I wrote the book, but those who have lived through this hell continue to live and navigate this hell. The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Muhammad soon claimed responsibility. O. ""The historical unity of the ruling classes is realized in the state." Antonio Gramsci" Part of this learning was also why photographer Asim Rafiqui and I created the free UN/DO Photography workshops to think about image-making in relationship to power. Another name that came to my mind was 'An Outline of the Republic', only to discover Siddhartha Debs excellent book by the same name. 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 credit goes to my agent Lucy Cleland who suggested this title. Similarly, motherhood changed me; it radicalised me. Your email address will not be published. How do you think this inspiration from a variety of genres allowed you to tell underrepresented stories? Finally, Indias current transformation, the aggressive posturing of an aspiring ethno-nationalist state, will have dire consequences for the people and the region. In her new book A poll asked if its OK to be white. Heres why the phrase is loaded. Subscribe here. There are instances when you and some voices in the narrative question their documentation practice. And what does this mean for on-ground communities, governments, armed forces, and other institutional stakeholders? 'Suchitra's account of her journeys across the undefinable and ever-shifting borders between India and its neighbours is gripping, frightening, faithful and beautiful. Listen to Season 3 on Apple, Spotify and Google podcasts. Not everyone lived to see its promises. 582.1K views. The original vision of the book also has newspaper cuttings, and found maps. What it means to photograph, write, report and document is an ongoing process. This might not seem like much, but it is absolutely essential. Chopra has long been neoliberalisms reluctant feminist, hawking giving a voice and sisterhood while silencing those who question her. Excellent interview, brave insights and critical reflections! Her writing has appeared in The Citron Review, Dukool Magazine, Cerebration, Feminism in India, Times of India (Spellbound edition), and others. Acted as the General Manager for a day and motivated employees to work for the same purpose to reinforce team . In the middle of significant change, this fraught system cannot exist as it is. 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. Q: As you wrote this book, you dont hesitate to meditate on how your personal life bidirectionally impacted the book. 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 show deals with interesting international happenings. We lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers readers already know and love. Like most women, I learnt to navigate this toxic misogyny, the threat of sexual violence, and patriarchy by merely existing as a dark-skinned woman in this country. 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). 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. When the book finally came out, India was undergoing the deadly 2nd wave. You've mentioned in the text that you've spent your entire adult life thinking about state violence and justice because of a troubling incident in 1994 when your father was attacked. Again, in the India-China border, she finds a young army officer closely referring to a book that contradicts the official version of the Indo-China war of 1962, and concludes that perhaps, he recognizes that most of soldiering involved cynical subordination to ideas that no longer made sense.. But for me hope is radical; hope is the last bastion of our defense. Christopher Clary: India and Pakistan resort to the diplomacy of violence and flirt with catastrophe, Hafsa Kanjwal: As India beats its war drums over Pulwama, its occupation of Kashmir is being ignored. On Feb. 14, an Indian paramilitary convoy was attacked. It was not going to be easy as she quickly found out. Vijayan: I would say I am hopeful. L.L.B., Law, The University of Leeds, 2004 M.A., International Relation . It is the fragility of human lives that remains at the very center of the book. Also, a book is an act of community; it has many midwives. Without a political solution, Kashmir will undoubtedly emerge in upcoming news cycles. First, does my work aid the powerful? 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. A: I lost friends, saw my father go through a transplant, and I gave birth. 