Jangam
written by Debendranath Acharya (1937-1981) won the Sahitya Akademi Purashkar
in 1984. It has been recently translated from Assamese to English by Amit Rahul
Baishya. The book is based on real accounts that took place during the Second
World War. It is the story of the exodus of a large number of Burmese Indians
when Japanese reached Burma. It was a massive movement of some 4.5-5 lakhs
Indians. However it has not found much space in mainstream literature. Amitav
Ghosh’s Glass Palace does had a
section on this.
The
book begins in Manku, a small village in Burma. It shows the lives of poor
Burmese and Indian farmers and the hardships they face. The story is similar to
any village in a feudal setting, poor farmers exploited by rich moneylenders.
All the farmers are in fact bitter towards the Chettiyars who are rich
moneylenders of Indian origin.
However
the situation changes when the Japanese reach Burma and the British is almost
pushed out. The people of Indian origin are faced with a tough situation,
should they stay on even after the British leave? Or should they move along
towards India? Their choice is made simpler when a section of Burmese decide to
side with the Japanese and rid their country of all ‘foreigners’, be it British
or Indians. Overnight Indian Burmese who have stayed there for generations
become the ‘other’. The exclusivist Burmese nationalism which started taking
shape did not differentiate between rich land owning money lenders and poor
farmers. At one stroke, they ask everyone to leave. For the poor Indians who
had to run for life, it meant being uprooted in the most cruel way.
The
story centres around the family of Ramgobinda who with other Indians of his
village decide to flee. But the journey proves very difficult. He has with him
his old mother, a pregnant wife Lachchmi and a seven year old son Thanu. Thanu
demands to take along Mini, his kitten. The journey across thick jungles and
arduous mountainous pathways, takes toll on the tiny group. Ramgobinda’s mother
dies on the way and so does many others. Lachchmi gives birth under difficult
conditions. The delirious Lachchmi and the newborn baby is taken by an British
army jeep and they get separated from Ramgobinda and others.
The
book although written about the second world war is not a typical war novel. It
is not written from the perspective of the victor or the vanquished. Rather the
viewpoint is of the common poor who ends up losing everything. The book raises
some fundamental questions – is nationalism always based on ‘othering’. How
long does it take for one to belong?? Ramgobinda was born and brought up in
Burma. His economic condition, his life was the same as his Burmese neighbours
but he was still considered a foreigner. Amidst much despair, the book also
offered hope. On their journey, they met simple helpful villagers who helped
them with the little they could spare. Thanu’s kitten Mini who kept appearing
by their side and survived the journey may have stood for resilience,
perseverance and signified the silver lining. Towards the end of the book,
Ramgobinda and his group manages to reach Assam. In a miraculous way, he is
united with his family. However both Ramgobinda and Lachchmi have lost their
sanity. It shows the toll that such extreme condition takes on people.
Amit
Rahul Baishya in his introduction makes some important observations. The
Burmese nationalism which was behind the Rohingiya crisis resonates with what
happened during the Second World War. The generational gap between the older
Burmese who were accommodating of diversity and the younger one who believed in
a puritan racial and religious identity of a Burmese is also reflected in the
book. Baishya also observes that the book portrays the British as benevolent
compared to the brutal Burmese. This book is crucial as it talks about issues
that continue to be relevant in today’s world where divisiveness continue to
persist amongst and amidst nations.
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