The two officers who avert the attack narrowly escape death but are left with broken bodies and broken lives. [8] On 7 March 2017, she applied for divorce. I think its the other way round, these communities have always been speaking, writing, documenting, teachingwe must simply listen rather than represent them in any way. Contributions for the charitable purposes ofThe Rumpus must be made payable to Fractured Atlas only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Midnights Borders is part investigation, part meditation on the lines drawn on land or water that separate India from its neighbours. When Vijayan meets him, he is inside his home with all the windows closed and sealed to snuff out light. All too often, the Indian media portrays Kashmiris as terrorists or human shields, not as a community seeking self-determination. Then my agent said, Suchitra, you know, I think youre hiding behind your academic language. Firstly, when we talk about violence, we often talk about it only as communal violence, as if both communities have equal strength and power. The pandemic showed us that crises and recurrent disasters that annihilate our lives are here to stay. I have no control over what comes next. She never did like my then-husband, which makes her a better judge of character than I was. Gokhale claimed that it struck the biggest camp and that a large number of terrorists were killed. Love, passion, anger, the desire to make a point about something. There are instances when you and some voices in the narrative question their documentation practice. IWE is a body of work where the voices of Indias marginalized are still kept on the fringes; Midnights Borders is anarrative nonfiction book depicting a world that novels from mainland India have failed to depict. The people whose lives are not just materials for the book, who are, in some ways, your co-conspirators in trying to make sense of the social reality. The first true peoples history of modern India, told through a seven-year, 9,000-mile journey along its many contested borders. More Buying Choices 1,732.00 (16 Used & New offers) Audible Audiobook 0.00 Free with Audible trial 586.00 ( 9 ) It is necessary to speak truth to power through our art. Co-founded the Resettlement Legal Aid Project in Cairo, Suchitra is also the founder of the Polis Project, a research and journalism organisation. By Suchitra Vijayan, Why should I read it? What do words like democracy, freedom, and citizenship mean? At the end of it, I felt that I learnt more about myself, more about my home, I had becomeif not a better writer, an infinitely better human being, which is to say that one realises that theres always a Longue dure that one needs to consider, crave out time and space to think, train oneself not to always react. I find that profoundly inspiring. Good, honest and non-polemical writing has always forced us to confront the lies we tell ourselves. Zoya, a young female officer, is now confined to her wheelchair, and Milind, who also makes it out alive, is seen at home with drawn curtains, battling trauma. The complexities of the Naga peace process were apparent on a visit to remote villages of Tuensang district where many of the women remained silent with others admitting they had never encountered an outsider, except Indian soldiers. I fear we are losing that cosmopolitanism of small places. What connects these messages is deep empathy and a willingness to engage with the books stories, ideas, and arguments. He writes TPS reports for an overbearing boss who calls him the minimum guy. He has replaced eating vada pav at ungodly hours on the streets with overpriced salads. Suchitra Vijayan's new book, Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India, takes a deep look at such stories by prioritizing the experiences of the silenced victims as well as lesser-known accounts from victims of state violence. I spoke with Suchitra by email in July about Midnights Borders, the power of literary nonfiction, new possibilities of Indian American literature, neoliberal politics, and the importance of supporting underrepresented stories. J.G.P. She is currently working on her first novel. Those notes were raw and immediate. She writes about war, conflict . India and its Borderlands: Suchitra Vijayan in Conversation with Sharjeel Usmani, Book talk with Suchitra Vijayan, author of Midnights Borders, Crisis at the Border: Contestation, Sovereignty, and Statelessness. They are also essentially bureaucratic, judicial, and procedural acts of terror. If you think about communities in resistance to immense violations, theyre all interconnected to climate justice. Indias intellectual, journalistic, and literary landscape is profoundly problematic and alienating. What makes these lives so vivid is how Vijayan contextualizes them by placing them in the bigger picture of history. Then you sit in a room with a mother telling you that she has no idea what happened to her son and has no way of knowing if hes ever coming back. So I dont know if it was empathy so much as just building a relationship with people. India shares borders with a host of . The pair experience similar situations in their lives: abuse, the death or absence of a husband, and the longing for a better future. In another essay from 2019, I write