Social Realism in Asif Currimbhoy’s Inquilab

Abstract

The Concept of Nationalism originated in the Western Europe with the growth of capitalism and industrialism. The nationalistic principle of self domination gives each nation the right to be independent and to form a suitable government of its own. Nonetheless, the act of colonizing ruled out the principle which in turn gave rise to nationalistic writing. A considerable part of the Third World literature presents nationalism as its chief concern. The literature addresses the issues that are political, cultural, economical, social and religious. Asif Currimbhoy, considered as India’s first authentic voice in theatre writing plays of dissent, remains one of the major writers writing on nationalistic issues of post-independence India. He made creative explorations in the nationalistic writing by addressing the issues that emerged of partition of India at the time of independence. He made originative geographic expeditions on the subjects of state and patriotism in several of his 29 dramas. The dramatist explores universal human predicament through his social, moral, religious and political concerns in the plays. The paper looking into the issue of nationalism as portrayed in modern Indian drama aims at analyzing Asif Currimbhoy‘s construct of pain, terror and dilemma of landless agricultural laborers turning into naxalite expeditions in one of his celebrated plays Inquilab. This important drama dramatizes the subject the Naxalite struggle in Bengal, probes into the way violence breaks loose. The play is an assessment of the Naxal movement grew powerful in Calcutta in the 1970s.