|
Open Page
Arundhati Roy
|
The credibility of Arundhati Roy's activism stems from the fact that she has been proactive participant in the socio-environmental issues. She has emerged as the messiah of popular pubic causes, judiciously mixing her celebrity status with her activism.
|
Polemicist, gamine, political figure, essayist, coming of the age of feminism, icon of the voiceless are some of the words used to describe Arundhati Roy in the western press, especially in the U.K. This was the impression that was prevailing in the British media circles, when she was jailed symbolically for a day in India for lowering the dignity of court. Few view her as exploiting her celebrity status to the misguided issues and pandering to western audience. She has moved away from the Booker Prize glory that made her instant celebrity for her book — The God of Small Things, which sold more than 6 million copies in 40 languages.
The day preceding her arrest, every movement of her in the Supreme Court of India to her attire, composure and disposition was widely reported to a threadbare detail. The Guardian's Madeline Bunting wrote, when she was jailed for a day, "She (Arundhati Roy) looks both traditional Indian — the Gandhi-esque homespun scarves — and modern gamine with her short cropped hair. Instinctively she understands how all politics is a form of theatre and her very stature speaks eloquently of a David and Goliath battle. Rather as Aung San Suu Kyi wears flowers in her hair. Roy wore pink in court, the newspapers reported, the colour of life affirming courage and an assertion of the quintessentially feminine in the face of clumsy state power." Arundhati Roy has been seen as a solitary woman taking on the might of Indian Judiciary audaciously, hitherto unknown of any (Indian) author of international repute, indulging in the espousal of popular public causes — especially to express freedom to dissent and to stand to the consequences, which she amply demonstrated.
Why is she reckoned in the West, when there are many others who won the Booker Prize? The consensual inferences are: she is a woman, attractive, a celebrity (for winning the Booker Prize at such a tender age), new age feminist and as a novelist utilising her celebrity status for popular causes. Her struggle to dissent and engage in the criticism of the Indian Judiciary assumes significance in the light of the fact that it is held in reverence by the political executive, especially in a democratic country like India. Her symbolic arrest is surmised as restrictions on her freedom and by sending her to jail for a day, she had been martyred.
India has been in the news to the world for communal violence and entente with its neighbours in the past few weeks and for the western media which was wearied with news on Zimbabwe, Arundhati Roy's arrest and release came at a ripe time. News generated by indigenous Booker Prize winning author Arundhati Roy came for a gripping attention in the western intelligentsia and for a wide coverage in the liberal press. And her one-day symbolic arrest came to be seen as a test to India's democracy. She has brought glory to India by winning the Booker Prize and now she is actively involved in upholding the cause of the marginalised and underprivileged sections of the Indian society.
Voice of the voiceless
Unlike many other Indian authors of international fame, she has been focusing her attention on issues of livelihood in the world's largest democracy by pursuing more direct and participative approaches towards public mobilisation through social and mass movements method, giving voice to the voiceless and of course on the dangers of nuclear weapons. After entrenching herself as a novelist, she made her voice heard on the issues of environment, development and nuclear weapons that struck a chord with many in the West. Claire Armistead, the literary Editor of The Guardian observed, when asked why such a wide coverage for a single person, when there were other problems in the world, "It very much caught the imagination of the media in this country. Because it combined activism with celebrity and we are very much obsessed with celebrity. And it is very nice for us to see who uses that for a good cause. And it is the symbolism of it, which caught our imagination; I think the imagination of Europe. For us this cues into our anxiety of big corporate interests and also ecological interests. So it is an emotional response we have, probably, not necessarily understanding, though precise politics she is dealing with. As a Booker Prize winning author, she has literary celebrity which is at the moment has very high value for us. It is very important for people to be counted and put their mouth where their interests are and all over the world, we are seeing defoliation of environment and here is someone who has stood up and said, where I am going to dedicate my life to. And on an emotional level that is very moving for us in England."
The credibility of Arundhati Roy's activism stems from the fact that she has been proactive participant in the socio-environmental issues. And she lives in India, writes about Indian subjects in a trenchant style. She has emerged as the messiah of popular pubic causes, judiciously mixing her celebrity status with her activism. Erica Wagner, literary editor of The Times said, "I think Arundhati Roy herself, probably prefers to be known for her activism rather than her novel writing. I know that when she won the Booker Prize, she wondered whether she would ever write another novel again. I don't know whether she will, but certainly, she is known as the novelist in this country, she is very much seen now as a political figure." She justified the coverage given by the press, "Well, certainly for the British media, winning a Booker Prize is a great accolade, that tends to make the novelist straightaway a very famous novelist. And it is quite unusual for a novelist to do other things than write novels. And so I think, really that's the reason." Harriett Gilbert, who presents the show "Meridian Writing" on BBC said, "Arundhati Roy is a high profile celebrity, certain sections of media instinctively sympathise with her cause. And the general feeling is the big dams destroy communities forcibly, which are misguided. And also affecting the wildlife."
`Undue attention'
Some disagree with the attention given by the western press, whose interests are always exaggerating crises and to portray things of Third World in a bad light. Peter Kimani, a Kenyan journalist living in London, whose debut novel "The Last Supper" is scheduled for release in May said, "There are many more pressing issues in the world to cover. But it is mainly dictated by home audience and also creates hype to the British audience of Third World crises. The case of Arundhati Roy getting such great attention is because of agenda that western media perpetuates to display countries in the Southern Hemisphere and the rest of the world, particularly when there are other pressing political and cultural issues lying unreported. No doubt she wrote a good book, which is radical in style."
However, for some her very espousal of popular causes signified the freedom in India, where every individual has the right to pick up causes and stand to them. Amit Roy, a journalist with Daily Telegraph inferred, "From the start she had a lot of attention, to start with, she is a very attractive woman, her pictures are widely used. India is a free country and anyone has the right to demonstrate and to protest in a peaceful manner. But the question is whether she is really helping the cause that she has taken up. My point is that Arundhati Roy seems to have abandoned writing, which she was good at and become a fulltime political activist. And some people are grateful to her but some people think she has exploited her position to take up public causes. India is that kind of a country where you are able to go to town for such causes, you are allowed to do so. It is a sign of strength in democracy, to express a point of view. I personally think she has been misguided, she abused her position to some extent, but I am aware many people will disagree with me." He reminded how she attempted to defend Phoolan Devi when Shekhar Kapoor made a film on her — Bandit Queen. Arundhati Roy accused him of making a film for entertainment on her life, who had already suffered so much, while secretly Phoolan Devi herself had struck a deal with Channel 4 to drop court proceedings after she was offered 40,000 pounds, leaving Roy high and dry.
Regardless of the criticism and applause she may come across on the home turf, in the West and particularly in the U.K., Arundhati Roy has wide audience to read what she writes. She has the audience to empathise with her struggle against the dams (the dam buster). She is also viewed as an amiable interviewee in the press, as a great novelist in the public and as a leading think tank of 21st century India.
K. GANAPATHI REDDY
(The Writer is a Sky News Bursary Holder pursuing his Masters Degree in International Journalism at the City University of London, United Kingdom)
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Open Page
|