about the banality of bearing witness as an excuse to produce extractive work. These questions about documentation practices started long before I started this book project, and I learnt along the way. We once asked these questions, even if there were no clear answers or consensus. So lets be very clear that Indias intellectual literary landscape is deeply problematic, feudal, and alienating," says Suchitra Vijayan to FII, Featured Image Source: So the question is not: will the future be borderless? The original vision of the book also has newspaper cuttings, and found maps. Always. Is photographing a woman, who was gang-raped by the Sudanese army and put on the cover of TIMEpractically naked, able to stop the war? Dear reader, this article is free to read and it will remain free but it isnt free to produce. The second season of The Family Man begins with Srikant Tiwari, a former intelligence officer of TASCa fictitious intelligence agency akin to the Research & Analysis Wingworking at an IT company. Rumpus: Toni Morrison said that she writes from a place of delight, not disappointment. After being detained at one of the checkpoints for over two hours, I made my way to one of the villages closest to the Line of Control. What do you think the future holds? Also, we shouldn't forget that the border making project is central to capitalist and neoliberal logic. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. It seems that they have a different eye for these women, who they describe as cunning, deceitful, and in some cases, prostitutes'. Nine years ago, she began documenting stories from her travels along the borders of India. Its a practice. Categories. Many news channels are not only owned, operated or invested in by politically influential families, but also are sometimes run for the express purpose of advancing party positions. Can any of theTIMEsubscribers who loved that cover tell us now whats happening in South Sudan today? I want to flag two essays where I engage with this in an in-depth manner, Disaster Ruins Everything, on my work in Haiti, and what it means to photograph disaster, especially when it is Brown and Black bodies. I had a very stable home to come back to. This means that, for the longest time, the depiction of violence and marginalised communities has been problematic. The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad soon claimed responsibility. A place to read, on the Internet. This is where I believe literary nonfiction becomes a powerful tool. I havent spoken or celebrated with my friends in Kashmir or Assam. The credit goes to my agent Lucy Cleland who suggested this title. I have never lived under military occupation, curfew, or a looming threat of violence. ""The historical unity of the ruling classes is realized in the state." Antonio Gramsci" I want to clarify that what I witnessed or the violence inflicted on my father is not the same as what over eight million Kashmiris have endured. Stallings, Rumpus Original Fiction: The Litany of Invisible Things. Fear seems to be a constant motif in the book we see versions and types of it. This is the backdrop against which we map how border practices and policies have played out in India. There are so many nonfiction books about India published yearly but few are so important and subversive. Book reviews and author interviews with a Southern focus. She has sung in multiple languages including Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. Along the way, we meet the men and women of TASC, dissenting students, ISIS terrorists and Pakistani military officers. The people in this book are eloquent advocates of their history and their struggles. I dont want to make this about me. She's a good friend and kindly agreed to take our City Hall wedding photos. Ali lived right on the edge of the India-Bangladesh border. Suchitra Vijayan was born and raised in Madras, India. In season two, a quick flashback resolves the plotline from the previous season. This might not seem like much, but it is absolutely essential. I think these are fundamental questions of freedom and dignity. I dont think theres just one emotion that drives a writer to finish writing. That was my starting point. She is the founder and executive director of The Polis Project, and the author of. The Family Man has found tremendous success as a slick and funny espionage drama, particularly for its treatment of the protagonist, and even for humanising terrorists. L.L.B., Law, The University of Leeds, 2004 M.A., International Relation . In Afghanistan, Kashmir, and India, from one dangerous conflict zone to another, she spoke with people, ate with them, and listened to their stories. She was part of a music band at PSG. I came with my privileges, also lets not forget prejudices. Your prose is hopeful there. Is that a probable solution? 