Identity and Community in India

 Art analyses reality critically; literature at large has provided a platform for writers to present the quintessential reality in human experience. In the world literary scene, Indian English Literature has forged a niche for itself through the remarkable contributions of our poets, fictional writers and critics. Our storytellers have evolved over the decades, dealing with themes like nationalism, freedom struggle and political history of the country, social realism, and consciousness of the individual; deliberating on them, using contemporary literary devices, and elevating Indian English fiction to a higher status parallel to other literatures across the globe. Modern writers seem to be preoccupied with the idea of ‘individual identity’; perhaps, it is the very essence of all art forms extensively. In the continuum of rapid changes in contemporary communities, it is the one idea which individuals struggle to come to terms with. Words like ‘identity’ and ‘self-concept’ may appear simple at the outset. But they have deeper psychological and social implications. In a multifarious society such as that of India, it is imperative that adequate studies be done on such concepts in relation to the collective communities. One can see the myriads of individual identities through the lense of Indian English literature. It is quite an interesting endeavor for that matter.

One can see the diasporic trend and its reasons, the political scenario and the diverse religious communities in the post-independent era, the important economic reforms and their impact on the citizens, the metamorphosed Indian psyche, and most significantly, how the individual construes him/herself in this hybrid realm. This is where literature attains sociological and psychological dimensions.

The socio-economic setting in the country is determined considerably by caste, religion, financial status, linguistic differentials and political liaisons. In the attempt to see the undercurrents between an individual’s self-concept and his/her immediate social group, the multiple Indian religions have to be subjected to a profound scrutiny. The inter-relations between communities, their cohabitation as well as biases, and the prominent political ideologies in the country also can be perused in between the lines. Identity theory has a great applicability in the course of a study to understand identities in the subcontinent. The operative principles of Ethnic and Minority groups in Indian polity also come under the scope of such a study. 

‘Identity’ is a dynamic word, constantly discussed in contemporary psychology, sociology, history, political science, and literature. The term stands for the intrinsic culture of a group of people, in which case, there is no distinction between identity and ethnicity. The term can also be read as one’s common identification with a social category, as in Henri Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory. The direct links between the individual and the society were first analysed in the Social Identity Theory propounded by Tajfel and John Turner in 1979. They suggested that group membership is associated with the prejudices and discriminations within or towards such constructed groups. Tajfel observes in his Social Identity and Intergroup Relations that there are three cognitive processes which determine whether a person belongs to a group or not; they are Social Categorization, Social Identification and Social Comparison. He points out that even arbitrary and virtually pointless differences between the groups can prompt an individual to choose one’s own group at the expense of another.

It is intriguing to discern the operative principles by which people form their identity and cope with the surroundings. Literature sure helps one do that!

Reference:

 John Turner: “ Towards a Cognitive Redefinition of the social Group”. _Social Identity and Intergroup Relations_. Ed. Henri Tajfel. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1982.

Ms. Renjitha. K. R 

Assistant Professor of English 

Al Shifa College of Arts and Science Kizhattoor, Perinthalmanna