Film Text Analysis : "The day India Burned - Partition" (A BBC Documentary)

Indian Writings in English – II
Assignment 1

The Day India Burned - Partition (A BBC Documentary) 

Film Text Analysis

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     The Partition of the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan can be said to be one of
the darkest moments in the history of humankind. The joy of gaining independence from the
colonial masters, the British, was heavily overpowered by the heart wrenching brutality of the
Partition. Pain, suffering, separation, uprooting of people, mass exodus, refugee camps,
murders, rapes, violence, hunger...the horrors of the Partition took up innumerable forms. These
wounds continue to bleed till today, as the traumas are ingrained in the minds of the families of
people who were affected by the Partition.


     The Partition of the subcontinent into India and Pakistan garnered attention worldwide. The
division of a diverse and culturally rich country like India on the basis of religion was indeed
something unthinkable. The British were peculiarly interested in it. Though they were the one
to have sown the seeds of the Partition, they artfully separated themselves from it and shrugged
of any blame or responsibility coming their way. Even 60 years down the line, the attitude of
the British remains unchanged, as is evident from the BBC documentary, Partition: The Day
India Burned.


     This BBC documentary was made for the 60th anniversary of that event in 2007. It gives an
overview of the political events that led up to that disaster. Blended into the film are eye-
witness accounts of people who had lived through the Partition, historical footage of political
leaders and dramatized reconstructions of some of the events. The title of the documentary is
something of a misnomer, as India didn’t burn for a day – the period of time involved was
around a year, as the various communities tried to shift from their ancestral homes to areas with
similar communities; and the burning of homes and villages was only a small part of the
violence.


     The documentary is introduced as being “about the effects of Britain's withdrawal from
India in 1947 which triggered one of the biggest migrations in history”. These words seem to
imply that the Indians were unable to take care of their country on their own, after the departure


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of the British. It’s trying to suggest that the inability of Indian to govern their country was the
reason of Partition, while in reality, the seeds of Partition were sown by the British themselves.
They systematically created hatred between the Hindus and Muslims during their rule, under
their Divide and Rule Policy. This was done in order to prevent them from uniting against the
British.


     The documentary pits the three major religions of India (Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs)
against each other and shoves the blame of the Partition entirely onto the shoulders of Indian
politicians and the general public. It kind of opines that the communal harmony among Indians
was superficial and the cause of the violence was the deep-rooted hatred and religious divide
among Indians. The role of the British in creating the communal unrest is nowhere discussed.
Also, the hand of Lord Mountbatten in this disaster is wiped clean, while in reality, his hands
were the one which drew the Partition lines and sparked off the unrest among people.


     “India was once the jewel in the British Empire's crown. But when it came to pulling out of
the country in August 1947, things turned into shambles.” - This introductory sentence kind of
sums up the colonisers’ perspective about the Partition. India is referred to as having being “the
jewel in the empire’s crown for nearly 200 years”. This is a clear reflection of colonial
mentality. Its not a matter of pride for India to be referred to as the jewel of the British Crown.
To address it as such, even in today’s days, is an act of arrogance. Also, the British didn’t care
for India like a jewel. The very reason for things turning into shambles in India was the 200-
years long of plundering by the British.


     The documentary needs to be applauded for one reason though: that is, it brings across the
human tragedy of Partition so very well. It emphasises on eye-witness accounts of the suffering,
the bravery, the hatred and the helplessness felt during those days by people who were directly
involved in the events. The film does a good job in narrating the harrowing reality and
unimaginable violence and murder inflicted upon the 15 million trying to flee to their new
country. Mass violence resulted in long-time friends and neighbours killing each other because
they were the 'wrong' religion. Entire trains of people were slaughtered, schoolgirls raped and
women had their breasts cut off. 15 million were displaced from their own land and more than a
million lost their lives.


     The story is mostly told through the testimony of people who lived through the time of
Partition. These people talk about how they had lived together with people of other faiths for
centuries, but were forced out of their homes as one of the most ethnically diverse nations in the


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world was spliced into two. The film gathers an impressive number of contemporary
eyewitnesses to tell their sides of the tale, including Nehru’s niece, Mountbatten’s daughter,
and Gandhi disciple Ashoka Gupta. Dramatized reconstructions are used to evoke some of the
mistrust, violence and upheaval that ensued. Also, historical video footage and photographs are
effectively made use of at appropriate places.


