Sea of Poppies----Amithav Ghosh

Amithav ghosh was born in Calcutta. He debuted with his novel “The circle of reason”. It was followed by “The shadow lines”, “the Culcatta chromosome”, “the glass palace”, “the hungry tide and “the sea of poppies”. He has also written non- fiction works such as “the antique land, dancing in cambodia and at large in burma, countdown, the imam and the Indian.

The book “sea of poppies” is the first book of Ibis trilogy. Its followed by the second book “the river of smoke”

The language of the novel is sometimes difficult to understand. Use of Hindi and Bhojpuri mixed English is funny. But difficulty arises as it is typed in English. It results in loss of interest at times. Every character seems to have an unhappy past and is united in the slave ship. The book has an apt title as most characters seem to be addicts or are surrounded by addicts. The poppy fields are compared to a sea which tries to drown everyone who enters it either as an addict or in the miseries. Ibis can be seen as a rescue ship which everyone tries to enter to escape the wrath of the sea. And true to its words people try to escape in the Ibis to new land and to new life. At the end of the book it looks like they are almost successful but the next book will show the reality.

One of the main character Deeti's portrayal is perfectly unreal where she sees images of things that is about to occur in which she will be a part in the future. She even has visions of the people who will be in her future. She is a fine portrayal of an 18th century housewife. She puts up with an addict husband and survives the tortures of her in-laws. The character portrayal vacillates between a strong determined woman to a weak woman who accepts her fate and chooses to die. The difficulty she lives through is a portrayal of women in those times. In her second life, as she believes it to be, she is determined to live a strong determined life.

One curious fact i observed in the book is that when a person normally has a dream or a vision of strange things, the person remembers it and when such a vision comes in reality in front of the person there is a real shock or surprise. But in the book we see that Deeti does not show any such expression when she sees the ship. We will expect her to remember her vision but no such thing happens. She just gets into it.

The sudden love she feels for Kalua is unexpressive. She has always seen him as a lower caste ox man but suddenly after he rescued her she fell in love with him. She seems to have no confusion or doubts. It looks like that she has been in love with him and when the time came she accepted it happily. The author could have dealt a little more on the confusion she might have faced or how she made up her decision.

The second characterization and story I liked best is that of the Raja Neel. In the place where the raja realizes that he has not changed even after touching the pan and broom for cleaning the cell in which he and Ah Fatt stays. That realization is like an ultimate thing in his life, that which all strive and yearn to get it. What he had known and assumed so far in life was all a myth. It was a sense of distorted reality but now he is in the present and realizing and living every bit of it. While so far in life he lived a life of rituals and customs passed down the generation after being imprisoned he learns truths and ways by living.

Another character Paulette is a French girl. Her character exposes the foreign nationals who are in love with India and its culture. She could disguise so well as an Indian that she was travelling with a whole group of laborers in the ship. The reason Paulette gives for trying to escape comes out of no where. Normally a reader would assume that its because of the fact that Burnham’s are trying to get her married to a wealthy middle aged man. But the crazy reality of Mr. Burnham is given as a reason by Paulette. It’s funny the way she describes his behaviour.

Zachary Reid’s brings in the differences that exist in other parts of the world. In India he was seen as a foreigner and seen as a master but in his own land he will be seen as a black. He is a very caring gentleman.

The book brings out the reality of Indian living. From the story of Raja Neel we see that Indians lived just on the basis of trust. Even though the opium trades of a big business they dint quite understand the professionalism in trade and commerce. They signed papers and bonds based on trust. This was in most case the unfortunate event that slowly brought the Britishers to gain more and more wealth in India.

A new introduction and new story towards the end of the book for Ah fatt and Serang ali is quite heavy. Some questions about Reid's personality and his background are left unanswered. May be he has dealt with it in other books. There are many characters and too many stories. Stories were felt left behind without a proper flow or conclusion.  

The author has done extensive research to know the languages and dialects of many different kinds of people. The English as well as the Bengali way of life in the city and in the villages are beautifully portrayed. The India we see in the book is the changing world where modernization is taking place in the cities with western way of life. We see the start of migration to cities. The villages live behind by decades some even centuries. In the villages it’s still the age of superstitious heinous customs like sati. 

