Satyam Shivam Sundaram

Indeed, this festival is taking place at a time when Indian literature— specifically, Indian writing in English — has attracted the attention ofthe lovers of literature all over the world. This attention is manifestingitself in growing worldwide recognition and acclaim for our writers — boththose in India and those living abroad.

This is best illustrated by the choice of Shri V. S. Naipaul for theNobel Prize for Literature last year. We are honored to have you with us today,Sir Naipaul. One may or may not agree with your description of India as a landof a million mutinies. But I do know that this nation of one billion peoplecelebrated your winning the Nobel Prize as a proud event.

Friends, literature in India has a long and rich tradition. Itsrichness lies, uniquely, in the richness and diversity of India’s linguisticheritage. From Valmiki to Vallathol, Thiruvalluvar to Tagore, Nanak to Nirala,and from Mira to Mahashweta Devi, we have been blessed with an unbroken lineageof outstanding writers and poets. They have shown how great literature canbecome an integral part of the history, culture, and life of a nation, servingit as an unending source of vitality.

Our men and women of letters have also made an enormous contributionto enriching the literary and cultural heritage of the world. They wrote inlanguages that were not known beyond the shores of India. In that sense, theywere at home in their own specific region or community. Yet, each one of themspoke for the world, for the entire humanity.

The concerns of their creative expression, though rooted in time,space, and culture, embraced the totality of human experience. In this, theywere guided by India’s integral outlook towards life, an outlook that rejectsnothing that is human but respects everything — Dharma, Arth, Kama, andMoksh — in their proper balance. Our writers boldly explored thefundamental truths of human life. They were seekers who searched for answers tothe eternal question: what is the relationship between man, nature, and thecreator? And whatever they experienced, whatever they discovered, they expressedit with an honesty and authenticity that had the distinctive stamp of beauty oftheir individual creation.

Thus, Indian literature has set a timeless standard to judge itself— indeed, to judge any artistic expression. It can be described in threewords: Satyam Shivam Sundaram. If this guiding principle of literatureand other creative expression was relevant in ancient times, it is also relevantnow.

In this activity of creative expression, India has never beenintolerant and narrow-minded on the question of language. Our civilization hasalways accepted intellectual freedom and celebrated cultural pluralism. It hasrecognized language as a means of expression, as a connector of peoples and as acarrier of culture. Which is why it nurtured the diversity of languages, lettingeach of them find its own natural course of flow.

The beauty of our linguistic tradition is that this diversity isdynamic; it is not cast in an unchanging mould. With the passage of time, andresponding to the needs of our interaction with the rest of the world, we haveaccepted linguistic influences from beyond our shores. In this process offertilizing interaction, we have assimilated them and made them our own.

With each phase of India’s interaction with the world, our literarytradition has been further enriched. Something similar has been happening withthe ongoing phenomenon of Indianization of English. The emergence of theself-confident Indian writer in English, who has an increasingly appreciativeaudience abroad, is I think, a development that is a tribute to the literaryabilities of some of our writers. At the same time, this is also a recognitionof the essential adaptability and catholicity of the Indian spirit.

It may seem somewhat ironic that the literary heritage of India ismore often being celebrated today not for its sustained evolution within India,but for its increased recognition abroad, principally through the medium of arelatively new language for Indians, English. Sometimes this internationalrecognition is so lopsided that there is even a tendency abroad to view Indianliterature as being synonymous with Indian writing in English.

I am aware that this development has triggered off a lively and heateddebate in the literary circles in our country. The debate has thrown up manyimportant issues to the fore — issues that go the heart of many sociological,cultural, economic, and developmental aspects of modern India. Some have raisedan important question as to whether Indian writing in English has as yetgrappled with the joys and sorrows of our masses, with the full complexity andrichness of life in India. An equally relevant counter-question is asked: CanIndian writing in English be said to be inauthentic only because it expressesthe Indian Experience in a manner different from those writing in non-Englishlanguages?

I am sure that these issues will be discussed in a constructive mannerin this conference. The debate will no doubt continue beyond this conference.But let it be commonly accepted that those who write in English and those whowrite in other Indian languages do not constitute two separate camps. Both are apart of the indivisible fraternity of Indian writers, rejoicing in eachother’s achievements and contributing to the literary heritage of India andthe world.

