CC BY
3
2022
ВЕСТНИК САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГСКОГО УНИВЕРСИТЕТА ВОСТОКОВЕДЕНИЕ И АФРИКАНИСТИКА
Т. 14. Вып. 2
МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЕ ОТНОШЕНИЯ, ПОЛИТИКА И ЭКОНОМИКА СТРАН АЗИИ И АФРИКИ
UDC 82-1/29+323.12
Perception of Secular/Inclusive Nationalism
in the Context of 2019-20 Anti-CAA Protests in India
(Based on the Literary Material)
A. V. Chelnokova, A. N. Makhlaiuk, J. A. Dubrovina
St Petersburg State University,
7-9, Universitetskaya nab., St Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
For citation: Chelnokova A. V., Makhlaiuk A. N., Dubrovina J. A. Perception of Secular/Inclusive
Nationalism in the Context of 2019-20 Anti-CAA Protests in India (Based on the Literary Material).
Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, pp. 352-365.
https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2022.212
At the end of 2019 and in early 2020, there were large-scale protests in India against amendments to the Citizenship Act 1955. They touched upon an important issue for Indian society — the issue of religion. Many protest actions were characterized by appeals to various forms of art, including poetry. We analyze the perception of secular or inclusive nationalism in the context of the 2019-2020 protests through the prism of the most popular poetic works that were recited at various venues. We present an overview of the problem of secularism in modern India, which is necessary to understand the main motifs of the works. In addition, the political context of the anti-CAA protests, as well as some of its peculiarities that are directly related to the issues of the Indian nation and religion, are considered. We give a brief description of the works under consideration, among which are both classical examples of Urdu poetry and poems created directly in the context of events. We study the main motifs of the above-mentioned poetic works, among which special attention is paid to the motif of inclusiveness. It is noted that the structure of poetic works reflects the generalization of individual experience to the collective experience. We conclude that poetry in which the ideas of resistance are expressed remains a key element of political struggle in contemporary India.
Keywords: India, secularism, nationalism, communalism, protests, secular nationalism, Constitution of India, political poetry.
© St Petersburg State University, 2022
Introduction
At the end of 2019 and in early 2020, many cities in India were engulfed in large-scale protests. For example, according to some sources, up to 150 thousand people on weekends gathered at one of the most famous protest sites — Shaheen Bagh in South Delhi. Their indignation was caused by passing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1955 (CAA) in the Rajya Sabha (the Upper house of the Indian Parliament) and some innovations in legislation of India which, according to many scholars and politicians [1], was aimed at discriminating persons professing Islam. Despite this, the protests were characterized by an extensive involvement of not only Muslims who disagreed with those amendments but also followers of other religions represented in India.
The protest rhetoric was focused on unconstitutionality of the amendments and discrimination against the country's religious minorities. A distinctive feature of the 201920 protests was the use of a wide variety of slogans, as well as an appeal to various poetic forms (including works in traditional genres of Urdu literature, such as nazms), the themes of which mostly concentrated on the unity of the nation and on secular ideas.
We argue that it is during this period of political turbulence, when demonstrators appealed to issues of nation and religion, their ideas about these concepts begin to appear most clearly. In this article, we analyze the perception of secular nationalism during the anti-CAA protests through the prism of literary works that were recited and otherwise used at protest sites. In addition, attention is paid to some other features of the protests such as the use of slogans and performative practices that touched upon issues of religion and nation.
There are several reasons for our focus on poetry. First, anti-CAA protests, especially in large cities, were characterized by the protestors' high level of culture. Poetry was an integral part of the art of resistance, expressing itself in a wide variety of forms — from reading on the stage to various performances. Secondly, literature was a kind of unifying factor due to its widespread use at protest sites throughout the country. Thus, ideas, themes and motifs expressed in the works under study are relayed to the masses of people. In the book Cities and Protests: Perspectives in Spatial Criticism, published in 2021, the researcher Sreejata Roy points to an important function of poetry in the context of protests: "freedom songs, poems of resistance and verses of protests have long been recognized but poetry itself has a destabilizing effect on psyche which is incongruous with the urban connotations of rationality, order and system. poetry becomes a way of articulating the inexpressible, the unverifiable, a means to capture the truths that cannot be found in the official or 'scientific' discourses, and finally a tool for speaking truth to power" [2, pp.251-252]. Also, it is worth noting that mass media (e. g. [3]; [4]), as well as some researchers discuss the art and literature of the 2019-20 protests (for example, [1]), but currently there are no dedicated interdisciplinary studies combining literary and political context analysis.
Constitution of India and Nationalisms
While studying the perception of secular ideas in the context of protests in modern India, it is necessary to make some clarifications regarding the concepts of secularism and secular nationalism in the Indian context. It appears especially important to consider the issues of religion and faith as they are represented in the Constitution of India, since it is
not only the fundamental law of the country but also a symbol of the unity of the people of India which was used in various performative practices and slogans during anti-CAA protests.
