life. In the opening of the

novel the astrologer foretells her widowhood and exile. Jyoti opposes the

astrologer‟s prophecy about her widowhood and exile. After her court

marriage with Prakash, She moves to Jullundhar with Prakash. Jullundhar is a

center of Khalistan movement. Prakash gives her new name Jasmine to

celebrate her new independent and modern life in the city. Prakash secures an

admission in Florida Technological institute. On the eve of his departure,

Prakash is killed in the bombings by the Khalistan Loins. Jasmine‟s life is

188

affected by the Khalistan movement from the beginning. Jasmine illegally

goes to Florida to burn herself a “Sati” on the campus of Technological

Institute where Prakash got admission. During her odyssey in America,

Jasmine has undergone through many transformations- Jasmine, Jazzy, Jase

and Jane. In America her life is also affected by the Khalistan movement

which shows the ideologies of the Khalistan movement spread among the

Sikhs extremists of other countries.

Jyoti is born in feudal village of Punjab but her family was settled in

Lahore before the partition of India. The Seed of many historical movements

of India laid in the partition of India. After World War II Muhammed Ali

Jinnah, The Muslim League leader demanded a separate Muslim State, while

Jawaharlal Nehru was not in a favor of partition of India. As the day passes

the war between Hindus and Muslims broke down in the county. The Muslims

League declared the “Direct Action Day‟ on 16 August 1946 on which 4000

Hindus and the Sikhs killed in Calcutta. Gandhiji requested Hindus and

Muslims to unite against the British government. Lord Mountbatten granted

the independence in February 1947 but after the decision of partition of India,

he extended the independence date up to 15 August 1947.

When the British government was deciding the fixing of a border

between two states, the division of Punjab region was very difficult because

of uneven mixture of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. Punjab region was divided

from the middle of the province and Lahore became part of Pakistan and

Amritsar remained in India. Thousands of people migrated from their homes

after partition. The Sikhs and Hindus migrate from East Punjab which became

part of Pakistan. Thousands of Muslims, Hindus and the Sikhs were killed in

massacre. Thousands people left their home and property and crossed the

border depending upon their faith.

Jasmine‟s family uprooted from Lahore after partition of India

because Lahore became part of Pakistan after partition. In Lahore her family

lived a luxurious life but they had to move from Lahore to Punjab. After

Partition Indian government provided land to refugees in Punjab but it could

not improve the condition of refugees. For her family members partition was

cruel and they always remained nostalgic about their life in Lahore.

189

God is cruel to partition the county, she said, to uproot our

family from a city like Lahore where we had lived for centuries,

and fling us to a village of flaky mud huts. In Lahore my

presents had lived in a big stucco house with porticoes and

gardens. They had owned farmlands, shops. An alley had been

named after a great uncle. In our family lore Lahore was magic

and Lahore was chaos. (Mukherjee, Jasmine 41)

None can forget about the partition riots and loss always remains in the

memories of the victims of riots. Thousands of people were killed at the time

of the crossing borders without any reason. Jasmine‟s parents never forget

about the partition riots.

Mataji, my mother couldn‟t forget the partition Riots. Muslims

sacked our house, Neighbor‟s servants tugged off earrings and

bangles, defiled grottoes, sobered my grandfather‟s horse. Life

shouldn‟t have turned cut that way! I‟ve never been to Lahore,

but the loss survives in the instant replay of family stay: forever

Lahore smokes, forever my parents flee. (Mukherjee, Jasmine

41)

Jasmine‟s parents cannot adapt themselves in Punjab. Bharati

Mukherjee writes about the effect of partition of India in The Tiger’s

Daughter and Jasmine. She explicitly mentions about the effect of partition of

India in Jasmine through the life of Pitaji, Mataji and Dida. In the partition of

India the West Bengal region divided on the base of Hindus and Muslims

community. Hindu majority region of the West Bengal became province of

India and Muslim majority region of the East Bengal became part of Pakistan.

Thousands of Hindus migrated to India after the partition of India. From East

Bengal majority people took refuge in Calcutta which ignited Naxalite

movements.

In the novel Jasmine school teacher became victim of the Khalsa

Lions, the Sikhs extremist. Masterji was a pious Sikh. He kept his hair and

beard and on special occasion he carried Kirpan. In Hasnapur all the Sikhs

men kept beards and hair but a few men kept ceremonial dagger with them.