     The 90- minutes long documentary talks about the following important events which led to
the Partition:

• British motivation for leaving India after World War 2 in a quick manner;

• the underlying distrust of Hindus and Muslims of each other despite centuries of living
together;

• Muslim educational and economic backwardness relative to Hindus and their fear of
Hindu domination in a united India;

• the failure of the March 1946 Cabinet Mission in Shimla on account of Nehru's refusal
to a agree to a decentralized Subcontinent,

• the beginning of the Hindu-Muslim communal riots with Jinnah's call for Direct Action
in Calcutta in August 1946;

• the desperate attempts made by Gandhi to effect Hindu-Muslim unity via appeal to their
humanity;

• and the pressure exerted on most Princely States to agree to ascension to India.


     The documentary strikingly describes the manipulation of people by political leaders in the
name of religion. It depicts the slaughter, looting, raping, and mayhem among different
communities at the village level; the deep reluctance of people to abandon their generational
homes; the brave attempts of certain individuals to save their neighbours of other communities
from forcible ethnic and religious cleansing; the horrific price paid by women for defending
their honour; the utter lack of governmental preparation for a mass migration of people; the
needless human massacre caused by Mountbatten's decision to speed up the pre-planned


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Partition; and the decline of previously culturally rich and cosmopolitan cities like Lahore due
to bloodshed and loss of communal diversity.


     Another admirable point of the film is that it makes one thing clear: no one religion was
guilty or nor was any one religion blameless. All the three major religions of India (Hindus,
Muslims and Sikhs) were at each other’s throat during the Partition. The Partition took part on
religious lines. Muslims were said to belong to Pakistan, while Hindus and Sikhs were to live in
India. Both of these sides were equally guilty for the violence unleashed during the Partition.
Both sides suffered severe casualties. Both sides were equally guilt and had equal share in
blame. It was not a case of an assailant group and a victim group. Both groups had both equal
proportions of both kinds of people. Victims were on both sides, so were assailants. This clears
the misconception of lying the entire of the violence on any one religion.


     Leaving behind the escapist and arrogant supremacist standpoint, the film is a pretty good
piece of work. Gathering together a number of survivors and eye-witnesses is no joke. Also, it
can be said that the film doesn’t reduce the gravity and intensity of the Partition one bit. It is
quite detailed and strikes the imagination of the viewers. It can be said that the film presents a
clear picture of the brutality which occurred due to the Partition.


     The Partition of India was of the greatest humanitarian tragedies in modern times. People
were unsuspectingly divided along communal and religious lines, and turned against each other
in a fury of violence. The tensions sparked off at that time dominate the region even today.
Every now and then, it explodes and it had led to one of the longest separatist wars in modern
history (Kashmir). All of this stem from the fateful decisions that were made at this time. This
documentary is highly recommended for anyone who wishes to understand why such things
happen, as it presents a part of the background story in a hauntingly effective manner.

Significance of Dalit Literature for Social Uniformity with reference to the novel "Chomana Dudi"

SIGNIFICANCE OF DALIT LITERATURE FOR SOCIAL UNIFORMITY

WITH REFERENCE TO THE NOVEL

CHOMANA DUDI

by Shivram Karanth (Kannada)

- Kiranmayi M

R19MAE12

MA English, 2nd semester

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Untouchability: A Social Evil

The advent of 20th century brought many reforms to Indian society. The arrival of

English education let people to question their age-old beliefs and practices. One such
archaic practice put under scrutiny by the reformers was the inhuman custom of
untouchability.

              The caste system existed in Indian society right from the time of recorded history. It
was an integral part of the Hindu society. The system was not just strange and irrational,
it also gave rise to many coldblooded beliefs, superstitions and practices in society. One
such wretched offshoot of the caste system was the practice of untouchability.

              The traditions followed in the name of untouchability were all horrifyingly brutal and
inhumane. People who belonged to the so-called untouchable castes were treated little
worse than cattle. They had to live on the outskirts of the village, eat leftovers and eke
out a living by doing menial jobs for the so-called upper caste people. They were subject
to several restrictions. They had no right to live a decent and dignified life. Far from
living, it was considered blasphemy for them to even dream of living a good life!

              Many reformist writers took upon the task of presenting the disturbing realities of
untouchability through their plays and novels. Though untouchability pervaded all across
the country, the customs and traditions associated with it varied greatly with each region.
So, each writer brought forth new facets of the horrendous custom.