'Suchitra's account of her journeys across the undefinable and ever-shifting borders between India and its neighbours is gripping, frightening, faithful and beautiful. What matters is that the book exists. Vijayan is no stranger to stories of violence. As a Bookshop affiliate, The Rumpus earns a percentage from qualifying purchases. Rumpus: The book utilizes more than one medium: photography, narrative nonfiction, journalism. I dont have apprehensions. Our investigation into the Indian medias reporting on the Pulwama attack found that many reports were contradictory, biased, incendiary and uncorroborated. This means that the capacity to see does not automatically become the capacity for action. They took my land, they stole my life, they stole my future, they took my nightmares and they stole my dreams too. Ali went missing in 2018. Vijayans book begins a much-needed conversation on thinking about freedom beyond the idea of nation and its illusory lines. We have already chosen silence and obfuscation even before the pushback has arrived. Feminism In India is an award-winning digital intersectional feminist media organisation to learn, educate and develop a feminist sensibility among the youth. We live in a profoundly unequal society, where every day brings news of new devastation. Vijayan reserves her own impressions for later, and allows us to know these people intimately. I set out not to give voice to the voiceless, my aim was to put an ear to the ground and listen. In Afghanistan, Kashmir, and India, from one dangerous conflict zone to another, she spoke with people, ate with them, and listened to their stories. That capacity to be able to go away and then come back profoundly affects how you write because then you are still rooted. The act of recording and documenting cannot be divorced from the inherent question of power. Time to let the diplomats do the hard talk. Second, as the media continued to promote government positions on the crisis, other critical political issues dropped out of public scrutiny. Her career as a playback singer now spans Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films and she has several hits in all these languages to her credit. We cant continue to see this in neo-liberal terms like stakeholder. I think the usage of this kind of language is ineffectual; its emptied of imagination. Suchitra Vijayan. She is the founder and executive director of The Polis Project, and the author of Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India, recently published by Context, Westland. Also read: Examining My Caste And Its History Is Eye-Opening: A Personal Essay On Casteism And Ancestry. She is the founder and executive director of The Polis Project, and the author of Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India, recently published by Context, Westland. Take a look at theseevents: The vast infrastructure of detention centers being built in Assam and outside; a politician from a ruling party incites violence by saying, goli maaro saalon ko, and remains free; a minister, a Harvard educated technocrat, garlands and celebrates men for the grave crime of lynching; Dr Teltumbde and other BK 16 [the 16 arrests made in the Bhima Koregaon case] political prisoners remain incarcerated with little, no or manufactured evidence for being dissenting subjects; and a standup comic is arrested for the crime of existing as a Muslim. This article was published more than4 years ago. Born and raised in Madras, India, she is the author of the critically acclaimed book Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India (Melville House, New York). I think freedom and dignity enables us to really go beyond in our political imaginationbeyond just electoral politics. The show deals with interesting international happenings. Why dont people see the ground shifting beneath their feet? Through these real histories of the people, she gives readers another perspective on old wounds like Partition and new divisionary tactics like the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Despite the failures in investigation and prosecution related to criminal trials arising out of the pogrom, the judiciary has projected itself as an able and willing neutral arbiter of justice that is not complicit with the deep structures of Hindutvas anti-Muslim prejudice https://t.co/EFf5bxYEBt, True societal change has always emerged from the ground-up, with communities fighting for their own freedom and dignity. Whose Stories Are Told In Indian History? Anvisha Manral March 20, 2021 09:50:40 IST If it does, I have failed. Heartbreaking, and still, something we must all notice and understand. M, Unique and ambitious, Vijayans project gains urgency and significance from our moment of resurgent nationalisms, when borders are being aggressively reasserted, in India and across the globe. G, An intervention like no other when it comes to thinking through not just the history of India but for reflections on borders, migration, the elusory nature of nations. And that violence is often abetted by the state and goes unpunished. She responded to an ad for the post of an RJ in Radio Mirchi. Her distinct and bold voice made her very popular with the younger crowd. Required fields are marked *. A: Writers are very strange creatures. Growing up I was surrounded by people who emphasised the community over anything else. He was arrested based on fabricated evidence in the middle of a global pandemic, and he was denied bail and medical help. Propaganda and poison work in far more sophisticated ways. Also, hope is a discipline. Firstpost - All Rights Reserved. It has taken me over a decade to get here. Similarly, motherhood changed me; it radicalised me. I cant think in terms of the future being borderless, I