The five emblems are turban, Kangha, Kara (Steel or Iron bracelet), Kirpan

and Kacchera. As the time passes many Sikhs stop keeping one or other

emblems according to their convenience. The Khalsa Lions, a new Sikh boy‟s

190

gang, gave more important to five emblems of Sikh identity. Sant

Bhindranwale, a leader of Khalsa Lions, prepared the gang of Khalsa Lions

who believed in the purity. “There was a new Sikh boys‟ gang, the Khalsa

Lions, who liked actions. Khalsa means pure. As Lions of Purity, the gang

dressed in white shirts and pajamas and indigo turbans, and all of them toted

heavy Kirpans on bandoliers” (Mukherjee, Jasmine 49). The gang of the

Khalsa Lions considered themselves pure and they physically torture other

Sikhs whom they thought as impious Sikh. Masterji was honest, pious Sikh

but, he was very non communal. The Khalsa Lions distributed pamphlets

accusing him as a bad Sikh in the classroom and they hurled stones and fruits

from their scooters on him. Jasmine‟s father called the gang, “Hoolligans!

Now they‟re throwing sticks and stones: next month they‟ll throw bombs”

(Jasmine 49). Masterji had different opinion for the Khalsa Lions. He said,

“Where there is arising there is also a falling. Holligans who soar must also

come down” (Mukherjee, Jasmine 50). The ordinary people of the village

were very pessimist for the insurgence of the Sikh militants. People were very

anxious about their future life amidst the Khalistan movement. The men

usually talked about violence of the Khalsa Lions.

Their talk was always about vengeful, catastrophic politics.

Sikh nationalist had gotten out of Hand…The Khalsa Lions

were making bombs…Kalashnikov-and Uzi-armed terrorists on

moped were picking off the moderates, the police, innocent

Hindus…Vancouver Singh‟s farm was a safe house for drug

pushers and gunmen…Punjab would explode in months, maybe

even days…Hindus would be smart to get out while they

could…the whole country was a bloody mess… (Mukherjee,

Jasmine 64)

The Khalsa Lions made bombs at their home to kill Hindus and the

Sikhs. The Khalsa boys gang hijacked a bus which was on its way to a shrine

of Lord Ganpati. They shot all Hindus male passenger of the bus. One day

Jasmine‟s brothes friend named Sukhwinder, a baptized Sikh came to her

home. Sukhwinder was follower of Sant Bhindranwale and he had visited him

in the Golden Temple. The hot discussion was started between Sukhwinder

and Jasmine‟s two brothers Hari-prar and Arvind-prar about future of Punjab

191

and political condition of Punjab. Sukhwinder believed, “The Khalsa, the

Pure-Bodied and the Pure-Hearted, must have their Sovereign State.

Khalistan, the land of the Pure. The impure must be eliminated” (Mukherjee,

Jasmine 65). Sukhwinder was orthodox Sikh and he was ready to kill innocent

people on the name of the religion. Even he did not hesitate to kill his friends

and brothers of his own village. He believed that a true Sikh had to maintain

the Sikh identity and follow the path shown by Sant Bhindranwale. Sant

Bhindranwale was leader of all the fanatics. He demanded a separate Sikh‟s

state Khalistan. He misguided the poor and peasant Sikhs by giving details of

incidents about conflicts between the Sikhs and Hindus. He mentioned how

Hindus killed the Sikhs during the partition of India. Sukhwinder became

blind follower of Sant Bhindranwale. He suggested, “Renounce all filth and

idolatry. Do not eat meat, smoke, tobacco or drink alcohol or cut your hair.

Wear a Turban” (Mukherjee, Jasmine 65). He was against Hindus. He

believed all Hindus women were whores. He believed the Sikhs women must

not wear sari because it was the sign of the prostitute. He was on the side of

Pakistan and Muslims. The Sikhs community divided in two groups: One

group of the Sikhs was liberal and pious Sikhs who were not against Hindus,

the other group of the Sikhs was extremist and orthodox Sikhs who were

against Hindu and India. Hari-prar, Arvind-prar and Prakash represented

liberal and pious Sikhs group while Sukhwinder represented the group of

extremist Khlasa Lion. Prakash believed that there was no Hindu State or

Sikh State in India. India was of everyone. Even in the partition of India

Muslims killed the Sikhs. Sukhwinder wan not agreed with Prakash‟s thought.

Sukhwinder believed:

True Pakistanis are Punjabis, like us. If they were cruel to

Sikhs, it‟s because of Hindu‟s influence on them. Many of them

had Hindu Mothers and Hindu concubines who taught then to

kill Sikhs. Pakistanis were Hindus who saw the light if the true

God and converted. So were Sikhs only bloodsucker banyas and

untouchable monkeys were remained Hindu. (Mukherjee,

Jasmine 60)

Khalistan movement started with the demand of a separate Sikh state

but gradually it became anti-Hindu movement. Violent incidents broke out in

192

Punjab for the demand of Khalistan State. Sant Bhindranwale ran his own

government in Punjab. Even his followers were against liberal Sikhs. The

Khalsa Lions made bomb at their home and they exploded it in public places.

