Discuss Paraja as a "Subaltern Novel" Or Can tribals be categorised as Subaltern in the novel Paraja? Support your answer.

 Discuss Paraja as a "Subaltern Novel" Or Can tribals be categorised as Subaltern in the novel Paraja? Support your answer.

                                                                                                              June-2012

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Ans. The term Subaltern means'of inferior rank, a term adopted by Antonio Gramsci to refer to those groups in society who are subject of the ruling classes.

 Hegemonic notions help the ruling forces to dominate suppressed classes by couching and cushioning their imperial power the in words like social order, stability and advancement.

 Some of the hegemonic central methods are social discriminations, racial prejudices gender biases, cultural differences and a split in humanistic values they have  Subaltern groups are fragmented and marginalized because little or no access to the means of control both in social and cultural institutions.

Their dissent or resistance is crushed and their voice remains either unheard .

The subaltern is a standard term designating a subject that has been constructed, colonised and internalised by the authoritative forces .

The marginalised person does try to resist and rebel, but to what extent is questionable and debatable In the novel Paraja, we witness the 'Paraja' tribals as the subalterns who are manipulated by the ruling feudal forces operative in that area.

 They are the marginalized peoplewho are unable to raise fist or voice and even if they try, their fate is as of Sukru Jani. They are doomed forever.

Their resistance is meaningless. They are devoid of the basic facilities required by a human being.

 Sukru Jani an illiterate is roped into the nexus of moneylenders and officials for no fault of his. He asks for permission from the Forest Guard to clear a patch of land in the forest for agricultural purposes, which is duly given, but verbally.

Let us not forget that in tribal customs the oral word carries more weight. Oral tradition and orature is part and parcel of their lives.

 Later when Sukru Jani's daughter Jili refus advances of the Forest Guard, he (Sukru Jani) is harassed ted by the nexus of officials including the people of the village.He  and his son become bonded labouresrd ;his son is caught brewing liquor illegally and to pay off his fine, he too has to surrender his services to the moneylender. The suffering does not end here. Jili is sexually exploited by the moneylender Ram Bisoi and whenever Sukru Jani raises his voice in protest either for land or money, he is suppressed and with the passage of time he neither has land, nor money nor a family. Sukru Jani is a representative of many such people who are faced with similar problems at times suffer more than him. When Sukru Jani knocks on the door of the court, here too, because of his being uneducated and unaware of the law, he is at the losing end. Money changes hands and once again, he is defeated and feels horribly cheated. The constant oppression and enslavement enforced by the rich and the socially higher ups results in the apparent action of his sons when they hack the moneylender to pieces And at a sub-conscious level, they make people hear their voices. Lenin had said that 'the proletariat has nothing to lose and nothing to gain' Sukru Jani is a figure who has nothing to lose in life and he is aware that there is nothing much that he can achieve or gain either. So he becomes a rebel. The voice of the subaltern is in rebellion. The speech of the marginalised is in his/her actions. The fighting spirit of these peripheral people of society is their stand against oppression.