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. The writing grew around the images and the visual memory of the encounters. Rumpus: I believe your book contributes to an important conversation about India we must have right now in the United States, for its own sake. But its also important to constantly take account of who is writing about this India to an Indian and global audience. A consistent ethical framework within the media hasnt existed for a long time. Worse, we have been disciplined to accept injustice and inequality as given. Vijayan: Let me start heregood writing is powerful and political. She completed her MFA in Writing (Fiction) from the University of San Francisco where she was awarded the Jan Zivic Fellowship and is about to begin her PhD in English with a Creative Dissertation from the University of Georgia, Athens. So I dont know if it was empathy so much as just building a relationship with people. But who gets to speak for so many of us? Even as 70% of the border with Bangladesh has been fenced, smugglers, drug couriers, human traffickers and cattle rustlers continue to cross to ply their trades. All along the border, the common refrain is, It feels like Partition is still alive., A story from near Jalpaiguri in north Bengal, that of a man named Ali, is heartbreaking. This media blitzkrieg resulted in the erasure of two important political trends. 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. These may not be perfect worlds or even equal worlds, but they strive to be. She never did like my then-husband, which makes her a better judge of character than I was. The interview has been paraphrased and condensed for clarity, at the interviewers discretion. Sometimes the news is the story. Suchitra Vijayan. There are some brilliant writers writing on these issuesthe problem is always that these voices dont make it to the mainstream. Rohini Menon for Feminism in India, FII Interviews: Suchitra Vijayan Talks About Marginalisation, Institutional Violence & Political Imagination, Ananya is a chaotic humanities student with a deep interest in the relationship between art and society, a writing obsession, and way too many bizarre ideas involving their camera. These are edited excerpts from the interview: 'Midnight' seems to be a metaphor for multiple things both freeing and frightening. One of the reasons I kept writing was of course all the people I met: their love and time and generosity. I think the way that news and mostly disinformation makes its way to us, we think of violence in very particular waysas disjointed. 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. But who carries the responsibility of that fear? Its about what people like me should do. Suchitra Vijayan. Check posts or bunkers were not part of the landscapes of my home. 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. I was reading a lot of Pessoa when I was in Afghanistan, so another placeholder title was 'Maps/Lines/Cartographies of Disquiet', inspired by the Book of Disquiet. This is a challenging task for the writer. Over the span of seven years, Suchitra Vijayan interviewed scores of individuals, jotted countless notes, snapped hundreds of photographs, and altogether made herself witness to the manifold absurdities (and atrocities) of who gets to say where one nation ends and another begins. This is a profoundly alienating place for anyone without the networks of privilege and resources. The emotional cost is something else altogether. suchitrav. If you think about communities in resistance to immense violations, theyre all interconnected to climate justice. This is the backdrop against which we map how border practices and policies have played out in India. Suchitra was married to actor Karthik Kumar between 2005 and 2017. 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). Bigotry is also big business. While that incident had a profound impact on me, my politics, how I think about violence, its relationship to justice, or the lack of it, this is not the same kind of violence Kashmiris have been subjugated to. The mortality of someone you love affects how you write. Suchitra Vijayan is an American writer, essayist, activist, and photographer working across oral history, state violence, and visual storytelling. Instead, we need to ask what fate awaits us. As a bedouin who grew up listening to beautiful stories from beautiful storytellers around a fire, I was transported by her storytelling. Suchitra is a BSc graduate from Mar Ivanios College (Trivandrum). For instance, a border security personnel tells her how he failed to capture a photograph of a porcupine after spending half an hour trying to fit a helmet on its head, because he is bored and lonely. It is here that we subsume all that we otherwise celebrate under the demands of freedom, progress, liberalism, liberty, and secular ideals.". Its a practice. During the initial search, the BSF troops recovered a black coloured drone - DJI Matrice (made in China), in partially damaged condition, lying near Dhussi Bundh near Shahjada village. As she travelled 9000 miles over seven years across Indias borders, some drawn so hastily that they cut across fields, homes and courtyards, she met men, women and children, finishing with endless notebooks, over a thousand images and more than 300 hours of recorded conversations. Her quest took her to the farthest ends of the India-Bangladesh/ China/ Myanmar/ Pakistan borders. Dear reader, this article is free to read and it will remain free but it isnt free to produce. As I travelled, I was very aware of these inherent power differences. Over the past 15 years, small democratisation through social media has enabled challenging these practices. But the inclination to still treat India as a democracy remains. [1], Suchitra joined Sify for a year, after graduating. Empathy is taught by our communities; we are brought up with it. This also decides who gets access, awards and accolades. 