A 44 RELIGION IN A CHANGING WORLD: RADHAKRISHNAN

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an erudite scholar, philosopher and statesman from India. He was the first Vice-President and the second President of India. In his work he has compared the traditions of east and west showing their similarities and comparing them. He has done extensive work on comparative religion. Through his works in English he was able to bring the Indian philosophy to the west.

In this book Dr. Radhakrishnan compares a wide variety of themes that affect the changing world. The book titled “Religion in a changing world” does not just talk about religion. It talks about themes from humanity to disarmament. He has written the book as an academician comparing all religion. He takes a neutral stand and does not pose either as a devotee or an atheist. His writing is polished and professional. His experience in a changing India and as a statesman has influenced the writing very much.

The world is changing fast and the effect of globalisation is on us. Science and its inventions have changed our very way of life. Our life does not resemble anything that our grandparents lived. In this context of scientific influence religion has got many sceptics all over the world. The new generation is dissatisfied with the organized religion. The world is searching for a religion which will answer all questions and one which will explain the unknown. There is no more devout Christian or Hindu. People want answers and explanation which will satisfy everything that a religion says. In this book Dr. Radhakrishnan with his knowledge on comparative religion tries to give a positive outlook to religion. He has explained the very purpose of religion in the changing world and in the future. He has also compared religions of the east and the west and explained how every religion in its basic tenets are almost the same and they stood for the basic good of humanity.

With industrialisation the basic social setup of every society changed. The system of family, religion all had to cope with an urban mind. With the new age reason has found the front seat. It makes men question the traditional systems of philosophy and religion. Dr. Radhakrishnan believes that “all humans on some level have religious instincts but the plane of reason makes them reject it”. In the chapter “the emerging world society” he describes how our narrow visions of different world are changing. With new research we are proving that all men originated from our ancestors in Africa. After years of evolution now we are in a world where the difference is so less. The connectivity is so high and interconnectedness of economy has made the world a “global village”. He is critical of the recent military development and the feeling of nationalism. He calls “nationalism as collective selfishness”. This chapter bring out his excellent knowledge in connecting various fields from anthropology to modern economics.

In the book he describes human nature as inherently good but when in a group we tend to justify things which otherwise might be immoral. The feeling of nationalism has led to war in the history and following it now will lead to human peril. He speaks as an idealist when he describes how men should go from a “national man” to “universal man”. He highly believes in global organisations like United Nations to solve all human problems from hunger to diseases.

Science and religion has been in differences in the recent years. According to the author religion which does not let free inquiry will not survive. He condemns religion of today’s world as it does not stop violence. He has a negative and pessimistic view of the world. He is against the leaders who are materialistic and do not follow what they preach. In the next chapter he brings in the negativities of various religions in the present context. He is very sceptical about the future of religion if they continue in the present way. He also describes the work of religion in the changing world, how they can help about bring peace, equality. Being an expert in contemporary religion he well compares various religion and explains how every religions basic tenet is the same.

Dr Radhakrishnan in the chapter “faith and reason” talks about the evil nature of human beings and it gives us an impression of his theism. He does not insist on the presence of one god or one religion. He talks of God as a supreme being or a power compared to nature. He describes human progress from cannibalism to a peaceful coexisting society. He is very optimistic when he describes the world as a place for development of humans as mature moral beings. Later in the book he goes into philosophical mode where he describes religion as the door to know the reality. For him religion is not about knowledge of scriptures or performing rituals but it is about understanding self.

His knowledge of various religions is well brought to light when he compares all the religion and explains how they might have a common ancestry. He comes out of negativity when he compares the present day religion to that out religion in the past centuries. Religion of the recent times is more open to discussions with other religious scriptures. People look beyond the veils of one’s religion. He talks of religion of the future where all religions are integrated and there is a real unity.

