Assistant Professor

Department of English

Baiswara Degree College

 Lalganj, Raebareli, U.P., India 

The novel entitled Paraja presents a class struggle that becomes destiny and human situation for many, through a vivid picture of economic and social conditions of tribals. The tribals are at the periphery; centre is beyond the approach of marginalized people like tribals. Since the centre is encroached by bourgeois proliferate class, destiny of the centre is propelled by elite class enjoying power to position. Periphery emerges as unfortunate chance for marginalized who are doomed to suffer not because of their own fault but by the reason of deadly family lineage. Generation comes and passes away under the dark/black umbrella of poverty, miseries, ignorance, illiteracy and many more. This shatters our dream of brotherhood and humanity. Unless and until we feel pity for them, we work for them, we try to improve their condition, we are not going to make better world of assimilation rather it is furthering division; this division is painful. Some thinkers have rightly promulgated that we are not safe in our building if we are not caring for the huts. The novelist Gopinath Mohanty has taken special and minute care in depicting the pathetic situation of tribal life thrust upon them who need our attention and humanistic attitude.  No doubt, there are laws but are proving false due to in humanistic approach of concerned authorities to them and their life. In the words of the novelist:

After all, no one can own the forest. Land can be owned by anyone and the owners can grow crop there. God created all these and for human beings – what a shame that man prevents his fellow men from putting them to their proper use! (Paraja 23)

An accredited novelist and short story writer Gopinath Mohanty occupies very prominent place in Oria novelists in the twentieth century by virtue of his technique and universal thematic structure of his fictions. His way of telling stories in his novels is appealing and convincing  and this is the result of his first hand knowledge of the situation that appealed as well as pained him so much that he thought it a way expression through his writings. Who can deny the pitiable conditions of tribals who are even today, when we are claiming many achievements in different fields of life,  are doomed to live their lives on margins devoid of the primary facilities for human beings:

The discrimination was so acute that the tribals suffered deprivation of a high order. Atrocities on them were so strong that they could not fulfill even their basic needs of life. This had a perverting impact both on the personality of tribals and on the regime they in habited for longer periods of history. (Jain 18-19)

The well known tribe of region Odisa,  Paraja, appears to be derivation of  Paraja, the Sanskrit word meaning the subjects .The novel in question Paraja is chiefly about Koraput district  and its tribals.  With the arrival of Britishers in India as power their rights to their forests have been snatched making their conditions worse. The Indian Forest Act 1873 stated the maintenance of forests and taking due permission of the forests officers the tribals now could use the forests for their living. And here begins the exploitations of tribals  at the hand of non tribals :

The well off non tribal population forming the microscopic minority are found to be economically and culturally dominant and the majority tribal people regress or further shrink back to the hills and in many cases surrender their cultural identity to a condemned state of subordination and control, mainly due to the operation of a powerful mechanism of economic exploitation and cultural subjugation by a dominant group. (Devi 97)

Very poignant scenes have been presented by the novelist pointing out how rich and powerful people exploit marginalized and innocent and they level them as un civilized culturally. Now the question arises why the so called civilized and developed non tribals make tribals either their slaves or uses them for their ends. Even sometimes no doubt they suffer some nature caused troubles and economic crisis (approximately forever)  that bring hard life to them but exploitative attitude of non tribals, the rich, money lenders and others make their lives like hell. What is their fault? They are innocent. Is being innocent a fault? They are tribals not participating in mainstream. Is this their fault? The answer to these questions is that they are not at fault.  Here we need to feel that they are not others or subalterns rather they are members of our own family of humanity and nation; in their development is our development; if they don’t develop, certainly we can’t be happy and satisfied. The theme of the novel is the exploitation of the tribesmen in Orissa but it could be applicable everywhere and the destruction of a way of life by the corrupting forces of material society. The novel Paraja deals with the customs, the culture, the festivals and the songs and dances of the Paraja tribes. It also sheds light on their way of life and their thinking.