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. But, more importantly, I wanted my readers to walk away with a sense of empathy. The constant making and remaking of who is a citizen, who is not, is accompanied by a profoundly dehumanising process. Vijayan: Most Indian American writers, especially many of them who occupy the broad spectrum of literary to punditry, come from immense privilege of caste and class. Chopra cleverly uses womens empowerment, diversity, and the immigrant story as a facade to parrot and promote deeply problematic ideologies, takes, and stances. I find that profoundly inspiring. Q: You had to deal with a lot of ethical considerations as a writer and photographer, which echo throughout your and your fellow journalists work, as evaluated in your book. In Assam, Vijayan met people devastated by the National Register of Citizens process, with names of long-time residents missing from the final list, and in Kashmir she spent time with a family mourning the loss of their son in an encounter. India and the US are discussing the possibility of jointly developing and manufacturing an extended-range variant of the M777 ultra lightweight howitzer, Qin's first in-person meeting with EAM Jaishankar came on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers conclave in New Delhi amid the over 34-month-long border row in eastern Ladakh. The controversy surrounding the Rafale deal and allegations of corruption against the government were suddenly sidelined, as was the order for the eviction of more than a million forest dwellers (that was later stayed) and a hearing on the repeal of an important constitutional clause before the Supreme Court. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. Author, lawyer and journalist, Suchitra Vijayan in conversation with Cerebration editor Smita Maitra on her book Midnight's Borders, maps, fragmented identities and postcolonial nation-states. Its not comparable and should not be compared. Nine years ago, she began documenting stories from her travels along the borders of India. Vijayans book begins a much-needed conversation on thinking about freedom beyond the idea of nation and its illusory lines. Suchitra Vijayan is a barrister-at-law, writer and researcher. 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. We removed an image just before the printing to make sure the person was protected. Sharing borders with six countries and spanning a geography that extends from Pakistan to Myanmar, India is the worlds largest democracy and second most populous country. 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. According to a new World Health Organization report, we lost as many as 4.7 million people in India. Q: You frequently describe certain borders as porous. Commentary Politics. Last edited on 23 February 2023, at 09:35, Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer Telugu, 2nd South Indian International Movie Awards, "Suchitra going through certain emotional condition: Husband Karthik on her tweets", "Will Trisha sound like Trisha in Mankatha? Part-time Faculty suchitra@thepolisproject.com. " India's intellectual, journalistic, and literary landscape is profoundly problematic and alienating. We know that the purpose of borders has kept changing for nations. Indias intellectual, journalistic, and literary landscape is profoundly problematic and alienating. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. 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. Photograph of Suchitra Vijayan courtesy of Suchitra Vijayan. The book arrived in the middle of a pandemic and a devastating second wave [of COVID-19] in India. A relatively small group of people runs it. Itembodied young Indias grand ambitions and aspired to a nation made of men and women equally protected by the law. I can see small cracks beginning to appear. Second, border policies are about "performance and articulations of citizenship". As a Bookshop affiliate, The Rumpus earns a percentage from qualifying purchases. Vijayan: A writers responsibility above all is to speak the truth and make sense of our social worlds. This is a profoundly alienating place for anyone without the networks of privilege and resources. Copyright 2023. No one can write a book alone. She has a sister named, Sunitha. This discrepancy is just one example of the confusion and misinformation spread to the public by deeply flawed media reports. She responded to an ad for the post of an RJ in Radio Mirchi. Respond to our political present. So lets be very clear that Indias intellectual literary landscape is deeply problematic, feudal, and alienating," says Suchitra Vijayan to FII, Featured Image Source: The world we know is already being remade in ways we cant fathom. This is a tightrope that you walk so well. It is here that even the most civilised amongst us begin to make excuses for repression, brutality, and violence. We need more such books. You become responsible for a human being. ). 