In the continuation of the book Dr. Radhakrishnan shifts from religion to humanity and in it he describes the importance of Democracy. According to him the dignity of an individual lays when he lives a life free from oppression. He praises communism as it promised to bring an end to colonialism and bring about equality of all men. He is against the arms race. Though the cold war days are over still the world has not stopped increasing its share of destructive weapons. According to the author religions of the world has a duty to bring about unity of men removing differences. It has to reduce the evil in men and bring about importance of selfless concern for humanity. This will reduce the necessity for war. The money spent in war and purchasing weapons can be used to make the standard of living of every man better and everyone can live a happy satisfies life. The duty of Sovereign states to bring an oneness of human race.

At the end of the book one understands the influence of Hinduism in his writing. Being an Indian the influence of Gandhi is felt throughout his writing. His writing will appeal to young and the old alike. At times he is either too pessimistic talking about the end of mankind or sometimes the other extreme talking about the goodness of human kind. One feels that the book is highly idealistic as he talks about selfless humans always working towards the unity and happiness of all. A war free world and a world in which countries do not buy or produce weapons are unthinkable in the present society. The book can be taken as a collection of writings giving directions towards a peaceful society. The way he has tried to bridge religions and give them moral authority for bringing about a peaceful society is encouraging. It is a good writing with proper evidence. It can be used around the world to reduce differences among religions.

MIGRATATION AND SCOPE OF SOCIO ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT FOR A PEACEFUL SOCIETY

Migration is as old as human civilization. In the old time men traveled far in search of food. They shifted their agriculture and traveled across clearing forests. Migration is the reason that the human civilization which started in Africa could reach other parts of the world. The present day migration is different from those of the prehistoric times. Men today travel in search of better jobs, better facilities and better living. There are also cases where people are replaced from their place of living to new destinations because of natural calamities like flood, drought and so on. War displaces a huge population as refugees. Migrating population also carry their culture with them. This results in mix of culture. When they come back to their original place of birth they bring back the culture of the place that they had migrated to.

There are several reasons for migration. The reasons are broadly classified as “push” and “pull” factors. The push factors are those conditions, in the place of residence of the population that are averse for a comfortable living. Pull factors are those conditions in the place that people are migrating to which attract them to that host place. In case of women migration is largely as a result of marriage in India. Migration is categorised as “internal” and “external”. Internal migration is when people migrate within the country. External migration is when people migrate to other countries. International migration is happening for centuries. The present percentage is below 3% and is not higher than 100 years ago[1]

In India the high regional disparity leads to large scale migration. The northern states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa and the states in the North-East have poor infrastructural facilities. People migrate from these states in search of better employment opportunities. They also get better facilities such as better education, health service and the like. The seasonal nature of Indian agriculture also results in large scale migration during lean monsoon season. These farmers work as unskilled manual labourers in infrastructural projects in the cities. This internal migration is seen in large scale in India. Studies have shown that the migration is mostly intra-state. In states of Chattisgarh and Jharkhand political unrest due to Naxalism is presently seen as a reason for migration.

In contrary Maharashtra, Gujarat and southern states have better development. People migrate from other states to these places. The industrialisation and urbanisation has made them better destinations for employment opportunities. The better infrastructure promises the migrating population better livelihood. The migrants are most sought after in the cities as they are willing to work for lower wages. It does create a pressure on the labour market and leads to social unrest as differences between the locals and the migrants emerge.

In spite of continuous efforts from the government the urban-rural divide continuous to exist. Programs like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) and Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) still leaves behind the development of the villages. Cities continue to attract migrants from the villages. The job in the cities bring additional source of income and provide better livelihood opportunities. The landless poor are attracted to the cities in large scale. These temporary migrants live in slums in urban places. The condition of such settlements is very poor. They live on pavements and are seen as extension of urban poor.  They do not get facilities like access to public distribution system. In spite of such conditions migrants continue to flock to cities. The availability of school and healthcare is better than villages. They get better exposure by which they learn about other opportunities. This shows the importance of the seasonal migration for these people. Instead of seeing migration as a menace it should be used as a better opportunity for providing proper services to these people. Better healthcare, education facilities for their children and protect them from indiscriminate contractors. They should be provided with better opportunities for social inclusion.

India is the most developed country in South-east Asia. So migrants from neighbouring countries come to India for employment opportunities. And in the case of India the porous borders increase the problem of illegal immigrants. These immigrants though have cultural proximity with us still carry their national identities with them. Though there are cultural similarities with neighbours, illegal immigration brings its own problems. It is used by terrorists, fundamentalists and is used by foreign powers to encroach on our territory.

Globalisation leads to migration and migration leads to globalisation. Globalisation has both positive and negative effects. One of the most important effects is the socio-economic effects. The culture and identity controversy of globalisation is one of the most important as it deals with the ordinary people and not governments or policy makers. When the protest against the migration is done by the local population one of the emphases is on the dilution of their culture. The new culture that the immigrants bring in is thought to erode the local culture. Globalisation makes people aware of the entire world in their living room. The choices of countries that people migrate to are made depending on their knowledge. People choose to go to high income countries where there are better living standards.

Globalisation has also changed the way people migrate. People are more aware of the opportunities. Women from Asia migrate to the gulf. They get opportunities in the service sector. They send back remittances that improve the economic and social status of their family. More and more people in Asia and Africa will be living in the urban areas. The developed countries are having aging population. They require a lot of skilled and unskilled workers. The World Bank estimates that by 2025 migration could provide over US140$ billion to poor countries[2]. Much of this comes from migration of unskilled population.

Policies on migration are based on economic constraints till date. But now the focus is shifting towards the social side of it. Governments think about how the cultures will blend and what practice of the migrant population to allow and what not to. In some countries it’s been made mandatory for the immigrant population to adopt the local language and culture.

People should develop multiple and complementary identities as citizens of the world as well as citizens of a state and members of a cultural group. There is a need to recognise different identities and strength commitments of being citizens of the world. A peaceful society can be created only by shared values, communication and commitment. Cooperation is better when there are shared values. Culture is about universal human rights and respect for others freedom, equality and dignity. There is a need to respect the differences of others cultures. It’s next to impossible for one to have just one identity. In a complex country like India people have multiple identities. One based on religion, one based of language we speak, one based on caste and so on.

Differences among cultures are sometimes caused because of difference in economic power. Some cultures with better economic standard dominates those that are weak. Immigrants are a source of economic wealth. New population is needed to work in labour intensive industries. Countries like Japan where the younger population is less needs new immigrants from other parts of the world. Immigrants are a source of skill, labour and ideas. They add value to the society.

The state of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are underdeveloped compared to other states in India. These two are agriculture depended. Agriculture in India is depended on monsoon. There are lean season when agriculture work is not there. The infrastructures available in these two states are very less. Schools, hospitals are other primary necessities are missing. Large scale illiteracy affects the overall socio-economic pattern of a state. There is high Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and even cases of polio in these states. The high population density is another reason. When people from these places migrate to other states which has developed they get exposure to the actual development. The availability of infrastructure in these states enriches the life of the migrants. Inspite of the fact that the migrants leave their home and live in deplorable conditions in slums it still attracts them. Their children get better schools, get better medical facilities.

 In some cases they send back money to their family. In such cases the family maintain the agricultural land and this money is an additional income for the family. This improves their economic condition. They are able to provide better facilities for their family. As the economic condition of the family improves their social conditions also improves. Exposure to city life improves their knowledge and reduces the narrow mindedness of the people. They send their girl child to school; use proper medical facilities for their ailments, come out of superstitious practices.

The status of women has changed highly after migration. Late marriages have been reported in tribal districts of Chhattisgarh and Orissa. They are more open to travel outside their home. They are open to other cultures. Living in city reduces the difference between cultures, castes and religion.

One example of economic development leading to better living standards is Kerala. People of Kerala have long migrated to the gulf countries. They send back their remittance to their family. It has an effect on the social status of the people. Kerala has almost reached 100% literacy rate. With improvement in education and economic standard other things improve. They have better health care, very less IMR and IMR, almost total proper sanitation facilities. It also improves their political influence. They are more aware of the happenings of the country living thousands of miles away than their poor counterpart living in some states. They take part in many activities of charity and contribute on a large scale for the development of their people.