About the author

One such writer was K. Shivram Karanth from Karnataka. He was a multi-faceted
talent. Apart from being a writer, he was also a social thinker, reformist, dramatist, social
activist, filmmaker and several other figures package into one. In the literary front, there
is hardly any genre he has not worked upon. Be it a novel, short-story, drama, satire,
humour, travelogue and other forms, Karanth has shown his expertise in every kind of
literary expression. He was, in fact, compared to Rabindranath Tagore in this regard. His
contribution to the Kannada Literature is an all-time record, as he wrote, apart from his
forty-seven novels, thirty-one plays, four short story collections, six books of essays and
sketches, thirteen books on art, two volumes of poems, nine encyclopedias, and over one
hundred articles on various issues.

               Shivram Karanth is considered one of the most influential novelists in the Kannada
language. Most of his novels are widely read and have received critical acclaim. In the 47
novels which he penned, Shivaram Karanth has explore a plethora of themes. The themes
include social, political, spiritual, anthropological and other relative issues. One such
powerful and popular novel of Karanth is “Chomana Dudi”.

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The Novel

               Chomana Dudi revolves around the life of Choma, who is a bonded laborer from an
untouchable caste. The novel traces the life of Choma till his death – taking one through
his dreams and difficulties, trials and tribulations, humiliations and heartbreaks. It deals
with the series of injustices heaped on Choma, the resultant pain and anguish leading him
to the inevitable tragic end- all this because he belonged to a down trodden community.
The novel artfully brings out the multi-faceted nature of untouchability and its
consequences through Choma and his family.

                The story has a central theme of untouchability. While doing so, it covers the entire
scope of oppressive and exploitative practices which result out of untouchability. It
shows how the concept of untouchability has both immediate and far-fetching effects on
the lives of people.

Background and Setting

                The time setting of the novel is the early part of the 20th century.

                The place setting of the novel is a fictional village called Bhogana Halli in Dakshina
Kannada district or South Canara. In the preface of his book, the author gives details of
the treatment meted out to untouchables in this region. He says that, “In South Canara,
the slaves were treated as untouchables. They had to erect huts at a distance from all
other inhabitation and were not allowed to approach the houses or person without certain
prescribed distances. The holeyas (so-called untouchable castes) of the district were
divided in to various sub-castes such as Mera, Byra, Ajila, Mari, Mundala and others.

The treatment meted out to them also varied as per the practice prevailing from region to
region.

                Only Mera holeyas were allowed to undertake cultivational activity. But the society
did not allow the Mari holeyas, treated as the ‘lowest of the low’ caste, that opportunity.
There are people who say even their shades are to be avoided. They had to survive by
eating the left- overs, or the dead cattle, or undertaking despicable menial jobs. In the
northern parts of our district, they are not called for daily labor even to this day. In the
southern parts, they are however called for daily labor.

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                This description makes it clear that the practice of untouchability is a web of
complexities. It is not simple or uniform. It varies greatly all through the country, from
state to state, district to district, region to region. Furthermore, there are a number of
divisions or sub-castes within the so-called lower/untouchable castes. So, Dalit
Literature plays a significant role in bringing out and highlighting all the subtle
complexities of the untouchability issue.

Choma: A Bonded Labor

                The protagonist of the novel is Choma, who is a holeya belonging to the Mera sub-
caste in the South Canara district. He is a bonded labour serving the house hold of
Sankappayya, a land lord of the village named Bhogana Halli. The bondage has run
through several generations. Choma’s forefathers in the past, Choma now, and his
children in the future were, is, and are going to be tradition bound to serve the lineage of
Sankappayya. The bondage was unbreakable as the former cannot desert their lord /
Master and the latter is obligated to keep them under his tutelage.


                This indicates that untouchability had given rise to another social evil i.e., bonded
labour. This was another inhumane practice, wherein generation after generation of one
family (from the so-called untouchable castes) was “bonded” to be slaves of one family
from so-called upper castes. This practice was hindered the hope of a better life for the
slaves and constrained them from even thinking or dreaming of a better life! Thus, Dalit
Literature plays an important role in bringing to light the social issues which have
branched out from the root cause i.e., untouchability.


                The service offered by the bonded labourers were mostly is manual and menial labour
and is usually compensated with meagre allowances. In the novel, the payment of Choma
for his service is with 2 quarter seers of rice and 5 quarter seers of paddy a day. This is
too little to maintain a family of six, and therefore, the life of Choma and his family
members is characterized by abject poverty, hunger and misery.


