Remembering the Tebhaga Movement in Mahasweta Deviâs Quest Novels: Swechasainik and Bandobasti

Somrwita Ghosh

Jump to Content

Chapter 20 Remembering the Tebhaga Movement in Mahasweta Deviâs Quest Novels: Swechasainik and Bandobasti

In: Memory Studies in India

Author:

Somrwita Ghosh

Somrwita Ghosh
Search for other papers by Somrwita Ghosh in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed

Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 336â348

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004722514_022

Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):

â¬42.00â¬35.00Â excl. VAT

Add to Cart

Redeem Access Token

Abstract

This chapter examines how Mahasweta Deviâs novels Swechasainik (Volunteer Soldier, 1986) and Bandobasti (Arrangement, 1988) engage with an event of peasant rebellion from the late colonial period like the Tebhaga Movement of Bengal (1946â1950). In both the novels, the young protagonists, journalists by profession, embark on quests to trace the forgotten revolutionary past. They encounter the past through the recollections of former participants or Kisan Sabha volunteers of the undivided Communist Party of India who spearheaded the movement in rural Bengal. These novels are set almost four decades after the movement when Bengal had already witnessed major political transformation with the coming to power of a Left Front government with an agenda based on land reforms. Deviâs ways of presenting the past events are unusual and worthy of attention. The Tebhaga past comes to the forefront through subjective recollections of the former participants of the movement. Memories trigger self-reflection among the former participants as they reassess their role as leaders, their relationship with the rural masses, as well as their shortcomings. Scholarship on Tebhaga has often raised the issue as to whether it is possible for middle-class intelligentsia from outside to assimilate with peasant groups belonging to a different socio-economic structure and to lend a voice to these oppressed masses. Although there are gaps, silences and forgetting, the oral testimonies help in understanding the specificities of the movement from the perspective of participants. This chapter will largely explore how memories can aid in bridging the gap between the lived experiences of the participants and narrative representation and present a critique of political leadership.

Citation Info

Save
Cite
Email this content

Share link with colleague or librarian

You can email a link to this page to a colleague or librarian:
Email this content
or copy the link directly:

https://brill.edhh.ma/abstract/book/9789004722514/BP000028.xml
The link was not copied. Your current browser may not support copying via this button.

Link copied successfully

Collapse
Expand

Memory Studies in India

Texts and Contexts

Series:Â Mobilizing Memories, Volume: 5

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004722514

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 21 Apr 2025

Subjects
- Asian Studies
  - South Asia
- Literature and Cultural Studies

Front Matter

Back Matter

ProCite

RefWorks

Reference Manager

BibTeX

Zotero

EndNote

Metrics

	All Time	Past 365 days	Past 30 Days
Abstract Views	361	202	6
Full Text Views	6	3	0
PDF Views & Downloads	6	3	0

African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

Subjects

Authors

Open Access

Product Information

Company

Contact

Chapter 20 Remembering the Tebhaga Movement in Mahasweta Deviâs Quest Novels: Swechasainik and Bandobasti

Abstract

Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

Memory Studies in India

Texts and Contexts

Table of Contents

References

Metrics

Metrics

Chapter 20 Remembering the Tebhaga Movement in Mahasweta Deviâs Quest Novels: Swechasainik and Bandobasti