07 Nov 2006 05:01 pm
Sorry Kiran, but what do you know of Hills?
This is the print version of the Hindustan Times article which was posted here previously.
Please click on the image below for a larger version.
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May 18th, 2007 at 1:09 am
Amitava Banarjee, through this particular headline and story proclaims to ‘know about the hills’, and I suppose he does. Anyway, reading the quotes in the article, it appears that our so-called intelligentsia, the self-proclaimed guardians of the ‘hill identity’ have taken offence at a few lines of fiction. Well, they have a right to do what they do and they probably do best what they do - make wise comments.
The local outrage at an ‘outsider’ portraying a negative image of the hill people is understandable. However, why has the same populace remained silent when ‘insiders’ have toed the lines of the British, and even earned PHDs, by giving credence to the ‘empire friendly’ fabrications of The Gazetteer of Darjeeling, which to say the least is biased.
It is very easy to blame the foe without, but it is the foe within that often does the most damage. Moreover, it is not works of fiction that influence public thought and make history, but academic works and media reports of insiders and outsiders. So, what is really damaging the hill identity is not some lines of fiction, but fiction being put across as fact.