According to the Preamble to the Constitution of India, the Republic is defined as secular. The term "secular" was added by the 42nd amendment in 1976, but it is mentioned only in the Preamble and is not further defined in any way. This causes a huge amount of controversy over the interpretation of this term. One of the most common approaches to understanding secularism in India is the principle of "sarva dharma sambhav" (literally "all religions are possible"), which is usually interpreted as the requirement for equal treatment of all religions or equidistance of all religions from power [5, p. 47].
Religious issues are also dealt with in a number of articles of the Constitution. Thus, article 15 refers to non-discrimination of citizens on grounds of belonging to a particular religion (as well as race, gender, place of birth, etc.) [6]. Another important article of the Constitution in the context of religion is article 25 which proclaims equal freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion for all citizens of India [6].
Despite the fact that according to the Constitution, India is a secular state, at present there is a clash between secular or inclusive nationalism and exclusive nationalism, as noted by some researchers. We agree to the argument of Evgenia Vanina who rejects the terms Hindu / Muslim nationalism, since in the Indian context, where the communities of Hindus and Muslims are inhomogeneous, it is difficult to speak of a single Hindu or single Muslim nation [7, p. 149]. Well known historian Romila Thapar suggests to use the term "exclusive nationalism", that is one that excludes a certain part of the Indian population from the nation [8]. It can also be termed "communalism", which, accordingly, could be Hindu or Muslim. Exclusive nationalism or communalism can be contrasted to "inclusive nationalism" or "secularism", which implies the inclusion in the concept of "Indian" of all people living in India, regardless of their confession and ethnicity [7, pp. 190-191].
Since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power in 2014, the discourse on nationalism has been in the center of attention of Indian mass media, well-known politicians and political activists. "With a major overhauling of the political, defense, economic and educational structures, the BJP government has attempted to forge a strong nation-state by recasting the cultural artefacts of integrity. While restructuring the prevalent order, the government has been at an ideological crossroad with forces that view such acts as 'anti-secular' and 'fascist'" [9, p. 1]. The protests of 2019-20 addressed these aspects of rhetoric, touched on the issue of the nation, and raised the problem of "exclusion" of Muslims from the concept of "Indian" within the framework of the ruling party's discourse.
Anti-CAA protests and their peculiarities
It is important to outline some features of the 2019-20 protests and describe their sources. On December 11, 2019, the Rajya Sabha (The Upper house of the Indian Parliament) passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 1955, which regulates and defines the procedure for obtaining Indian citizenship [10]. It is worth mentioning that the original Act was amended several times, and some of the amendments had a certain impact on the
situation in 2019. In particular, in 1985, after signing the Assam Accord1, an amendment was made to the Act, according to which the granting of citizenship to persons who arrived in the territory of the state of Assam from the Republic of Bangladesh (an important provision of this amendment was the mandatory deportation of migrants who arrived in the state after 1971) [10]. In addition, the amendment made in 2003 provided for the creation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the purpose of which was to register all Indian citizens and identify illegal migrants. In 2019, it was decided to allocate a budget to launch this project in 2020 in the territory of the entire country (before that, the register was implemented only in the state of Assam). This update together with the 2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act caused strong condemnation and protests from opposition politicians and the public.
The changes introduced in 2019 supplemented several articles of the Citizenship Act 1955. Since it came into force, persons who had arrived in India before December 31, 2014, and who are also members of the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian communities originating from such countries as Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan are not considered illegal migrants and are also eligible for a certificate of naturalization. After receiving such a certificate, the person is considered as a citizen of India from the moment of entry into the country. At the same time, it should be noted that in accordance with the 2015 modification to the Foreigners Order 1948, these migrants are in India in search of asylum due to persecution on the grounds of religion or a threat of persecution [11].
Islam is not included in the list of religions whose followers can seek for an asylum and then citizenship. During and after discussions of CAA 2019, adversaries of the amendments in the Parliament accused the government of violating the Constitution, discrimination and marginalization of those professing Islam in India (in particular such politicians as Sonia Gandhi [12] and Rahul Gandhi [13]; in Kerala, for example, the State Assembly passed a resolution against CAA [14], etc.). According to many experts, due to the combination of amendments, a significant number of followers of Islam from neighboring countries who are not covered by the 2019 amendment to the citizenship law automatically become illegal migrants, and therefore they must be deported or placed in temporary detention camps [15]. In addition, even before the passing of the amendments by the Upper house of the Parliament, large-scale protests began in the north-east of the country. Opponents of the CAA argued that the proposed innovations were inconsistent with the above-mentioned 1985 amendment, according to which illegal migrants are supposed to be deported from the territory of Assam.
