Hello - How’s everybody doing?

ANNOUNCEMENT: You papers can be turned in until 12:00pm (ie: 11:59:59am aka Noon) on Friday, June 5th.

Of course if you want to turn them in before then you can.

Today’s review will cover all the possible short answer questions. Please be nice to Mr. Lay (and participate!) For the passage analysis, think Vira Letter or Kluger.

For essay think about “doing” and “publics/counter publics” in Punk, Savarker, and Kluger Let’s get started!

Savarker

Which historical event (or events) is Savarkar writing about in his book? Why does it matter to Savarkar that the events of 1857 be classified as a war of independence?

The “Selections” really do not provide a solid answer to these questions, especially for individuals who may not be aware of the rebellions of 1857 in India. Chaturvedi discussed these rebellions, as part of Lecture 2 last week, to highlight the resistance to British rule in the nineteenth century. Think about the political processes involved in classifying historical events. REmember that the first events of 1857 were called a “mutiny.” Later, they were identified as “rebellions” or “revolts”. Savarkar’s intervention then introduces the terms “war,” “revolutionary war,” and “war of independence.”

• 2. (151) Why has Savarkar written this book?

• Think about writing as an active political process —in the spirit of DOING for this quarter. Savarkar places an emphasis on writing from a “national” perspective, which opens up new research questions. Think about how different perspectives allow us to ask specific types of research questions.

(151) Who is the intended audience of Savarkar’s book?

Savarkar states that he has written the book for “Indian readers.” He states, “I thought that my countrymen will be most agreeably disappointed, even as I was, at this deep-buried spectacle in one of the most neglected corners of our history.” Further, the purpose in addressing “Indian readers” is to create a national consciousness of the past, so that Indians are masters of the past and no longer the slaves.

However, it is clear from the discussions in the text that there were other individuals who were very keen on reading the book, especially British intelligence officials. The book also travels to places where the book had a wide reception, beyond what Savarkar expected. The point is that Savarkar writes the book for the specific purpose of participating in a counterpublic made up of Indian revolutionaries and nationalists. He publishes the book anonymously and circulates it through —what we might call—global underground networks.

(152, also 154) According to the Publisher’s Preface, why was Savarkar’s book translated into English? Who translated the book?

At one level, the answer to the first question can be summarized in the following sentence: “To let them (Indians) know how their nation fought for its Independence and how their ancestors died for the ashes of their fathers and the temples of their Gods.” The Publisher’s Preface implicitly opens the discussion that English would allow educated Indians from different parts of India to read the text, whereas, if the book was in the vernacular (Marathi, in this case), the book would only be read in that one region. Further, the English translation would also allow for a global circulation of the book to “sympathetic” revolutionaries. Members of Savarkar’s revolutionary group called the Abhinav Bharat Society, or the Young India Society, translated the book. (Savarkar is evoking various European, especially Italian, revolutionary organizations in giving the group its name.)

(153) According to G.M. Joshi and Bal Savarkar, the authors of “The Story of this History,” why does Savarkar write the book?

The authors (Bal Savarkar is V.D. Savarkar’s brother) state that Savarkar simply would not have been able to call for an armed revolution against the British empire, without being arrested. Writing a history of a revolution war was meant to inspire Indians to start another revolutionary war. History as a genre of writing was more acceptable than a declaration of independence, despite the fact the book was banned.

(154) Savarkar originally wrote his book in which language?

Savarkar originally wrote the book in Marathi.

(161) What is Savarkar’s problem with English historians?

He states that English historians are “misleading” and “unjust” in their discussions of the “Revolutionary War.” (They never identify it as a revolution or war.) He states that they have written histories that are “wicked” and “partial.” The following sentences further help to illustrate this point: “Their prejudiced eye could not or would not see the root principle of that Revolution.” “…because it is against their interests to admit the truth.” (206)

(161 62) What is Savarkar’s problem with Indian historians?

He says that some Indian historians are “sycophants,” who replicate the interpretations of the events of 1857 given by English historians. He states that they provide “misleading” causal explanations for the revolution and in the process do not reveal the “real” reasons or causes.

(163) What were the “real” causes of the revolution?

The real causes were “Swaraj” and “Swadharma.” To put it differently, Savarkar is arguing that people participated in the “revolution” to protect their own country and their own religion.

Vira Letter

According to Ranchod, what started (“commenced”) once the “authority of the Government ceased”?

Ranchod states that the “satyug of Ranchodrai has commenced.” Satyug is literally translated as the era of truth (Sat=truth + Yug=era/period). Consider Ranchod’s interpretation that when the authority of the British ended in India —or so it was believed—that a new era had started.

According to the letter, what are people supposed to do in the Era of Truth?

No one should tell a lie or do a wrongful act. Further, Ranchod expects that individuals will pay the Government installment (land taxes) to him and not the colonial authorities.

What are the punishments for violating the principles of the Era of Truth?

He states that the wheel of Ram will cut off heads. Think about what are ethical forms of punishment. (Do you think he’s being litteral here?)

Vinayak and Me

What was Dr. Dattatrey S. Parchure’s specialization in the field of medicine?

He was a pediatrician and a practiced Ayurvedic medicine.

Vinayak is another name of which Hindu deity? What is special about this deity?

Ganesh. He is considered the remover of obstacles.

Why was Savarkar arrested? How long did he spend in prison?