Distinguished writers, allow me to present some of my thoughts onthese issues as I see them. As I said before, we are proud of the success ofIndians writing in English, which has made some of our writers "at home inthe world". However, I am filled with despair when I think of the problemsof literary writing in other languages in India. Those who write in languagesother than English often suffer from very undeserved neglect. In spite of theirauthentic creative strength, the originality and importance of the subjects theydeal with, and the literary aesthetics of their works, these writers have tofight unsuccessfully for recognition that should naturally be theirs.

They lack publishers and commercial sustenance. Even when they arepublished, the print order and sales are embarrassingly small. They are denied anation-wide readership; and certainly, most of them are deprived ofinternational audience and recognition. The odds are so heavily stacked againstthem that many non-English writers of outstanding merit cannot pursue literatureas a means of securing a decent livelihood.

Of course, publishing in English has certain obvious advantages. Itmakes commercial success and publicity in the media easier to come by. However,these cannot be the real criteria for judging the strength of literature.Ultimately, good literature, irrespective of the language in which it iswritten, stands the test of time on its own literary and creative merits.

It is undeniable that good literature is being created in all Indianlanguages. What it needs is proper support because of the disadvantages ofpublishing in non-English languages. Therefore, all of us have to seriouslythink of how to mitigate these disadvantages with both governmental andnon-governmental initiatives. I would like to invite suggestions on from allthose involved in the literary effort — writers, publishers, editors,intellectuals, critics, and of course, readers — on how to take good books byIndian writers, at affordable prices, to more and more people in India andabroad.

Some have suggested the setting up of a National Translation Board forIndian Literature in order to expand this activity beyond the scope of what isbeing done by existing agencies. This can make good literature in one Indianlanguage available to readers in other languages, including in English. TheGovernment would support such an initiative. In addition, we would alsosympathetically look into the problems faced by publishers of good Indianliterature in non-English languages.

Friends, this conference is taking place when India is going through afascinating phase of transition. A phase in which the past co-exists with anever-changing present; but when the present is changing faster than ever in thepast.

India is changing. Our society is changing. Our people are absorbingmuch more of the world than before. But make no mistake about it: they are doingso in ways that do not discard their essential Indianness; rather, almost everyIndian family, every Indian citizen, and every Indian who is a part of theIndian Diaspora is today exploring, asserting, adapting, but rarely everabandoning their Indian identity.

This process of change presents a fertile ground for literary energyand expression. The changes it brings in ordinary lives; the new equations itforges in old frameworks; the hope it kindles in the dispossessed and the energyit gives to the upwardly mobile — all of this constitutes the pageantry ofIndia. The India of today is a veritable kaleidoscope for the literaryimagination. It is a gold mine for themes of national and global relevance.

I have spoken much. Indeed, much more than I initially intended to. Inthe end, I can only re-state the obvious. Above and beyond everything, goodliterature has a relation to the desire to create a better world. During ourFreedom Struggle, almost all great writers believed that their writing shouldsomehow contribute to the liberation of India. Their works also exposed the manyinjustices and wrongs in our society. In my own childhood and adulthood, I wasdeeply influenced by the books of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Sharatchandra,Premchand, and Maithilisharan Gupt.

Now the times have changed. Life is making different demands of us.Yet, even in this age of globalization, good literature cannot be without apurpose. What is the purpose of any specific work of literature is for thewriter to explore and for the reader to discover. I am not one of those whobelieve that a writer achieves creative development only when he sheds allcommitment to society. At the same time, I also believe that that commitmentcannot be defined by any ideology or political agenda. The writer must haveuntrammeled freedom to explore and express life as he or she sees it.

I would therefore like to see Indian literature make big, bold, andcreative forays into the life in India and the world around us. Let it hold amirror to ourselves and to the society in which we live. Let it uncover thehappenings in our individual selves and make us confront the reality in thesociety we live in. Let contemporary Indian literature enrapture us. Let itsadden us. Let it provoke us. Let it anger and agitate us. Let it inspire,energize, and ennoble us. Let it enable us see new dreams and to work togetherfor the realization of those dreams. And let it celebrate the new India and thenew world.

With these words, I inaugurate this International Festival of IndianLiterature and wish it all success.

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