can only think in terms of fracturing. There are already about 20 million climate refugees around South Asias borderlands. She has also been appreciated for her honest and positive-humour-filled judging at reality shows like Vijay TV's Airtel Super Singer, Sun TV's Sun Singer, Asianet's Music India, and Bol Baby Bol on Gemini TV and Surya TV. The Rumpus is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Indian Foreign Secretary V.K. When your investigations in Kashmir came to an end, what changes did you observe in your 'grammar of dissent'? Vijayan shows a keen eye for detail as she presents these diverse lives. In terms of violence, there is also this tendency to photograph and display the bodies of marginalised communities when they experience violence. But it needs to do more for peace. Sometimes they are no more, but your storytelling is so invigorating that the reader doesnt forget them. I wanted to make sure that I was writing in a way that was honest and true to my initial reactions, and capture that without centering myself. What moral and political stands we should take in the face of ongoing oppression. More importantly, as Babasaheb would argue, the political revolution was never accompanied by a social revolution. As the author notes, here, beauty and violence coexist, but never as a binary. A. Midnights Borders is fascinating, eloquent in its insights, and unflinching in its depiction of the dark side of nation-building. Also read: Whose Stories Are Told In Indian History? Especially when you can be charged with sedition for a tweet or arrested for the crime of committing comedy while being Muslim. Abrogation Of Article 370 Jammu And Kashmir Statehood, BSF foils another Pakistan plot, shoots down drone in Punjab's Amritsar, Light on weight, heavy on damage: India will be able to hit deep inside Pakistan with THIS ultralightweight howitzer, Put issues related to border in 'proper place', work for its early normalisation: Chinese FM Qin to Jaishankar, In Midnight's Borders, Suchitra Vijayan meditates on belongingness, freedom and political implications of territorial demarcations. How did writing this book affect you? We're back with our flagship podcast 'Intersectional FeminismDesi Style!' Part of this process is a need to turn the lens back at the powerful. Its not comparable and should not be compared. This income helps us keep the magazine alive. The third thing is: were going back to relitigating everything. Vijayan began her journey in Kolkata. This affects who gets to document, and whom. I have two tests. Perhaps there are lessons to learn from that. She has a sister named, Sunitha. Suchitras account of her journeys across the undefinable and ever-shifting borders between India and its neighbours is gripping, frightening, faithful and beautiful. As a graduate student at Yale, she researched and documented stories along the Af-Pak border and was embedded with the US forces in Afghanistan. Some of the oldest resistances in our nation are those communities who have been fighting for their own homes from militarisation who seek to exploit their mineral rich home land for mining. Modi met with senior police officers and ordered them not to intervene as violence raged. Lets take Indias English language media, cultural-artistic elite, and publishing. Vijayan creates a constellation of micro-histories of people who have lived through the violence that India has committed in its borderlandsinjustice that has irrigated the glamour and prosperity we witness in what some of us in those borderlands call mainland India. Vijayan, a barrister by profession, is a founding director of Polis Project, a hybrid research and journalism organization in New York. The photographs add another dimension to the book, and could have been used more. As a spy working for TASC, Srikant Tiwari, played by Manoj Bajpayee, has to juggle being an underpaid government employee as well as an absent husband and a perpetually late and distracted father. What is the function of seeing and documenting? In Midnight's Borders, Suchitra Vijayan meditates on belongingness, freedom and political implications of territorial demarcations 'The border making project is central to the capitalist and neoliberal logic,' Vijayan says. Copyright 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. The result is a gripping, urgent dispatch from a modern India in crisis, and the full and vivid portrait of the country weve long been missing. Its feudal, entitled, and cannibalistic. Atmany points in Midnight's Borders, we see several men in positions of power view the women, who cross over from the 'other' side, as violable. But the number of anonymous sources willing to disclose classified and conflicting information to reporters who cited them without corroboration points to a serious crisis in how information is reported to the public. Also, a book is an act of community; it has many midwives. Instead, the Indian media has ascribed to itself the role of an amplifier of the government propaganda that took two nuclear states to the brink of war. This is a challenging task for the writer. It is truly the treason of the intellectuals. We could have attributed this to ignorance even a few years back; now its just silence thats deeply complicit in the Hindutva project.