Assignment
Name: Virani Dhara R.Course: M. A. English
Semester: 2
Batch: 2019- 2021
Roll no : 04
Submitted to : Smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English
Paper no : 08
Subject : Cultural Studies.
Topic : The various kinds of social formation (context) and the subalterns
Introduction :
‘Human being’, the term which is unique in each and every side, of course can be considered as animal, but social animal, human makes the society, in which they are lived their lives, when the time has been passed there were various changes keep on happen, some are considered as a lower class, some are upper class, caste system, nationalism (specific area, geographically) Gender system
Or position in society, which is the patriarchy society. These all is the part of the social formations. In this social formation somehow, somewhere someone or even group as well has to no voice to raises against whether it is right or wrong. They are over powered by others, that people, or group is considered as a “Subaltern” a term is origin for this people or group of people. So, let’s see or evaluate the Subaltern in social formation, and who is the Dominant group or what is the ideology for that.
The term ‘Subaltern’ :
The word ‘Subaltern’ stands for ‘of inferior rank' or status in the society. Subordinates, hence, of rank, authority, power and action. In another words we can said that, it refers to the subordination of class, caste, gender, race, language and culture. It also indicates to the domination of the ruling classes.
In general, subaltern classes include peasant, workers and other groups, they have no power to raise their voice against the ruling class. How the subaltern can speak? Why this term came? Or who coins this term? How and why this term came? So, let’s discuss and view this points.
Emergence theory of Subaltern
The concept of the “Subaltern” gained increased prominence
And currency with Spivak's article can the Subaltern Speak? , according to Spivak, the , the subaltern cannot speak, she opines that the subaltern doesn’t have a voice. There are many group of people or specific people who has no power or right to raise his/her voice and fight for their rights, they have not equal space or position with others they are always considered as a lower or not treated fairly or we can see the partiality between them, why this is happen ? What is the main reason behind it? Is there power work mainly or any other factor is still worked? . Of course this all question swirl in our mind
The ‘subaltern’ is a term Spivak borrow from the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci to signify the oppressed class. One of the reason which, she mention that, the subaltern cannot speak for him/herself because of the very structure of colonial power.
When we look at our concept-map of the various kinds of social formation or contexts and the subaltern they construct, in our society there is various social formation like class system in which there is two part Working class or upper/Capitalist bourgeois, Empire in which the people who live in the land which is their native they are Natives or the other people or group of people who came from outside or other land or country like European as foreigners for India, the social gender construction is patriarchy Men is in power, and in Nation Ethnic minorities and Majority which explores Homogenization and nationalism.
The subalterns in social formation
In our social formations, we can find the subalterns they construct:Social Formation Subaltern Dominant Group Ideology
Class Working classes Capitalist bourgeois Capitalism
Empire Natives Europeans Colonialism
Patriarchy women Men Gender
Nation Ethnic
Minorities Majority Homogenization and nationalism
Working classes as Subaltern in class social Formation:
In our social formation of class, the subaltern is obviously Working classes , because they have no power as well as money. Those who lack power are subaltern. Working classes always over powered by capitalist bourgeois they are the dominant group over working classes. Working classes has no voice to raise against them and they work according to their master, even the most of our social formation or rules constructed by dominant power and the working class is merely a puppet, which is under the control of capitalist bourgeois. Is there anywhere can we see the
Working class and the upper or bourgeois class have a equal position or right to speak or take decision in public, of course no, why no? Because one of the reason is that working class has no power, and power work a vital role. While the dominant group has a freedom or power to speak to anywhere, while the working class is muted by dominant group. One of the factor, which deference between them is that may be money.
In the capitalist society the capitalist hold the power. The working class, toiling to generate profits for the capitalist, lacks any agency, but is made to believe it is happy because capitalism as an ideology spreads the illusion that the exploitative capitalism as an ideology spreads the illusion that the exploitative capitalist system is actually a generous, benevolent and caring patron of the working class.
Natives as a subaltern in the Social Formation of Empire :
In the social formation of Empire the natives are subaltern in their own native land, why, they are subaltern in their own homeland? What power is worked over them? If we take one example of over own country, then the European was the dominant group over the native people, the native people have no voice to speak or right to fight against them. They are over power by or under control of the dominant group. This European have various tricks to how to control them. And also
Have some particular aim to control this native people, of course there were many native people raises their voice against the dominant group of European for their rights or freedom and sacrifice their lives also, but still dominant group or power remain up than the natives revolt because they have no power to speak.
Women as a subaltern in the gender social formation:
In the patriarchal society the women has been fitted in some particular stereotypes of thing, she is merely puppet on the hand of the men. She has to be assigned particular roles as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, all of which make her identity to her relationship with men.
The ideology of gender is such that the women is trained, right from the childhood, to believe that motherhood and wifely roles are the goals to aspire to. It naturalized relationship between men and women. As a being woman has so many restrictions what to do or don’t, what to wear or don’t, how to respect, how to live some specific norms which is not connected with men, why? Both are human being! Then the answer may be men's power work over woman. She has not voice to speak, that means she can not raises her voice against him.
One of the best example is the one Gujarati movie “ Hellaro”, this movie mainly focus on how the woman live in the patriarchal society. She would be compromise a lot and has not freedom. They all are lives under the power of men. In this movie we can also find how the women are treated under the hand of men. Here women is portrait totally voiceless and subaltern in the patriarchal society. She can not speak.
If we take some real example from our contemporary world then we can easily find many examples, like in Iran we can find the situation of women in patriarchal society, In Iran security agents arrested the lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, at her home, because she was defending women who had been arrested after removing their hijab, or head scarves , in public protest. She had been sentence to a total of 38 years in prison, of course she won the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought in London. Another example is that, Alinejad- Ghomi is an Iranian journalist, author, and political activist, who is also fights against the compulsory hijab in Iran.
Ethnic minorities as a Subaltern in Homogenization and nationalism :
In a nation-state, the minorities are asked to believe in the idea of the nation even when the nation does not respect their cultural rights, or solve their problems. Any attempt to seek cultural rights or protection or recognition is seen and treated as a treat to the nation itself. Further, the nation is supposedly unified- an ideology that ignores through a process of Homogenization, all cultural, ethnic and regional differences.
Conclusion :
In shot, in our social formation, there where may subalterns working classes, Natives, women, Ethnic minorities etc., these all are under the power of dominant group and revealed such ideology.
Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty “From A Critiue of postcolonial Reason” In Leitch.
Steph, Kulsumand “A Feminist Perspective, The Subaltern (woman) studies” 27 April, 2010. http://kulsumandsteph.blogspot.com/2010/04/subaltern-woman-studies.html
Nayak, Pramod K. “An Introduction To Cultural Studies”, Second Edition, Viva, 2019
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