AKSHAYA CHOUDHARY
1036
SECTION B, III YEAR ENGLISH
Andha Yug and Modern War Theory
Introduction
Andha Yug by Dharamvir Bharati is most commonly read as contemplation on the partition of the Indian subcontinent, and the reworking of the final day of the battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas is also interpreted as an allegory of the war between two modern political states. Rightly so, the play could be taken as an allegory for the war between two technologically modern states, consequences of which doesn’t limit to any specific geographical region, instead influence the entire human race. The play deals with the important philosophical questions like, ethics, necessity and consequences of war. But, most criticism limits itself to the ethics and the morality of the war from the standpoint of the two major parties, i.e. Kauravas and Pandavas, or from the standpoint of Krishna. Minor or common characters are usually treated as the instruments of settling the debate over Dharama and ethics of the battle, always treated as means rather than ends in themselves. Larger philosophical questions of the play consume the subjectivity and the individuality of the common …show more content…
It could be said, Bharati is practicing historiography, what Benjamin regards as, from the margins. It could be argued that Bharati regards the events of Mahabharata as the source events and demonstrates the historiography from the margins by reworking the events in his play. The addition of such marginal characters serves his purpose well. This could also be interpreted as Bharati’s critique of history of war. Only those in authority or the hegemonic class is mentioned in the historiography of such events, and common people are used merely as statistical data to measure the scope of these violent conflicts, their subjectivity and viewpoint is completely
1036
SECTION B, III YEAR ENGLISH
Andha Yug and Modern War Theory
Introduction
Andha Yug by Dharamvir Bharati is most commonly read as contemplation on the partition of the Indian subcontinent, and the reworking of the final day of the battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas is also interpreted as an allegory of the war between two modern political states. Rightly so, the play could be taken as an allegory for the war between two technologically modern states, consequences of which doesn’t limit to any specific geographical region, instead influence the entire human race. The play deals with the important philosophical questions like, ethics, necessity and consequences of war. But, most criticism limits itself to the ethics and the morality of the war from the standpoint of the two major parties, i.e. Kauravas and Pandavas, or from the standpoint of Krishna. Minor or common characters are usually treated as the instruments of settling the debate over Dharama and ethics of the battle, always treated as means rather than ends in themselves. Larger philosophical questions of the play consume the subjectivity and the individuality of the common …show more content…
It could be said, Bharati is practicing historiography, what Benjamin regards as, from the margins. It could be argued that Bharati regards the events of Mahabharata as the source events and demonstrates the historiography from the margins by reworking the events in his play. The addition of such marginal characters serves his purpose well. This could also be interpreted as Bharati’s critique of history of war. Only those in authority or the hegemonic class is mentioned in the historiography of such events, and common people are used merely as statistical data to measure the scope of these violent conflicts, their subjectivity and viewpoint is completely