He was arrested on 5 separate charges: delivering seditious speeches, procuring and distributing arms, and waging war against the King Emperor of India. He spent 27 years in prison.

Who was Nathuram Godse? What was Dr. Parchure’s relationship with Godse?

Godse was Gandhi’s assassin. It appears that Parchure and Godse had a long-standing relationship, well before the plot to kill Gandhi. Godse used to visit the Parchure home in Gwalior and the two were collaborators in the Hindu Mahasabha and its related activities.

Kluger

What do you make of her comments on p. 71 and elsewhere that her readers are most likely female?

Multiple answers possible. When the German version came out, Kluger got a lot of letters from men who read the book and who were offended by this claim. She is also the author of a much-excerpted book called “Frauen lesen anders” or “Women read differently.” It reminds me of Virginia Woolf in “A Room of One’s Own” who assumed (more correctly) that her readers were women. But is *this* chick lit?

What is Theresienstadt? Name 2-3 things that happen to her there. Why is she so annoyed by the colleague’s wife who says it was not so bad?

There was some controversy as to whether Theresienstadt was a ghetto or a camp and she addresses this. Parts of it were actually shown to representatives of the public as a “model camp,” but Kluger points out that it was a prison and very cramped w/o adequate facilities. Gisela is comparing T-stadt with the worst reports of Jewish suffering under Hitler and thus concluding that it was ok.

(92-93) The section on the discussion of claustrophobia is crucial to understanding the book. Why is this socially awkward for her? Where does she see connections between her memories and theirs?

Her memories of claustrophobia are connected with a very unpleasant past and mentioning the circumstances would stop the conversation. Survivors’ experiences are not part of polite conversation but she is trying to bridge the gap between her friends’/her readers’ experience and hers.

Where does her sister Susi enter the picture?

Her mother adopted a child in Auschwitz. This is one of the few expressions of unalloyed admiration (though she qualifies it somewhat on 123) for her mother and it is important to realize that in spite of the criticism of her mother, the narrative describes a woman who (mostly) protected her child from murderous Nazis.

How do Susi, Alma, and Ruth escape? Why is their story not like that of Huck Finn? (138) They run from the march, feel exuberance, and join a huge number of mobile Germans and Poles. The reference to (not) Huck Finn is meant to qualify the expressions of happiness, exuberance since they had escaped, but were still in danger. “not a humorous journey”

What does the National Socialist Women’s Verein (Club) do and what happens to them. Explain the manna reference.

They distribute sandwiches (manna) to refugees whom they think are German and give Kluger much comfort. Later they are punished as a Nazi organization. These Nazi women seem to support the point Kluger made earlier about the gender gap in evil-doing (115-116). The Ladies Auxiliary distributes food, whereas the men’s organization murders.

Punk Reading Questions

What is Amiga (193)? What role did it play in the public-ation or making public of music in the GDR?

• Official record company of the GDR and the only way to get your music recorded and distributed within the country. With the support of the government, it attempted to regulate the types of music that youth could hear (note the 60/40 split) but it also listened to youth to an extent and tried to co-opt punk by making distribution available to bands who cooperated.

(194) How do you understand “everyday forms of resistance”? How does punk music fit into this category?

• Simpson quotes Dirks, Eley, and Ortner at the top of 194 indicating that resistance can be found both in large social movements and everyday practices. Punk music assisted in self-definitions that constituted such everyday resistance.

(197) Simpson indicates that it was characteristic of punk internationally to express skepticism about or lack of interest in the future. How did this “no future” attitude sit with those controlling the GDR state?

• Counterargued the optimism required for the building and improvement of the socialist state.

(199) Why was Aljosha Rompe (Feeling B) “untouchable” as far as the authorities were concerned?

• Had a Swiss passport and his stepfather was an important scientist. I just want them to pay attention to some of the restrictions that those who were not Aljosha lived under.

(202) Why is “FDJ punk” an insult?

• The FDJ seal of approval indicated conformity and not resistance.

Asian Massive, etc.

Why does Ranjit call herself Radical Sista?

Ranjit points out that she is well aware of the hostility that she has had to face in the Asian community in Britain. Not only the sexual harassment that she discusses earlier in the interview, but the idea that “religious fundamentalists” were trying to kidnap her to prevent her from working as a DJ. However, in discussing her public name, she points out that she is responding to racism and fascism of neo-Nazi groups like the British National Party and the National Front, both of whom have sent her letters of protest and death threats for her public role as Radical Sista.

Why does Karsh Kale call his music “Asian Massive”?

Kale states that he does not want Asian music to be located “underground” any longer; rather his idea is to state that it is now “massive.” The idea of massive here is not meant only to underscore “mass audiences” who listen to the music, but to highlight that there are “massive” qualities in Indian classical music that informs Kale’s music.

What are the origins of the “Asian Underground”?

It is widely thought that Talvin Singh was responsible for coming up with the classification of “Asian Underground.” Singh started a music night of Asian Underground tunes called Anokha at the Blue Note Club.

That’s it: now you know all you need to in order to get an A. Fantastic.

The final is THURSDAY JUNE 11 1:30 - 3:30. NOTE THE TIME IS DIFFERENT FROM CLASS TIME.

Sorry for the caps, but you don’t want to miss all the fun.

I’ll be available online intermittently. Check often if you need me.