Open Access Research Article
LISTENING TO THE GRASSHOPPERS IN PLUTOCRATIC SOCIETY
Published Paper
Article Details
LISTENING
TO THE GRASSHOPPERS IN PLUTOCRATIC SOCIETY
AUTHTORED BY - KRITI MEHTA
INTRODUCTION -
Listening to Grasshoppers consists of 12 essays, written from
2006 to 2008 that exhibits imperfections of Indian democracy. The objective of
the book is to portray the exhaustive picture of minorities and underscore
legitimate suppression practised by the government. This book review consists
of 4 parts which start with a summarisation of the pertinent incidents in the
life of a nation-building exercise followed by a critical examination of the
author’s views on the Kashmir issue. A quick perusal of India being a fascist
regime. In the end, we will analyse Operation Green Hunt through the
capitalististic lens along with capitalistic philanthropic irony.
EVENTS IN THE BOOK-
Let’s start the book review by listing the major events
discussed in the articles, which include the attack on the Indian parliament
and targeting the minorities during the investigation followed by the Godra
riots of 2002 where the author brutally criticizes the PM (CM of Gujarat at
that time) and alleges administrative authorities being hand in gloves with the
Hindu nationalist. Then she goes on to explain genocides with minorities that
happened all over the world where she underscores that the Jewish genocide is
considered to be the most brutal genocide but others are under the veil of
ignorance like the Armenian genocide by the Turkish government. To date, the
government hasn’t acceded to the catastrophe the people went through despite
the evidence. In the end, the author paints a gruesome picture of Kashmiri
civilians and their political-socio condition. These are the events delineated
in the book. Now we will critically examine the author's stand on the issues
along with the viewpoints of celebrated individuals in the field.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF
KASHMIR ISSUE-
Let’s examine the author's view on Kashmir in the article
titled Azadi where she states that INDIA NEEDS AZADI FROM KASHMIR JUST AS MUCH
IF NOT MORE THAN KASHMIR NEEDS AZADI FROM INDIA. Similar views are expressed in
her book the utmost happiness when one of the characters says Kashmir will make
India self-destructive in the same way you are not destructing but you are
constructing ones. She makes the statement keeping in mind the loss of human
life of both the civilian and the military force. But the idea of giving the
piece of land considering Kashmir’s strategic location is not pragmatic as it
will not dilute enmity but it lead to an upsurge in security issues, territory
if given will lead to better connection between Pakistan and China resulting in
attacks at both the fronts. The revenue generated from tourism, India's
prominent geopolitical position within Central Asia which facilitates access to
vital land trade routes endeavouring to establish a connection with Afghanistan
which traverses Central Asia and extends into Russia and Europe, the close
vicinity to Tajikistan diplomatic relations with Russia will all be sacrificed.
It will be detrimental for the country in the epoch where India finds itself in
a relatively less advantageous geographical position when considering China's
recent investments in land transport infrastructure. It is a double-edged sword
due to the strategic position the incumbent government tries to control the
territory, abrogation of article 370 and increased military deployment which
the author perceives the deployment of the military against its people is steep
in the direction. The repercussions of all these steps are borne by none but
the vulnerable like children and women. Law, Gender and Governance in Kashmir”
by Seema Kazi adds significantly to it. She vetted how atrocities against women
by security forces took place in an “institutionalised” manner. The Armed
Forces Special Powers Act and the Public Safety Act have mutilated liberties.
These are the instruments of government to tame the ‘non-obedient’ subjects.
“Rape of Kashmiri women by security forces represents felonious nature of the
Indian reprisal in Kashmir[1].
The abrogation of Article 370 took place in the name of female empowerment by
granting property rights but women themselves never supported this legislation
as it exposed them to more vulnerabilities than ever. Objectionable and
disparaging remarks are passed by state ministers on them. Witness of Poetry: Political
Feeling in Kashmiri Poetry”, by Suvir Kaul perused how poetry was a medium for
political expression and became a political juggernaut which is to say it was a
means of resistance to decipher dispossession, dissent and a sense of loss of
dignity to women. Therefore Kashmir issue can only be subdued through
deliberations and compromises among the people and not by squandering military
and resources which results in nothing but grave tensions and distrust between
civilians and the government
INDIA AS A FASCIST
STATE-
One of the articles states, India is becoming a fascist
state. She also expressed similar concern in her lectures, stating, that people
recognize fascism only when thousands of people are massacred, and sent to gas
chambers in other words not when the process starts. She says that India has
started the process and symbols are Hindu nationalism, authorisation of the
Muslim community, demonization, Muslims blamed for spreading coronavirus in the
same way Jews were blamed for spreading typhus, Nuremberg laws where legacy
papers were to be shown to get the citizenship and Indian government enacted
citizenship amendment act. Members of RSS, VHP and, BJP are all fascist as they
consider the Hindu race supreme as axiomatic from their remarks and actions.
But she added, efforts by the current government to transform the state will
end up in failure due to resistance to Modi’s fascism[2].
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF
ISSUE OF TRIBES IN INDIA-
In the end, we will examine the plight of the Naxals due
to the government and capitalist self-vested interest in the resources. She
shed light on Operation Green Hunt, that’s how the Indian media described the
"undaunted operation by paramilitary and the state forces" against
the Naxalites. In her book Walking with the Comrades, explained the
unsuccessful endeavour for economic development despite being rich in resources
owing to the heavily militarised area. She went on a nonviolent expedition with
a guerrilla movement and explained the nuances profoundly. The building of dams
followed by the destruction of the environment and displacement of tribal
communities as witnessed in the Narmada dam project. In her novel my seditious
heart she questioned all such practices in the name of progress. She blatantly
asserts the new rulers of India are the Ambanis and the Tata’s. Through news
channels, they control the information that mushroomed in the society hence
controlling the ideas and any possible dissent. A foundation like Martin Luther
King who fought against capitalism and the free market is being funded by the
capitalists themselves[3].
Philanthro-capitalism results in limited transparency erodes support for
governmental spending on the public and can lead to tax revenue problems for
the government[4].
Therefore such practices should be curbed and legal positive rights should be
encouraged.
CONCLUSION-
By this, we come to an end of this book review. The
review started with a brief introduction of the events explained in the book
furthermore we investigated the author's stance on the Kashmir issue and looked
through Seema Kazi’s work on women's vulnerabilities followed by the author's
reasons for stating India is a fascist state's and at the end we vetted on the
burden borne by the vulnerable communities due to self-interest of the
capitalist and their control over the government.
[1]Kazi
, S. (2014). Rape, Impunity and Justice in Kashmir. Scholarship Repository,
10(1). https://doi.org/10.55496/ZCWJ8096
[2] Thappar , K. (2022,
February 17). Narendra Modi’s Star Is Falling’: Arundhati Roy. The Wire.
https://thewire.in/politics/full-text-narendra-modis-star-is-falling-arundhati-roy
[3] Roy, A. (2022, October 10).
Arundhati Roy flags signs of fascism in India, says it is aided by corporate
funding. The Hindu.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/arundhati-roy-dissects-hindutva-fascism/article65988430.ece
[4] Dorschner, J. P. (2024,
September 6). Capitalism (A Ghost Story). AMERICAN DIPLOMACY.
https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2014/09/capitalism-a-ghost-story/
Article Information
LISTENING TO THE GRASSHOPPERS IN PLUTOCRATIC SOCIETY
Authors: KRITI MEHTA
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2024/04/10
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
All research articles published in International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis are open access and available to read, download and share, subject to proper citation of the original work.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis.