Page 242 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature

Notes Hardika and Javed both have the bitter tastes of the minority community. Hardika's father was
murdered because they were member of the minority Hindu community in Pakistan during Partition
and Javed has become a terrorist because he is from the minority Muslim community in India.
Javed explains to Ramnik his reasons for involving himself in terrorism and acts of sabotage on
the Hindu procession (Rath Yatra).
"Anyone sitting at home, sipping tea and reading the newspapers will say that it is obvious that
a minority would never start a riot, we are too afraid that it had to be politically motivated.
The selfish and petty politicians still play with the emotions of the young people like Javed and
Babban, instigate them to create violence and use them for their own ends. Dattani has conveyed
the same message in Final Solutions, where Bobby and Javed long to be amongst the majority
section of the society. Javed tells Ramnik:
Javed : It must feel good
Ramnik : What?
Javed : Being in the majority
Ramnik : Yes, I never thought of it.
Javed : After feeling good you are in the majority?
Ramnik : No, about being the majority.
Javed : But Sir, it is in your every move. You must know. You can offer milk to us. You
can have an angry mob outside your door. You can play in civilized host.
Because you know you have peace hidden inside your armpit.
Javed, who became a victim of their plans, narrates his horrible experience:
It is a terrible feeling. Being disillusioned. (Pause) Don't we all have anger and frustration? Am I
so unique? Now that I am alone… I hate myself. It was different when I used to attend the meetings.
I was swayed by what now appears to me as cheap sentiment. They always talked about motherland
and fighting to save our faith and how we should get four of theirs for every one of ours".
Javed explains how when he was following the Hindu 'Rath' someone at first put a stone in his
hand and then a knife. Javed hit the procession hard. In the words of Babban, who was a witness
to this all.
'… He was possessed!... He was insane.. I clung to him putting my arm around his waist trying to
hold him back. I was dragged by his force… I pushed him aside just as the chariot began to keel
over; we escaped in the panic and confusion'
Visualizing Javed under the spell at that time, Bobby says:
Why did Javed threw stone and climbed the Rath and hit the Pujari, because he was told that the
Hindus were taking the procession of their Gods prodding them… to wipe us out of existence…"
However, there is a hidden human heart in Javed. Screaming with pleasure, Javed, in the Carnival,
moves on the giant wheel. But soon his joy ride is over as the pujari looked at the knife in his hand,
begs him for mercy. His frenzy is over and he wishes to be a normal human being. He is not able
to kill the pujari. Explaining this Javed tells Bobby:
"I moved to the Chariot, pushing people away… I was in the carnival… screaming with pleasure.
And I came crashing down, down. I wanted to get off but I could not! The pujari backed away, his
last words were his god's name. He looked up at the knife… He begged for mercy but I couldn't hear
him at all! There were screams all around and I was screaming too, but no longer with joy as fear
came faster and faster confusing me! I got nauseous and cried. Whey am I here? What am I doing.
This is a brilliant piece of Dattani's dialogue, what Javed felt at that time can be experienced
through it. It provides a vivid picture of human psychology. Javed's frenzy and change of mind at
that particular movement, pujari's imploring for mercy and the mob's tumultuousness.

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