Following the protests in northeast of India, the wave of resistance moved on to other cities. Actually, the anti-CAA movement became pan-Indian. A very important feature of these protests was the involvement of a huge number of students and other representatives of the educated stratum. Some universities (e. g., Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and others) in December 2019 also became popular sites, where students went out to express their disagreement. Research conducted by J.-T. Martelli and K. Garalyte suggests that students and recent alumni on some campuses were the first to translate nationwide concerns about government reforms against Indian Muslims into a collective action [16, p. 2]. The involvement of socially active and educated youth was one of the
1 Assam Accord is a Memorandum of Settlement between Government of India and All Assam Students Union, All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad. It touched upon the issues of migrants from Bangladesh, as well as the problems of preserving local culture and economic development.
reasons why theatrical performances, performative practices, various types of visual arts, as well as literary works were used during the protests, and not only occasional poetry, composed on the spot and within the context, but also classical verses were recited (see examples below).
A highway in Shaheen Bagh, a district in the South of Delhi, the most famous site of protest, known for the peaceful sit-in protest of Muslim women, where prominent politicians, activists, musicians and other people expressed their attitudes on the stage. There was opened a library named "The Fatima Sheikh-Savitribai Phule library", where one could find books and other works in one way or another related to secular and general civic ideas, including works of B. R. Ambedkar, Mannu Bhandari, Rabindranat Tagore, as well as political treatises by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and others [17, p. 3].
The topic of inclusiveness was pronounced in numerous slogans at all protest sites across the country. Of course, it is impossible to cover all of them within the framework of this article, but some key features of inclusiveness perception by protesters can be pointed out. On the one hand, there was a wide range of slogans addressing the unity of people of India, on religious grounds as well. For example, the slogan "Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians — they are all brothers"2 was very popular on posters, which also echoed some ideas expressed in literary works to be analyzed below [18]. On the other hand, there were slogans opposing Indians to the government which implemented changes in legislation. For instance, one of the slogans read: "The color I belong to is tricolor not saffron" [19, p. 80], where saffron refers to the color of Hindu communalism.
As already mentioned, a large number of performative practices at various protest sites were associated with the country's Constitution. The preamble to the Constitution of India was widely cited, demonstrators had copies of the Fundamental Law in their hands during sit-in protests [20], there were slogans calling for saving the Constitution (for example, "save the Constitution, save the citizenship"3 [21]).
It should be noted that the trend of demonstrating constitutional patriotism in India appears to be relatively new, according to some researchers [22, pp. 18-19]. In addition, there is an important event worth mentioning in regard to inclusiveness during the protests — a multi-confessional prayer held at Shaheen Bagh. According to media reports, protesters read from the Koran, Bhagavad Gita, the Holy Bible, and Hindu and Sikh chants were sang; some participants also cited the Preamble to the Constitution and took an oath to keep its "secular" values [23].
Literature of Resistance
Nation has been the main theme in Indian literary and political discourse in different contexts for the long time. This was especially evident in the late 19th and early 20th century, and also in the post-independence period, when the Constitution was enacted, and secular ideas came to the foreground. Secular motifs in poems recited by followers of the anti-CAA movement are not new to the Indian literary tradition. This tradition was developed in political speeches and essays by J. Nehru (1889-1964), who insisted on the absence of "cultural or racial differences" between Muslims and Hindus [24,
2 Hindi: hindu, muslim, sikh, isai apas me sab bhai, bhai.
3 Hindi: samvidhan bachao, nagarikta bachao.
p. 64]. The secular perception of the Indian nation existed in parallel with communalist views and was put forward by Muslim thinkers and politicians, for example, Abdul Kalam Azad (1888-1958), who spoke of the inseparable unity of the Indian nation. Now, in the 21st century, when Hindu communalism is on the rise the ideas of national unity, inclu-siveness and secularism are getting more and more relevant for poetic works of resistance. The protests of 2019-20 highlighted the role of literature in political life of the country. The demonstrators recited poems to express their political position, which appears to be a continuation of the tradition of using poetry as political statement to shape public opinion. The analysis of these works as they were used during the 2019-20 protests reveals their dominant motifs and imagery. In the literature of resistance, the fear and horror experienced by representatives of the "rejected" religion, i.e. Muslims, is mixed with the desire for unity of all faiths in India, as the main thing for a modern, educated Indians is not their religious affiliation, but the fact that they live in India.
For this study, we have selected some of the most popular poetic works that were recited and performed in the winter of 2019-20. Below we give a brief description of these works.
"Dastur" ("Dastur", 1962, [25]) by Habib Jalib is a nazm written in the Urdu language which contains four stanzas and a refrain. It was a kind of response to anti-democratic events in Pakistan in the middle of the 20th century. It is an appeal/denunciation, which was originally addressed to the president of Pakistan Mohammad Ayub Khan, and in the context of the anti-CAA protests it could be perceived as an appeal to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
"We'll see" ("Ham dekhenge", 1979, [26]) by Faiz Ahmad Faiz, written as a protest against the dictatorship of one of the Pakistani presidents. It tells about a possible free society that could be reached after the overthrow of the dictatorship.
"You are alive" ("Tu zinda hai", year unknown, [27]) by famous poet and lyricist Shankar Shailendra is a Hindi song composed during the struggle for independence of India, in which the author calls for action and even revolution.