In the novel in the situation when Sukru is in jail not because he is a criminal but because he doesn’t act according to the malice desire of victimizing forces. It is very compelling, critical and pathetic situation that is pregnant with many issues and critical considerations. It is found here that honest people are victimized by dishonest. It can be quoted in this connection correlating the statement of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, “Can subaltern speak?  The answer is, yes, they can speak if they are provided with chance of voicing their miseries. In this way it is found that like Sukru and his family members, many people not only in India—pre independence or post independence but in other parts of the world also.  It is very surprising as well as saddening that instead of all schemes of development and welfare for tribals by government, the tribals have to pass their life in suffering and they are isolated, distressed, subjugated by the people who claim to be sophisticated by the norms that make privileged class. The remarkable point about the tribals is that they like to live aloof from the civilized society; their alienated life is a kind of their cultural way of living life and dependence upon the forest. Since they are hard working, they are not indulged in forgery or other similar unethical activities. Shy, gullible and innocent they are trapped easily by people. Patriarch of the Paraja family is Sukru- the father of two sons- Mandia and Tikra, and two daughters – Jili and Bili.  He is passing his life peacefully with his family and a faith in Dadi Budha, the spirit of their first forefather, Dharamu (Almighty) and Dharatini (Mother Earth). To his dismay, the situation changes and this is the climax in the novel that his happy and peaceful life doesn’t remain same; calamity comes to his family, not by nature but by men who claim to be culturally developed and civilized. Forest guard is a lustful person; he is attracted towards the beauty of Jili but she rejects his lustful yearning and this makes the forest guard enemy of the wretched of the search, Sukru and his family members.  As a result of rejection by Jili, Sukru has been charged for illegitimate chopping of trees in the forest. People like him fear the imprisoned life :

For the ignorant tribe men there is no terror than the terror of the prison. It is altogether beyond his comprehension for it belongs to a system in which he has no part, he lives in its fringes. Labour he understands even unpaid labour under a tyrannical moneylender, for this he is born into but anyone who goes to jail is forever stamped a criminal and ostracized. It cripples him socially and economically, the law never relents once it has you in its toils. (Paraja 104)

That is too much to pay for him as his economic condition like tribals is not sound. Having no option left and to save his prestige in the community as community disrespects and discards the person who has been imprisoned, Sukru (the victim of greed and lust not his own but of others) borrows money amount of loan from money lender throwing his and his family in unending troubles and this becomes their destiny not decided by supreme power (God) by powerful and inhuman powerful people of the earth.  After sometime not only Sukru but also his sons- Mandia and Tikra become gotis for the money lender as their land has been taken over by the money lender.  The Paraja  tribal folk seek loans from  for the bride price that the Paraja men have to pay and for buying grain etc. In Sukru Jani's case a loan of fifty rupees is raised, an agreement signed and smeared with thumb impressions; a deed of which Sukru Jani does not understand a word. And that day spells doomsday for Sukru Jani's family. “From today we are gotis, my son; we have signed the agreement today we are gotis! 'His eyes filled with tears and his chest heaved with great sighs. The ageing father threw his arms round his son, broke into sobs and said: 'Gotis, Tikra! From today we are gotis, slaves!'

Tribal life has become a curse for them while they aren’t responsible for their marginalization. They want neither to disturb others nor to be disturbed by others. But people disturb them for their profit.  They live a life of not only poverty but also of exploitation and abuse. Here in the novel Jili and Bili, the daughter of Sukru Jani, too face the brunt of a harsh life. Initially there is food at home but gradually the stores start running low. For them it is very difficult to live, to survive and for their survival they have to pay a lot. We have to keep in mind the fact that these are people seeking out an existence—that is very pitiable for them to continue to live. How difficult to live among the greedy and selfish people. Life is no longer beautiful for the young girls. It is mere drudgery and a burden. For them, life seems to be a burden that is unbearable to carry. The question is why? In contrast to their situations, Ramchandra Bisoi’s life is full leisure and comfort in the same world. Who has given the responsible persons right to exploit them in such a way. Let man be man. Let them live who do not disturb. Why are they being snatched their peaceful living?