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Choma: His Dreams and Difficulties

                Despite his poverty, Choma spends most of his earnings on toddy and tobacco. These
are his vices, which he simply couldn’t get rid of. He squandered all of his money on
these two, leaving little to no money to take care of his household.

                Due to his vices, Choma is pushed to take loans from his master. As he would never
repay his loans on time, his family is caught in an acute cycle of debts and interest.

                Another important passion of Choma was beating ‘dudi’ - a small hand drum beaten
with bamboo sticks. Choma compulsively involves himself on beating the dudi,
whenever he felt happy, sad, furious or miserable. or happy and elated. Beating dudi
was like giving his feelings an outlet vent.

                Choma had one major dream in his life i.e. to become a farmer. Tilling a strip of land,
even a small one, was his dream. But it was unattainable as the customs and traditions
prohibited a holeya becoming a farmer. His keen requests for a small strip of land were
repeatedly rejected by his landlord, much to the despair of Choma. Moreover, the mother
of the landlord curses Choma for ‘having the audacity to even think of tilling land’!

                Choma would have got a piece of land from the government, but the, where would he
get seeds from? How would he sustain himself till his crops grew? His landlord had made
it clear that his daily wages would be stopped the day he dared to till a piece of land for
himself.

                Conversion to Christianity is also an option open for Choma, but he is too proud of his
faith to leave it. Missionaries try to lure him with promises of land and money. But even
though he is ill-treated because of his faith, Choma refuses to abandon it and embrace a
new faith. He accepts everything thrown his way as his fate and God’s Will. This shows
the amount of indoctrination of blind beliefs and superstitions.

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                So, the untouchables had not even the right to dream and have ambitions. They had no
right to cherish hopes and desires within their heart, because tradition would ensure that
they would remain unfulfilled. Also, they dare not think of rebelling against society or
religion as everything that happens is due to their fate and God’s Will.

                Choma’s life ends in misery as he loses all his children. On his last day, he shuts himself
in his home, drinks heavily and beats his drum till his last breath.

Choma’s Family

                Choma’s family consists of six members – himself, his 4 sons and a daughter.

• Two of his elder sons work in a distant coffee estate trying to pay off their family
debt. One of them dies of cholera and the other one converts to Christianity by
marrying a Christian girl.

• His daughter, Belli works in the plantation and falls for the charm of Manvela, the
estate-owner's contractor. She is raped by him and the estate owner, who then
writes off Choma's debt. She returns home and tells everything to Choma. Choma
later finds his daughter in a compromising position with Manvela in their home.
With anger, he beats her and kicks her out of the house.

• His youngest son drowns in a river, with nobody coming to save him because of
him being an untouchable.

So, it is clearly seen how untouchability affects the lives of people in such diverse ways
that it tears Choma’s family apart.

• Lack of food, hygiene and basic health facilities leads to the death of one son
from cholera.


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• Lack of basic human rights and dignity in his own faith leads another son to
convert to Christianity. He is lured to the new religion as it promises him a life of
dignity and civic liberties in his new faith.

• Being underprivileged in society leads to the exploitation of Choma’s daughter,
Belli. She is sexually exploited, and then lured away by manipulative men with
promises of writing off her family debts. Men of power demand sexual favors
from her in return to writing off her family’s debt; taking advantage of her social
and economic backwardness. This is a case of caste, class and gender abuse.

• Finally, the last son of Choma is left to die by onlookers due to his caste. People see him drowning, but on one comes forward to help him, because he is an
untouchable. The insensitivity of people can be realized in this case. People are so
clouded by their rigid beliefs and superstitions that they turn a blind eye to a
fellow human being in trouble. The cries of the young boy fall on deaf ears, only
because of his caste.

All these cases show how untouchability leads to various forms of abuse and neglect.

Literature as a step towards Social Uniformity

                 Summing up, it can be said that Chomana Dudi is an excellent example of how Dalit
Literature can lead to social uniformity. The novel throws light on the denial of basic
human essentials and dignity to people like Choma and highlights the immorality of
society. It is able to tear up the eyes of the readers and tear open their hearts towards the
suffering of the downtrodden. The author’s purpose to create an awareness among the
public as regards to the evils of untouchability has found adequate success through this
novel. So, it can be said that novels like these can prove to be invaluable in spreading
awareness and sensitize the public towards the suffering of the so-called lower castes.
This would lead to concern, mindfulness and social uniformity in the long run.