"We will not show documents" ("Ham kagaz nahi dikhaenge", 2019, [28]) by Varun Grover, a well-known Indian poet and stan-up comic, is a contemporary Hindi poem. It contains six stanzas and an explicit opposition of "you" and "we/us". It refers to the documents that must be submitted for the National Register of Citizens to confirm citizenship.
"Indian Muslim" ("Hindustani Musalman", 2019, [29]) by Hussain Haidry — a Hindi poem that contains seven stanzas of different length and a refrain-question (repeated three times) "What kind of Muslim am I, brother?"4 and a refrain-answer "Indian Muslim" (repeated five times). It postulates the identity of a Muslim in modern India whose personality also incorporates Indian features.
"Everything will be remembered" ("Sab yad rakha jaega", 2020, [30]) was created by Aamir Aziz specifically in connection with the 2019-20 protests. It is the longest of the works under analysis and contains 17 stanzas of different length and a refrain that coincides with the title.
The poems selected for analysis meet several criteria. First, these are works composed in the context of the Anti-CAA movement, and poems written earlier ("We'll see", "Dastur", "You are alive") and in connection with other historical events not related to the
4 Hindi: m ai kaisa musalman hu bhai l.
2019-20 protests. Second, the analysis takes into account that there are some "directions" of poems leitmotifs. Most of the poems recited during demonstrations did not call for specific actions ("We will not show documents", "We'll see", "Dastur"); on the contrary, they call for patience and belief in a just future. However, there are works that directly called for revolution ("You are alive"), which should also be taken into account. Thirdly, and this seems to be the most important component of the literary material analyzed, the motif of inclusiveness is evident in some of those poems.
The motif of inclusiveness is most vividly embodied in the poem "Indian Muslim", where the Hindu and Muslim elements are embodied in the lyrical hero and these oppo-sites are united, while the emphasis is on the equal presence of both identities in him:
"As much as I am a Muslim, brother, I am an Indian"5
The hero of the poem observes Ramadan and performs ablution in the Ganges. The author focuses on versatility of unity both geographical ("I am from Deccan, I am from UP6, I am from Bhopal7") and occupational ("I'm the weaver, and also the shoemaker, and also the doctor, and the tailor"8).
The lyrical hero feels belonging to both Indian and Muslim cultures, does not reject any component of his personality. His image is generalized to all Indian Muslims, and his feelings are common for the majority of the group. The poem also contains the motif of blood and cruelty — the hero does not feel safe in the Indian reality, while pointing out that there are fewer Muslims in India ("I am 14 out of a hundred"9 — Muslims make up approximately 14 % of India's population [31]), but their rights are no less important ("but 14 is no less"10), and chaos harmful to everyone.
The motif of blood is extremely important — it indicates the willingness of the protesters chanting these poems to suffer for their nation. For example, "Indian Muslim" speaks of the "blood on the kurta"11. In the poem by Varun Grover "We will not show the documents" the motif of blood is also present, but in parallel with the motif of non-violence. The unity of all the inhabitants of India is therefore brought to the foreground:
"How will you divide the land in which the blood of all of us is"12
Often, young people participating in protests against the CAA were inspired by the works of Pakistani poets such as Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Habib Jalib. The Urdu poetry used in the protests was created in other historical realities and is mainly directed against the authorities, while the issue of confessional differences is absent in these works. Therefore, the key points in such poems are oppression and willingness to overcome obstacles, as well as confidence in the finiteness of the rulers' power.
5 Hindi: mai jitna musalman hQ bhai, mai utna hindustani hQ .
6 UP is an abbreviation of Uttar Pradesh — state in the North of India.
7 Hindi: Deccan se hQ , UP se hQ , Bhopal se hQ .
8 Hindi: mai hi hQ julaha mod bhl mai daktar bhl hi! , darjlbhl.
9 Hindi: sau me se caudah hi! .
10 Hindi: lekin caudah ye kam nahi padta hai.
11 Hindi: kurte par khun ka dhabba.
12 Hindi: mittfko kaise bantoge, sabak hi" khun to samil hai.
In this regard, it is worth mentioning the popular work by Amir Aziz "Everything will be remembered". Both the lexical means and the tropes of this poem are consistent with the main motifs of other works read aloud by followers of anti-CAA movement. There is also a motif of oppression and cruelty (war and murders are mentioned). The main message is the willingness to overcome obstacles:
"You could write the night, but we will write the moon.
If you put us in jail, we would write over the walls"13
At the same time, memory as a leitmotif becomes a kind of "weapon", which makes the lyrical hero stronger as he knows that the truth is on the side of oppressed people. He repeats the words "Everything will be remembered" over and over again, promising that they will return as "ghosts" ("bhüt") and will speak "loudly" ("zor se") about the crimes of those in power.
However, special attention should be paid to the stanza referring to the torn country to be reunited:
"It will also be remembered how you attempted to disunite the country.
Our attempts and desire to reunite the country shall also be remembered"14.
The lyrical hero urges us to remember the main thing about "our attempts and desire to reunite the country". Thus, the motif of memory underlying the refrain, the most memorable part of the poem, shifts the focus to these lines. In other words, memory acts not only as a "weapon": the author asks to remember the crimes committed against the "oppressed" and also calls the reader/listener to recreate in memory the images of that united country, an ideal from which contemporary India is drifting further away. It is this stanza that brings life into the discourse and gives a new semantic dimension to the issues raised during the 2019-20 protests. The desire for unity, therefore, is no longer discussed here in confessional terms, but on a national scale — the aspirations of the masses for unity are oppressed for the sake of political interests, and a minority is about to be excluded from the nation. That is why it is so important to remember what the nation should fight for — unity, not exclusion.
Speaking about the works created "outside" the events at protest sites, the poem "We will see" should be mentioned, written by the revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz against the dictatorship of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in Pakistan. This nazm is a dream about a free, democratic state that may emerge after the overthrow of the dictatorship. The poem, originally created as a means of protest, was actively used in 2019-20, as a kind of anthem of anti-CAA movement throughout India.
Another example of Pakistani poems is "Dastur" written by Habib Jalib in connection with the constitution introduced in 1962 during the military dictatorship of General Muhammad Ayub Khan. The 1962 Constitution actually destroyed direct democracy by introducing the institution of electors. In response to this, Habib Jalib composed "Dastur",
13 Hindi: tum rat likho ham cari d likhenge, tum jail me dalo ham divar phand likhenge.
14 Hindi: ye bhl yad rakha jaega kis-kis tarah se, tumne vatan ko todne k! sazishe kl, ye bhl yad rakha jaega kis-kis yatan se, hamne vatan ko jodne k! khvahis k!.
some lines from which were used as slogans on posters at protest sites across India in 2019-20.
The central motifs of these Urdu compositions, created under similar historical conditions, include the motifs of oppression (both poets use the word "zalim" oppression) and faith in a better future. Habib Jalib writes: "Your enchantments will no longer act upon us"15, confident of the inevitable end of current rulers. Thus, the refrain of "Dastur" introduces the motif of overcoming obstacles and refusing to accept the status quo: "I do not accept, I do not know"16. It is worth mentioning that in the already discussed poem in Hindi, "We Will Not Show Documents" by Varun Grover, the motif of overcoming obstacles is also emphasized:
"If you close the subway, we'll walk"17
Of course, in Urdu poems there is no motif of inclusiveness, only one god is mentioned — Allah. Therefore, after protesting students in Kanpur sang "We'll See", a discussion broke out whether the act of reciting this poem was anti-Hindu [32]. Nevertheless, in the context of attempts to prevent the inclusion of Muslims in the Indian nation, the motifs contained in Urdu poems became relevant to the agenda of the 2019-20 protests.
In the protests of 2019-20, not only revolutionary Urdu and modern Hindi poems were used to actualize the strive for freedom and hope for a better future, but also works in Hindi from the time of the struggle for independence of India, for example the song "You are alive" by Shankar Shailendra. Similar historical realities, implying the conditions where the indigenous population of India was under pressure, and, accordingly, motifs similar to the already mentioned works made this poem a perfect instance of the song genre, relevant to contemporary protests. This song is very close to other poems analyzed: there exist natural motifs (the author uses the imagery of the garden ("caman"), sky ("svarg"), and the faith in a better future, unity, and the end of oppression ("palaces of oppression will fall"18). However, unlike more metaphorical works, the song contains a direct call to action and even the hope for revolution:
"This can't be suppressed, and one day it will turn into a revolution."
The structure of the analyzed poems requires special attention. In "We will not show documents" a path can be traced from emotional perception and juxtaposition (constantly the lines start either with "we/us" ("ham") or "you" ("tum")) to real actions (the lyrical hero talks about what he will do). If a subordinate position is stated from the very start (people cannot show the documents, because they were taken from them), then from the third stanza the lyrical hero expresses his civil position (and the phrase "we will not show the documents" takes on a different meaning — because people do not want to obey). The author goes from describing the emotional state of the hero to expressing his civil position. The poem thereby develops from a private position to a common one.
15 Urdu: ab na ham par calega tumhara fusun.
16 Urdu: mai nahl manta, mai nahl manta.
17 Hindi: tum metro band kar doge, ham paidal-paidal aenge.
18 Urdu: girenge zulm ke mahal.
A similar model is presented in the "Indian Muslim", in which the narration also develops from a particular situation to a general one through the generalization of personal perception. At first, the lyrical hero, speaking about himself, cites stereotypes associated with Muslims in principle, while he doubts his identity (it all starts with an external signal, an azan — a Muslim call to prayer, which becomes a reason for him to think about what kind of Muslim he is). This leads the reader/listener to the idea that an exclusively Muslim identity is imposed on the hero and he is not willing to accept it. The stanzas in the middle of the poem give an answer to the question that he constantly repeats ("What kind of Muslim am I, brother?"19 — the hero comes to realize that he cannot be considered as a Muslim only, but also has features inclusively associated with Indians and Hindus with the whole India (as it mentioned above "I am from Deccan, I am from UP, I am from Bhopal"20). He describes a new Indian Muslim who knows who he is, abandons imposed stereotypes and takes on an Indian identity, a product of a multi-confessional culture. Having this understanding, postulating his absolute freedom he addresses someone, an abstract "you" ("I live on my own"21).