Even they hijacked public vehicle and shot dead innocent people without any

hesitation. The police could not control and stopped them completely from

spreading violence. The Khalsa Lions interfered in Masterji‟s class by making

noise very close to his desk, so he tried to stop them but they caught him. The

Khalsa Lions called him insulting names. Masterji started to cry in front of

the students. He said, “I am a good Sikh, a pious Sikh,…why are you doing

this? We are peaceful people” (Mukherjee, Jasmine 85-86). The Khalsa Lions

group humiliates the Masterji in front of his students. First they physically

humiliate him and then they shot dead him.

In front of students they first knocked his turban off. They

called him insulting names…They pulled out the ceremonial

comb, and his life-long hair fell over his shoulders, down his

back…While one boy barbered the teacher, chopping at the hair

in great chumps, another held a machine gun over the children.

After they freed his rolled up beard and chopped it off, they

spun him around until he staggered and fell. Then they shot,

emptying over thirty bullets in him. (Mukherjee, Jasmine 85-86)

They shot dead Masterji in front of the school children. This was

beginning of many terrible act committed by this group. Jasmine also became

victim of this group. Jasmine married with Prakash, a liberal Hindu in the

civil court. After marriage she moved with her husband to Jullundhar. For the

Khalsa Lions, Hindu woman was prostitute so in the eyes of them she was no

more than a prostitute. Jasmine was enjoying her marital life in the company

of her husband Prakash. The Khalsa Lions tried to kill Jasmine by detonating

a transistor bomb when she was shopping in the Sari Shop with her husband

Prakash. Jasmine saw two Khalsa Lions in the shop. One of them put a music

box in lounged in the doorway. Jasmine recognized one man‟s face, he was

Sukhwinder. He hadn‟t worn turban and he had a short hair. Jasmine told

Prakash about the music box which was left by the Lions in the Shop. Within

a few seconds the music box exploded and Prakash and Jasmine stumbled

together. Sukhwinder shouted on Jasmine, “Prostitutes! Whores!”

193

(Mukherjee, Jasmine 93). Prakash‟s body cushion her. Jasmine realized , “the

bomb was meant for me, prostitute, Whore! (Mukherjee, Jasmine 93). She

became widow and came back to Hasnapur. Although she was alive but her

life was completely changed after the incident.

The Khalsa Lions exploded bombs in public places. They killed

innocent Hindus without any reason even they did not wear turban and beard

so no one knew their real identity as Khalsa Lions. “Cars blew upon the

street, the scared swapped tips: the Lions don‟t always wear beards and

turbans just the steel bracelet. They can look like you and me. We started

looking first at Wrist, before getting closer” (Mukherjee, Jasmine 89-90).

Bharati Mukherjee presented Khalistan Movement as mere destructive

force which created havoc in the life of the common people. She did not try to

understand ideologies of Khalistan Movement and Naxalite Movement. She

superficially presented both historical movements form the point of view of

its affected people. She did not try to analyze the mentality of its perpetrators.

Many critics criticized her for mere trivialization of two important historical

movements after independence of India. Uma Parameswaram criticized Bharti

Mukahrjee for portrayal of historical movements:

The novel is particularly shallow and ill researched. Her

trivialization of the Khalistan issue, her haphazard injection of

Stereotypical characters and symbols ( trying to make

Jyoti/Jasmine into Durga incarnate by having her slice her

tongue before killing her rapist), her general carelessness

regarding historical facts, and peasant and urban realities of

Punjab, her flippant disregard of the strength of familial

relationships…and weak characterization…all reveal a rather

contemptuous attitude towards the intelligence of the reader.

If Bharati Mukherjee extensively studied ideologies behind historical

movement, she could objectively portray revolutionary movement in her

novels. In The Tiger Daughter, She only portrayed effects of Naxalite

movements on upper middle class while in Jasmine she portrayed effects of

Khalistan movement on common people.

194

Works Cited

Carb, Alison B. “An Interview with Bharati Mukherjee.” Conversations With Bharati

Mukherjee. Ed. A. C. Bradley. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009.

25-31. Print.

Kerns, Roshni Rustomji. “Expatriates Immigrants and Literature: Three South Asian

Women Writers.” The Massachusetts Review Winter 1989: 665. Print.

Mukherjee, Bharati. “Interview with Runar Vignisson.” SPAN 20 Nov. 2004.

http://wwwtds.murdoch.edu.au./cntinuum/litserv/SPAN/34/Vignisson.html

---. Jasmine. New York: Grove Press, 1989. Print.

---.“On Being Deliberately Misread.” The Statesman Festival (1993): 14-17. Print.

---. The Tiger’s Daughter. Fawcett: New York, 1992.Print.

Parameswaran, Uma. SACLIT: An Introduction to South Asian: Canadian Literature.

Madras: East West Books, 1996. n.p. Print.