Violence, Naxalbari Movement (1965-1975), and its Representation in Indian English Literature: A Re-reading of History through The Lives of Others (2014)

Abstract

In this article, the objective is to read The Lives of Others (2014) by Neil Mukherjee as a representative text of the Naxalbari movement (1965-1975) of Bengal. The Naxalbari movement was the first peasant insurgency within twenty years of Indian independence that developed into a movement of dissent (1965-75), opposing the existing class hierarchy. The article analyses how violence became one of the chief tools in the movement dedicated to creating an egalitarian society and the state’s response to it in order to maintain the political status quo. For this purpose, the article gives a brief overview of the political movements in India, followed by the Naxalbari movement through the lens of violence. Through The Lives of Others, it shows the aporia by showing the futility of violence. Thus, the argument of the article is centred on in an interaction between the historical narrative regarding violence in the Naxalbari movement and its depiction in one of the texts of Indian Literature in English.