Here it is notable that the relatives of these tribals also work against them either due to fear or greed that adds to their painful life.  They are inside enemy of the tribals, though they are not non tribals. yet they add miseries in tribals life by acting according to the dictates of nontribal greedy official of  like Gajara Sundra,  among others.  It is the aim of Mohanty  to highlight lived experiences of the tribals to identify with them because he witnessed misery of the tribals during his service in the forest. What the novelist wishes is that the tribals should also get opportunity of living life of dignity and basic rights of human beings since they are also human beings like us. This is injustice to marginalize any one on the basis of community and other issues. By the means of this novel the novelist is trying to attack new laws of lands that provided the rich and authorities to exploit the tribals in the name of laws that are used according to their convenience and interest:

I am only here on the Forest Guard’s orders. And you know very well what would happen if I disobeyed him! It can happen to you too, brother! It can happen to all of us. We just can’t afford to displease our officials. When they ask us for something, it has to be produced even if ……..(Paraja, 30)

It is also notable that having no option left, led by their utter poverty and exploitation, they murder the money lender. It is because Parajas who lead an interesting life with their cultural song and dance, marriage and god worship become the victim of the so called civilized people. Their harmony with their own world that is isolated from the mainstream and developed world of civilized people, though so called gets destroyed by the wrong intention of the people. Now we can find that greed for money pervades in the society. In Paraja it is noteworthy that attraction towards the materialistic life is the cause of ruin of life of Jili and it disturbs and her life becomes hell. She doesn’t discern that there is no love for her in Sahukar rather he is interested in her bodily beauty and pleasure. She is provided with a house with facilities. It is remarkable point here to mention that education is the solution of many problems and in case of the tribal crisis the illiteracy of the tribals is also the cause of their humiliation, exploitation and destruction. Being uneducated they are sometimes easily trapped by the crude people that leads to their unending suffering even upto losing  of their lives.Due to illiteracy of Sukru Jani, Sahukar is able to maintain ledger to his profit and changes it time to time to deceive the tribal people. So tribals are vulnerable to Sahukar and other non tribals and this adds pathos to their life :

“The Sahukar twisted his lips into a crooked smile, and said, “Yes, jili And isn't there another called Billi at home still ? Bring her to me. I’ve taken the land. I’ve taken one sister; and I shall take the other too, I shall take your wives; I shall make you sweat out your lives as gotis, and I shall rub your nose in the dust. If I don’t,  my name is not Ramchandra Bisoi”(Paraja 372)

To conclude, Sukru Jani represents many tribal people who are poor and illiterate that becomes their venerable reason for their fall and failure in life leading to destruction of their whole family and land, the source of their livelihood. Side by side they are wise also and sometimes under the pressure of situation, having no option left for them, they have to take steps that prove dangerous to their life and others as the case of murder in the novel. Herein lies the idea that Gopinath Mohanty wishes to advocate that there is the need of humanistic approach to solve this tribal problems along with legal help. Only then humanity can survive.

References

1. Mohanty, Gopinath. Paraja. Trans. Bikram K. Das. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1987. Print.
2. Jain,P.C., Planned Development Among Tribals, New Delhi: Rawat Publications, 1999, print.
3. Rekha Devi, Locational Association of Tribal Population and Settlement of Orissa. Locational study of Tribal Settlement of Orissa: An Approach to Rural Regional Development Planning, Bhubaneswar: Lark Books, 1993.  Print.
4. Sharma, A.K. Paraja: A Post Modern Reading, Recent Indian English Literature: A Study since Independence, ed. S.D. Sharma, Karnal: Netraj Publishing House, 1998. Print.
5. Devi, Mahashweta, Imagery Maps(translated from the original Bengali by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak) Thema, Calcutta, 2001