Unlike "Indian Muslim", in "Dastur" there is a specific addressee (in the context of anti-CAA protests it seems to be none other than Narendra Modi). The structure is based on the same principle: from private experience to generalization, but in a different way — by changing the grammatical number of pronouns. In the initial stanzas devoted to the description of the situation and the individual attitude to what is happening, singular pronouns are used ("I" ("mai ") and "he, she, it" ("voh"), which are opposed, as in "We will not show documents"); starting from the fourth stanza, "I" ("mai") becomes "we" ("ham"), the people. This is how the absolute generalization of personal experience is presented. A direct appeal, using the pronoun "you" ("tum"), appears in the third stanza, the main theme of which can be called a rebuke.
In this regard, the structure of "Everything will be remembered" seems particularly interesting, since the transition to the personal level, unlike other works analyzed, occurs at the end. At the beginning, "you" and "we" are contrasted, then the author refers to the common memory ("revolution will be written on the skies22", there is no "we"), which is repeated in the refrain where the passive voice is used: not "we" will remember, but "memory" itself will be remembered ("rakha jaega"). It is important to note that although this structure is slightly different from other compositions, the transition from individual experience to generalization remains relevant because Aamir Aziz generalizes the image of a lyrical hero through "himself". Just as in "We will not Show documents", the lyrical hero gets his voice in the second part of the poem, he finds the strength to express his civil position through such statements as we will stay forever, "our names will be remembered"23, and you will be forgotten, people will remember only your crimes. The refrain like in "We Will Not Show Documents", is perceived differently in the middle of the poem: it expresses not a private confrontation, but something that will remain in the national memory forever. The ring structure ("you" ("tum") in the first stanza and "yours" ("tumhara") in the last) focuses attention to the presumed appeal to Narendra Modi.
19 Hindi: mai kaisa musalman hi! bhai.
20 Hindi: deccan se hi! , UP se hi! , Bhopal se hi! .
21 Hindi: apne hi taur se jlta hi! .
22 Hindi: asman par inkilab likha jaega.
23 Hindi: hamara nam yad rakhaa jaega.
Thus, the structures of the analyzed poems point to a single pattern in which events develop in these works: the generalization of private experience and its passing to the whole nation with abstract or concrete appeals to the opposing side presuppose appeals that are intended for live and loud performance.
Conclusion
Poems written in different times and in different languages — Urdu and Hindi — represent similar motifs: overcoming obstacles, oppression, cruelty, striving for freedom, they also often contain natural imagery, as well as the motifs of blood and faith in a better future, and in some of the poems inclusiveness comes to the foreground. All this seems to be a convenient way of expressing political sentiments relevant to the protests of 2019-20. The use of poetry as political statement is a kind of tradition in India. It is worth noting that through the analysis of literary works used during the anti-CAA protests, it is possible to further develop the idea of constructing/deconstructing reality by including them in the complex of sources that can construct reality [33, p. 158]. Thus, by means of literature, the protesters' view of the events, their perception of the nation, and so on can be constructed in a similar way. In the context of modern protests, in which the analyzed works are involved, the concept of the so-called inclusive nationalism is brought to the foreground, according to which no one can be excluded from Indians on confessional grounds. The motif of inclusiveness and unity, which reinforces the thesis that in the Indian society, while the BJP is unwilling to consider Muslims as part of the nation, the question is who can be considered a true Indian. And many Muslims are ready to loudly declare their right to be called Indians and defend their Indian identity.
Despite the fact that some researchers point to a crisis of secularism in India [34], it must be recognized that during the anti-CAA protests secular ideas and ideas of inclu-siveness became a unifying factor. This is evident from the performative practices with the Constitution, the corresponding slogans and, of course, poetry touching on issues of unity and religion. It is obvious that protesters wanted to involve as many people in the protests as possible, and for that a unifying idea was needed. Thus, as researcher from the University of London Rahul Rao writes, the participants took upon themselves the task of reminding both the people and the state of the nation's founding ideology.
References
1. Changoiwala P. India's Muslims Are Terrified of Being Deported. Foreign Policy. 21.02.2020. Available at: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/21/india-muslims-deported-terrified-citizenship-amend-ment-act-caa/ (accessed: 06.11.2021).
2. Roy S. Cities of Protest and Poetry: The Rhetoric of Urban Dissidence. Cities and Protests: Perspectives in Spatial Criticism. Ed. by Mantri M. Cambridge Scholar Publishing, 2021, pp. 249-280.