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. Three hundred million people who had been considered less than subjects under the British rule, divided for years by religion, language, class, and caste, would all be united under one book: the revolutionary Constitution given to India by Babasaheb Ambedkar. More importantly, as Babasaheb would argue, the political revolution was never accompanied by a social revolution. 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. The argument put forward was simple: India, like most countries, had its human rights violations, but these were characterized as the growing pains and maturation of the worlds largest democracy. India shares borders with a host of . What changeshave youobserved in the way you treat your subject after finishing your journey and book? With profound empathy and a novelistic eye for detail, Vijayan brings us face to face with the brutal legacy of colonialism, state violence, and government corruption. She is the founder and executive director of The Polis Project, and the author of. But eventually we need all kinds of stories and arguments to emerge from what is now considered Indian American writing. 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. As Sari Begum's story [in the book] illustrates, 'A life where the violence of the border is not at the fence, or in the trenches, but at the center of 'their' and our 'universe'. This Life Draws Attention to Life Behind Bars and the Transcendent Power of Rap, Wrestling with Reality in The Big Door Prize. In her15,000-kilometre journey, spread over seven years, Vijayan mulls over the meaning of freedom, belongingness in a land of imagined communities, created by territorial demarcations. Suchitra Vijayan is a barrister-at-law, writer and researcher. Examining My Caste And Its History Is Eye-Opening: A Personal Essay On Casteism And Ancestry, The History Of The Colonial State And The Unmaking Of The Tawaif, Book Review: Looking Through Dalit Sahitya And Ambedkar, These Are The 15 Women Who Helped Draft The Indian Constitution, Gender Roles And Stereotyping In To Kill A Mockingbird, A Brief Summary Of The Second Wave Of Feminism, A Brief Summary Of The First Wave Of Feminism, Kamala Das The Mother Of Modern Indian English Poetry | #IndianWomenInHistory, A Brief Summary Of The Third Wave Of Feminism, The Life And Times Of Dnyanjyoti Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule | #IndianWomenInHistory, FII Interviews: Charlotte Munch Bengtsen Talks About Women In Filmmaking, FII Interviews: Drag King And Influencer Mx. 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. There are so many nonfiction books about India published yearly but few are so important and subversive. How violence against women and girlsand even how sexual violence against men and boys (something we dont even talk about enough) is depictedis all seriously problematic. Midnights Borders: A Peoples History of Modern India ; Suchitra Vijayan, Context/ Westland Books, 699. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. None of this helps in telling richer, more textured stories. In that process, her reportage unravels the cultural and political implicationsof our bordersonour 'collective conscience', as capricious as that might be, and on the lives of those sandwiched between two warring nations. I'mdyslexic, but have visual and episodic memory, which means I dream and relive moments. As I say in the book, Kashmir changed me, it gave me political and moral clarity to always stand with those fighting for their peoples freedom and dignity. Later on she moved to Coimbatore for her MBA from PSG Institute of Management. Although Vijayan critiques the state and its complicity in violence and erasure of lives, she refrains from villainizing the men who serve the state. Midnight's Borders by Suchitra Vijayan. She is actively involved in circulating urgent and underrepresented news from the world through her online platform. The Rumpus is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. FII Media Private Limited | All rights reserved, "Imagine how it would be for someone coming from a Dalit/Bahujan, Muslim, Adivasi, working class background, who wants to come into thisit is especially difficult if youre a woman coming from these backgrounds. Why is this particular time of the day intrinsic to the book? This article was published more than4 years ago. Like you train for a marathon, you train to be hopeful everyday. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, GQ, The Boston Review, The Hindu, and Foreign Policy, and she has appeared on NBC news. Qin took charge as Chinese foreign minister in December, succeeding Wang Yi. Suchitra Vijayan. 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. Can any of theTIMEsubscribers who loved that cover tell us now whats happening in South Sudan today?