across the black waters: a reading

8/9/2019 Across the Black Waters: A Reading

1/3

1

The Dynamics of Power Relations in Across the Black Waters

It was not our war to fight, and yet Indian sepoys savaged the appointed enemy. The glorious

ideals of ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’ had percolated Indian thought. The ritish

Ra! needed warriors, and the worshipping Indians were eager to serve. They donned the

armour, not !ust to display their sense of loyalty to the "ar#aar, $ut often also to gra$ the

welcome opportunity to escape the clutches of dire Third %orld circumstances. The caste

structure crum$led as they lay ne&t to each other in the trenches and fought the same war.

Across the Black Waters, the Indians encountered a strange land of unfamiliar power

structures. 'ul# Ra! (nand’s cele$rated novel e&plores the Indian sensi$ility’s confrontation

with various dimensions of power politics.

The novel is prominent in the pathos of displacement. Religious faith had #ept Indians from

e&ploring foreign lands as it was $elieved that crossing the #aala paani would result in loss of

caste. )aste was ingrained as the locus of one’s identity. ‘To reiterate, castes are proud of

their identity, regardless of where te&tual traditions place them on the ‘purity*pollution’

hierarchy’ + upta - /0 &ii . The ordeal of ta#ing the for$idden !ourney was mar#ed $y an

uneasy e&pectancy of dreary fate.

‘"o we have come across the $lac# waters safely,’ he said to himself apprehensively, as if hereally e&pected some calamity, the legendary fate of all those who went $eyond the seas, to

$efall him any moment’ + Across the Black Waters 2

The past was clouded with memories of an oppressed e&istence. De$ts and the loss of land

forced men to enlist in the army. They would usually $e the ‘second, third or fourth sons of a

peasant family, over$urdened with de$t’ +132 . The soldier’s hope for rewards alleviated the

suffering of the family. Thus, the Indian sepoy who crossed the #aala paani did so with a

deeply ingrained sense of gratitude towards the ritish employer. 4e was constantly aware of the ‘power of %estern wealth and prestige5 the power of the employer5 the power of the

educator5 the power of the clergyman5 the power of the professional’ +)o& - -0 6 This

caused them to position themselves at the very $ase of the social hierarchy.

(s they had resigned themselves to this lowly position, the $ehaviour of the Francewallas

sha#es their idea of the power structure. ‘7T8he Francewallas li#e to tal# and are friendly. (t

9rleans, they offered us cigarettes’ + Across the Black Waters 3 . The white )hristian male

has always $een viewed as the sovereign. The Indians’ engagement in friendly $anter with the


2/3

-

)aucasian male changes the power dynamics in the troops. They $egin to relate to the ‘other’.

‘It is the same in :angra district as in ;ranceville and in )hina’ +3 . (t times there is a

reversal of the traditional power structure. The Indian sepoys find themselves at the receiving

end of the gora’s admiration and gratitude. ‘ai#s and

sepoys in the third class* remem$er this and don’t $e led astray’ +?? . The Tommies are only

their dou$les who must maintain a respecta$le distance from the "ahi$s. @ust li#e the Indian

sepoys, they are not allowed access to the "ahi$’s space.

The white male is restored to his position of power. The relationship of the coloniAer and the

coloniAed reclaims its dictatorial stance. The officers invo#e the Indians’ inde$tedness to the

ritish "ar#aar with repeated callings of ‘If we are true to the salt of the "ar#ar’ +11? . In

turn, the coloniAed must ta#e the su$dued position. The a$sence of any higher white male

authority in the trenches gives the words of praise a condescending air. (lthough the Bnglish

"ahi$s appreciate the contri$ution of the Indian sepoys, the Indian sepoys retain a sense of

duty in their peril. This consciousness of $eing $onded to the "ahi$’s wishes ma#es the

sepoys feel downtrodden. ‘The master as#s the dog to go hunting when they are dying and

they must go’ +1?1 .

Bm$ittered $y the renewed oppression, these Indians who have crossed the #aala paani use

the de$ilitated caste system to impose their sense of superiority on its supposed rulers.


3/3

?

structure and $e ruled $y the coloniAer. Across the Black Waters thus e&amines the dynamics

of power relations and the changing spheres of the power structure when the Indian crosses

the #aala pani.

References

Primary Source

(nand, 'ul# Ra!. - 2. Across the Black Waters. >ew Delhi0 9rient Paper ac#s.

Secondary Sources

)o&, @effery. - -. Im erial Fault !ines" #hristianity and #olonial Power in India, $%$%&

$'(). )alifornia0 "tanford Cniversity Press.

upta, Dipan#ar. - /. #aste in *uestion" Identity +r Hierarchy >ew Delhi0 "age

Pu$lication India Pvt.

across the black waters: a reading

Documents