3. Damodaran S. 'Yeh Gulab Nahin, Inquilab Hai': The Tradition of Protest Music in Contemporary India. The Wire. 04.03.2020. Available at: https://thewire.in/culture/yeh-gulab-nahin-inquilab-hai-the-tra-dition-of-protest-music-in-contemporary-india (accessed: 06.11.2021).
4. Bakshi A. Meet India's Millennial Political Poets. Mintlounge. 01.10.2020. Available at: https:// lifestyle.livemint.com/news/big-story/meet-india-s-millennial-political-poets-111601292201092.html (accessed: 06.11.2021).
5. Abramov D. B. Secular state and religious radicalism in India. Moscow: IMEMO Publ., 2011. 187 p. (In Russian)
6. The Constitution of India. Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Legislative Department. Available at: https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india (accessed: 13.10.2021).
7. Vanina E. Y. India: history in history. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 2014. 343 p. (In Russian)
8. Thapar R. The Future of the Indian Past. Outlook India. 01.04.2004. Available at: http://www.out-lookindia.com/article.aspx?223453 (accessed: 09.10.2021).
9. Biswas D., Ryan J. C. (ed.). Nationalism in India: Texts and Contexts. Routledge, 2021. 258 p.
10. The Citizenship Act, 1955. India Code. Available at: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/han-dle/123456789/1522 (accessed: 13.10.2021).
11. The Foreigners Order, 1948. India Code. Available at: https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/show-file?actid=AC_CEN_5_23_00048_194631_1523947455673&type=order&filename=The%20Foreigners%20 0rder%201948.pdf (accessed: 13.10.2021).
12. Sonia Gandhi Leads anti-CAA Protest in Parliament Ahead of Budget Session. India Today. 31.01.2020. Available at: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sonia-gandhi-leads-anti-caa-protest-in-parliament-ahead-of-budget-session-1641859-2020-01-31 (accessed: 13.10.2021).
13. Babu R. Rahul Gandhi to Lead anti-CAA rally in Wayanad, Kerala. Hindustan Times. 29.01.2020. Available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rahul-gandhi-to-lead-anti-caa-rally-in-wayanad-keraWstory-4tEXa9gLQ8n70xh3a538HM.html (accessed: 13.10.2021).
14. Anti-CAA resolution: BJP MP urges Rajya Sabha chairman to initiate contempt proceedings against Kerala CM. Business Standard. 31.12.2019. Available at: https://www.business-standard.com/ar-ticle/pti-stories/anti-caa-resolution-bjp-mp-urges-rajya-sabha-chairman-to-initiate-contempt-proceed-ings-against-kerala-cm-119123101096_1.html (accessed: 13.10.2021).
15. CAA, NRC could render huge numbers of Indian Muslims stateless, says Ashutosh Varshney. The Print. 05.03.2020. Available at: https://theprint.in/india/caa-nrc-could-render-huge-numbers-of-indian-muslims-stateless-says-ashutosh-varshney/376008/ (accessed: 13.10.2021).
16. Martelli J. T., Garalyte K. How campuses mediate a nationwide upsurge against India's communal-ization. An account from Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi. South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 2019, no. 22, pp. 1-9.
17. Ghosh A. Art as Resistance in Shaheen Bagh. FORUM: University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture & the Arts, 2020, no. 30, pp. 2-6.
18. Jasola, Sarita Vihar residents protest against Shaheen Bagh blockade. Times of India. 23.02.2020. Available at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/jasola-sarita-vihar-residents-pro-test-against-shaheen-bagh-blockade/articleshow/74267266.cms (accessed: 13.10.2021).
19. Pasha S. Voices from Shaheen Bagh: February — March 2020. Shaheen Bagh and the Idea of India. Ed. by Mustafa S. Speaking Tiger Books LLP, 2020, pp. 63-87.
20. Anti-CAA protests: People hold up Constitution as the only document that matters. The Economic Times. 26.01.2020. Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/ anti-caa-protests-people-hold-up-constitution-as-the-only-document-that-matters/articleshow/73618451. cms?from=mdr (accessed: 13.10.2021).
21. Kanhaiya concludes anti-CAA rallies across 38 Bihar districts. Hindustan Times. 28.02.2020. Available at: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kanhaiya-concludes-anti-caa-rallies-across-38-bihar-districts/story-F60YkE50rnUUpD4UpaRTfJ.html (accessed: 13.10.2021).
22. Rao R. Nationalisms by, against and beyond the Indian state. Radical Philosophy, 2020, vol. 2, no. 7, pp. 17-26.
23. Indian protesters hold interfaith prayers at Shaheen Bagh. Al Jazeera. 07.02.2020. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/2/7/indian-protesters-hold-interfaith-prayers-at-shaheen-bagh (accessed: 11.10.2021).
