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Literature is often a place of war. As a space for heated political contestation, it always offers the clearest possible insights into any realm of conflict. Two stories recently highlighted the enormity of the act of writing. Kashmir was preparing to host its first literary festival titled Harud and the website made its simplistic, "apolitical" agendas pretty clear - the emphasis on local writing, the evocation of a rich literary tradition and a way to celebrate "free speech." But after widespread protests and boycotts, they were forced to cancel the scheduled event. The opposing group of writers were shocked at the absurdity of an "apolitical" event in a place racked by repression, brutality, draconian laws, human rights violations and the lack of the most basic freedoms. In a joint letter, the group states: "We fear, therefore, that holding such a festival would, willy-nilly, dovetail with the state’s concerted attempt to portray that all is normal in Kashmir. Even as the reality on the ground is one of utter abnormality and a state of acute militarization and suppression of dissent, rights and freedoms." In light of this, the festival's focus on themes like "silenced voices" and "jail diaries" appeared nothing but trite. The whole issue also reinforced the fact that festivals which by virtue of their existence want to celebrate a flowering of literature and arts are often political tools to emphasize freedom and normalcy in places torn by violence and oppression.
Elsewhere, revealing a completely different mindset, BBC ran a piece about which novel best reflects the decade in the aftermath of 9/11. A chart showed that 1433 non-fiction works, 164 fiction and 145 juvenile works have been published that somehow depict the tragedy. While the writers from Kashmir wanted a deliberate, carefully thought-out process that would encapsulate the reality of Kashmir and its horrifying, violent history, the BBC story captured the rush to represent and solidify the event within the collective consciousness. Even though the comparison between the two may seem abrupt, what struck me was the fact that here are two different places contemplating the aftermaths of something very tragic and violent, yet, one story is so light and unfettered while the other is completely burdened by the very act of representation.
The BBC article also fails to grasp that while 9/11 may have happened in New York, the long term effects of it are also being felt in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo and every other site of rendition, torture and other American atrocities in the name of a global war on terror. The exclusion of those stories also speaks volumes when it comes to the breezy light-hearted tone of the 9/11 article. The issue here is, of course, the shameless commercialism and consumerism attached to any event, big or small. That is the frame from which the article emerges and it focuses only on the bestseller English-language novels about 9/11 and leaves out almost everything else. If there is a true attempt to understand the history of the 9/11 aftermaths, there will be very different questions asked and articles like this one by will only serve to make us cringe.
Elsewhere, revealing a completely different mindset, BBC ran a piece about which novel best reflects the decade in the aftermath of 9/11. A chart showed that 1433 non-fiction works, 164 fiction and 145 juvenile works have been published that somehow depict the tragedy. While the writers from Kashmir wanted a deliberate, carefully thought-out process that would encapsulate the reality of Kashmir and its horrifying, violent history, the BBC story captured the rush to represent and solidify the event within the collective consciousness. Even though the comparison between the two may seem abrupt, what struck me was the fact that here are two different places contemplating the aftermaths of something very tragic and violent, yet, one story is so light and unfettered while the other is completely burdened by the very act of representation.
The BBC article also fails to grasp that while 9/11 may have happened in New York, the long term effects of it are also being felt in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo and every other site of rendition, torture and other American atrocities in the name of a global war on terror. The exclusion of those stories also speaks volumes when it comes to the breezy light-hearted tone of the 9/11 article. The issue here is, of course, the shameless commercialism and consumerism attached to any event, big or small. That is the frame from which the article emerges and it focuses only on the bestseller English-language novels about 9/11 and leaves out almost everything else. If there is a true attempt to understand the history of the 9/11 aftermaths, there will be very different questions asked and articles like this one by will only serve to make us cringe.
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