Abstract
This paper aims to analyze Tehmina Durrani’s Blasphemy in light of Gramsci’s theory of cultural hegemony. The paper dwells deep in the study of the religious hegemony of the colonial master in the subcontinent, particularly in the Muslim communities. Although the novel is set in after partition Pakistan, the issue discussed is very much related to the role of British imperialists in establishing religious hegemony. The paper takes a content-based analysis of the novel and unravels instances of religious hegemony. The plot of the novel illustrates how the British colonial masters, to subjugate the natives, fabricated the religious hegemonic ideas in the Muslim society of the subcontinent. Durrani has not only adroitly exposed the hegemonic designs of the British colonial masters, but she has also delineated the after-effects of such hegemonic ideas on the society in general, and on women in particular. This study also, from evidence present in the novel, tries to portray the history of shrines in the subcontinent and studies the behavior of the Pirs who rules these shrines and their attitudes towards women.
Highlights
In its most simplistic form, hegemony can be interpreted, as a form of domination where “man is not ruled by force alone, and by ideas.” (Bates 351) This straightforward definition of subjugation through ideals reflects the Gramscian concept of hegemony. In his Prison Notebook, defines hegemony as “the spontaneous consent given by the great masses of the population to the general direction imposed on social life by the dominant fundamental group” (Gramsci 12)
Destradi defines hegemony as “a form of power exercised through strategies which are subtler than those employed by states behaving as imperial powers.” (10) This definition implies a sterner form of hegemony, where the state does not take the role of an imperial master, rather portrays itself as a part of the subject class
For Brander, “hegemony is the ensemble of cultural, ideological, religious, or economic, political, and social tools through which such spontaneous consent is achieved.” (1) This definition implies that hegemony is a cultural issue, ingrained in the same culture through various cultural instruments
Summary
In its most simplistic form, hegemony can be interpreted, as a form of domination where “man is not ruled by force alone, and by ideas.” (Bates 351) This straightforward definition of subjugation through ideals reflects the Gramscian concept of hegemony. A comprador class, according to Fanon, is a class of the elites of a society, “who exchanged roles with the white colonial dominating class without engaging in any radical restructuring of society.” (BGH 91) This comprador class of pirs has established an alliance, who controlled the beliefs and fate of people in the name of religion, but they had control over the political system of the country as well They exert their influence on the national policies because “the whole country is divided among the pirs who co-operate to strengthen and support each other’s candidates.” (Durrani 63) when one pir pays a visit to another pir it seems as if “a god walked out to receive another god.” (Durrani 64) they had developed shared interests, but their ways of treatment of their subject were the same. Over and above all this he was known to be the man closest to Allah, the one who could reach Him and save us” (Durrani 143)
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