24. Nehru J. Recent Essays and Writings on the Future of India, Communalism and Other Subjects. Kitabistan, 1934, 167 p.
25. Habib Jalib. Dastur. Available at: https://www.rekhta.org/nazms/dastuur-diip-jis-kaa-mahallaat-hii-men-jale-habib-jalib-nazms (accessed: 05.09.2021). (In Urdu)
26. Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Wa-yabka-wajh-o-rabbik (ham dekhenge). Available at: https://www.rekhta. org/nazms/va-yabqaa-vajh-o-rabbik-hum-dekhenge-ham-dekhenge-faiz-ahmad-faiz-nazms (accessed: 05.09.2021). (In Urdu)
27. Shankar Shailendra. Tu zinda hai. Available at: https://sabkuchhyahan4u.blogspot.com/2019/02/ Tu-zinda-hai-to-zindagi-ki-jeet-par-yakin-kar-shankar-shailendra.html (accessed: 05.09.2021). (In Hindi)
28. Varun Grover. Ham kagaz nahi dikhaenge. Available at: https://snooplyrics.com/hum-kaagaz-na-hi-dikhayenge/ (accessed: 05.09.2021). (In Hindi)
29. Hussain Haidry. Hindustani Musalman. Available at: https://snooplyrics.com/hindustani-musal-man/ (accessed: 05.09.2021). (In Hindi)
30. Aamir Aziz. Sab yad rakha jaega. Available at: https://azlyricssong.com/sab-yaad-rakha-jayega-aamir-aziz/ (accessed: 05.09.2021). (In Hindi)
31. Pew study: Little change in India's religious make-up in 70 years. BBC News. 21.09.2021. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-58595040 (accessed: 11.10.2021).
32. IIT-Kanpur launches inquiry into students Faiz poem in solidarity with Jamia. India Today. 02.01.2020. Available at: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/iit-kanpur-launches-inquiry-into-stu-dents-reciting-faiz-poem-in-solidarity-with-jamia-1633171-2020-01-02 (accessed: 11.10.2021).
33. Makhlaiuk A. N. Constructing/Deconstructing Reality in the Context of Communal Clashes in Delhi. Papers of the Institute of Oriental Studies of RAS. Issue 32. The Republic of India at 70: Theory and Practice of Constitutional Development, 2021, pp. 156-170. (In Russian)
34. Abramov D. B. The crisis of secularism in India. World Economy and International Relations, 2021, vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 132-138. (In Russian)
Received: December 15, 2021 Accepted: February 28, 2022
Authors' information:
Anna V. Chelnokova — PhD in Philology; ladyeng@mail.ru Artur N. Makhlaiuk — st071121@student.spbu.ru Julia A. Dubrovina — st055503@student.spbu.ru
Перцепция секулярного/инклюзивного национализма в контексте протестов против поправок в закон о гражданстве 2019-2020 гг. в Индии (на литературном материале)
А. В. Челнокова, А. Н. Махлаюк, Ю. А. Дубровина Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет,
Российская Федерация, 199034, Санкт-Петербург, Университетская наб., 7-9
Для цитирования: Chelnokova A. V., Makhlaiuk A. N., Dubrovina J. A. Perception of Secular/Inclusive Nationalism in the Context of 2019-20 Anti-CAA Protests in India (Based on the Literary Material) // Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Востоковедение и африканистика. 2022. Т. 14. Вып. 2. С. 352-365. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2022.212
В конце 2019 — начале 2020 г. в Индии прошли массовые протесты против поправок в закон о гражданстве 1955 г. Они затрагивали важный для индийского общества вопрос религии. Многие протестные акции характеризовались обращением к различным формам искусства, в том числе поэзии. Рассматривается перцепция секулярного, или инклюзивного, национализма в контексте протестов 2019-2020 гг. через призму наиболее популярных поэтических произведений, которые рецитировались на различных площадках. Представлен краткий обзор проблемы секуляризма в современной Индии, что необходимо для понимания основных мотивов произведений. Кроме того, анализируются политический контекст протестов против поправок в закон о гражданстве, а также особенности акций, которые непосредственно связаны с вопросами индий-
ской нации и религии. Дается краткая характеристика рассматриваемых произведений, среди которых представлены как классические примеры поэзии урду, так и стихотворения, созданные непосредственно во время протестов. При рассмотрении основных мотивов вышеупомянутых поэтических произведений особое внимание уделяется мотиву инклюзивности. Кроме того, отмечается, что в самой структуре некоторых произведений возникает генерализация индивидуального опыта и обобщение его до уровня коллективного опыта. Мы приходим к выводу, что поэзия, в которой тем или иным способом выражены идеи сопротивления, остается важным элементом политической борьбы в современной Индии.
Ключевые слова: Индия, секуляризм, национализм, коммунализм, протесты, секуляр-ный национализм, Конституция Индии, политическая поэзия.
Статья поступила в редакцию 15 декабря 2021 г.; рекомендована к печати 28 февраля 2022 г.
Контактная информация:
Челнокова Анна Витальевна — канд. филол. наук; ladyeng@mail.ru Махлаюк Артур Николаевич — st071121@student.spbu.ru Дубровина Юлия Александровна — st055503@student.spbu.ru