The developed world has less population in terms of demographic dividend and also in terms of people willing to work in low paid jobs. People from developing countries migrate to fill in the gap. This makes a great effort to reduce poverty in those countries. Recent survey found 50-80% of rural African households had at least one migrant member working in another part of the country in which they live[3]. Poor people migrate internally more than externally. People better off in a place migrate to other countries. The migrated population make investment in their country which improves the local condition and better availability of jobs for the poorer people.

Migration brings about gender equality. Marriage no more remains as the sole reason for migration of women. Women have started migrating for work. They get a self-identity and are no more dependent on the male family members. The economic independence and their exposure make them take the right choice for their family. Husbands give them equal importance and treat them with more respect.

There is a change in social attitude of the migrating population. They learn new behaviours and ideas form the host nation. In a family, men and women share work equally. Migration helps in social inclusion. When people travel to other parts they get exposure to new technologies, banking, internet, mobile telephones and other things available in the cities only. It reduces the difference in exposure between the rich and the poor. In a city every person has a mobile phone; there is cable television available in every household including the slums. Migration is one reason for these facilities reaching the interior parts of a country. When migrated population goes back to its original place of residence they bring along with them these technologies or the knowledge about these technologies.

There are problems attached to migration. There are cultural differences when a migrant population settles in a new place. They have to take in the culture of the new place and have adjustment issues to the new pace of life. Most migration is to cities where the pace of life is much faster than the villages. The villagers when they migrate to cities they leave behind their culture, sometimes their family. This puts them in a lot of psychological pressure. When there is external migration it’s much more difficult. It is mostly entirely new language and even people and climate is totally different. When migration brings cheap labour to the host place there is a spread of discontent among the people of the host nation or the city. It’s a pressure on the labour market. This creates xenophobia at times and leads to clashes. Mostly these clashes are politically motivated. The government has to sensitize the host about the necessity of migration and also policies to protect migrant population.

Migration should not be a source of bonded labour. It is the duty of the government to protect them from mafias and other underground contractors. Unprotected migration leads to human trafficking. Though migration leads to socio-economic development it’s not all white. There is black side of it where in case of forced migration sometimes results in low paid work. They are forced to live in pavements in deplorable conditions. Children of such migrants do not attend schools and grow up in pavements. They have no proper sanitation facilities. They do not go to hospitals for medical check-ups as it takes too long in the government run hospitals. Their contractors do not give them off as they are on per day contract. Their work today helps them to get work tomorrow.

When there is internal migration it’s the government’s role to provide them with facilities such as provision of goods from public distribution system, enrolment of their children in the local schools and healthcare facilities. Migration has become a necessity of the time. It’s not possible to stop it. It’s only possible to make policies to stop illegal migration from neighbouring countries. Illegal migration leads to clandestine activities. In case of internal migration the people have to understand that those who migrate are also the citizens of our country and migration leads to socio-economic development of the whole country. When a migrant population comes to a city they in-turn facilitate the development of business in the place, they spend money buying various things and take part in the economy of the city.

Migration helps in cross fertilization of various cultures. It helps in spreading ideas of political, social change. It helps to spread the idea of democracy and equal rights for all. In case of external migration the host country should be sensitive to the cultural practice of the migrant population. There should not be forceful restrictions on their practices as long as it does not affect the population. The migrant population should also be open to some changes to adapt to the new cultural practices of the home country. It’s essential for a peaceful coordinated life. Continuous clashes make the life more miserable. It is essential to manage that there are no ethnic clashes and also develop the villages in such a way that the population is not forced to migrate due to lack of amenities. Migration if any should be by choice to move out of the place of residence.

REFERENCES:

Globalisation and cultural choice, Human Development Report 2004.

International Migration policy: issues and perspectives for India, Binod Khadria, Perveen Kumar, Shantanu Sarkar and Rashmi Sharma.

Migration initiative 2012, International Organisation for Migration.

Moving out of poverty-making migration work for poor people, department of International Development.

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[1] International migrant stock, department of economic and social affairs, United Nations.

[2] World Bank (2006). Global Economic Prospects, page 34.

[3] Sussex Centre for Migration (2004). Migration and pro-poor policies in Africa: A report co-ordinated by

Richard Black, Final Report 2004.