Gist of

VOL.01
YOJANA February 2021

Indian Literature
Oral Tradition and Tholkappiam: Evolution of
Indian Literature The Ancient Grammar Indian Literature

India and the World Urdu Language and Literature

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 Gist of Yojana February 2021 Issue: Indian Literature
Table of Contents:

Sl.No. CHAPTER

1 Indian Literature

2 Oral Tradition and Indian Literature

3 Tholkappiam: The Ancient Grammar

4 Evolution of Indian Literature

5 India and the World

6 Urdu Language and Literature

7 Post-independence Hindi Literature

8 Information Technology: Beyond Self-Reliance

9 Marathi Literature

10 Modern Odia Poetry

 Chapter 1: Indian Literature
Literature is the panacea for all societal ills and a powerful tool for effective learning. The journey of
Indian literature is rooted in diversity and marked with a shift in the themes, ideas, and styles. Despite
these subtle changes and diversity, literature remains relatable because of the linguistic density of the
Indian sub-continent and the willingness to take up and absorb all wonderful things from any language
or culture.

Origin:

• Indian Literature originated during the Vedic period and gradually progressed to newer forms and
manifestations.
• It is clearly an outcome of a multi-cultural melange where a thousand worlds forge themselves to create a
mind-boggling symphony of words.

Read more on Vedic Literature here.

Mark Twain said, "India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother
of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition".

Evolution:

• The efforts of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan created a new school of Urdu literature.
• The Progressive Writers Movement in literature set a benchmark for the upcoming writers and brought
forth the winds of change.
• Several genres flourished pre and post-independence in the realm of literature.
• Tholkappiam, the ancient grammatical treatise governed the world of Tamil literature and soon became a
way of life during the Sangam era.
• Bhakti poetry involving enlightenment and asceticism became a movement of its own, with poets
devoting their lives to dispel the darkness of ignorance. Poetry dominated the royal courtyards and the
khanqahs of Sufi saints.
• The Saptak tradition in Hindi Literature, on the other hand, opened new avenues of romanticism and
social realities.
• Women's writings and feminist literature too emerged to give voice to the silent and unheard, influencing
the content and changing the course of literature in all languages.

Chapter 2: Oral Tradition and Indian Literature

Ancient India had both ‘writing’ and ‘speech’ and the basic distinction between them defined their
functions too. The essential culture of India is embodied by a living individual who not only interprets
the norms of culture but also acts as a frame of reference.
 • A large portion of ancient Indian literature is a manifestation of the spoken word and it belongs to the oral
tradition as far as its procreation is concerned.
• The Vedas have been preserved without the loss of a single syllable through a complex and intricate
system of recital down the centuries.
• Writing was introduced much later in Indian history due to the influence of foreign scholars, literature as
writing emerged only during the British regime.
• According to a prayer from the Rigveda, “Speech is firmly rooted in the mind and the mind is
established in speech”.
• A society in which the spoken word carries supremacy and moral authority is different from a society that
holds the written word as a document of truth. The identity of a person in such a society depends upon his
speech.

Pampa – the first Kannada Poet:

• The works of Pampa, the first Kannada poet of the 10th century, have the characteristics of a written work.
• The form of Pampa’s great epic closely resembles that of a long “inscription”.
o Inscription is writing in its pure form.
• The immediate purpose of Pampa’s epic was to commemorate the historical deeds of his patron – prince
Arikesari.
• Pampa lived during a time when the vernacular languages of India were being raised to the status of
writing, and the chief purpose of the writing then was to commemorate.
• The most favourite trope of Pampa, for example, is ‘Sahokti’.
o It is the expression of two similar events that happen simultaneously.
• Pampa is conscious of the fact that the meaning of the poem lies in the relationship between the
mythological past and the historical present.

Kumaravyasa:

• The case of Kumaravyasa is slightly different.

• Kumaravyasa, like Pampa, sought to retell the story of the Mahabharata in Kannada. But his purpose,
unlike that of Pampa, was to revive the oral tradition, or better still, to introduce the vital elements of the
oral tradition in a written text.

Indian Languages:

• All Indian languages, except Sanskrit, reached the status of writing, continued to develop literature,
drawing inspiration from both written and oral traditions of India. The oral tradition does not belong to a
pre-literate age representing a primary condition of civilisation.
• On the other hand, both traditions can co-exist in a given period of Indian history.
• The folk traditions have been alive even during the present century.
• The main reason for this curious co-existence of these traditions is the fact that these two traditions,
although they represent separate sets of values, are not ethically different from each other.
• Literacy in India is not the only way to cultural and spiritual experiences.
• Many of our mystics and saints have been illiterate but have produced classical poetry.
• Nrupatunga, a writer of the 9th century, says that 'the Kannada people are skilled in the art of producing
poetry although they cannot read'.

Folk Literature:
 • The oral tradition in India is still prevalent, especially in the area of folk literature.
• The ballad singers have a rich repertory of a variety of songs that they sing to a large audience.
• The plays performed by Talamaddale groups are without a dramatic script and even the plays called
Sannatas are, to a great extent, improvised.

Writing Tradition:

• The written tradition in Indian literature starts with the modern period since almost all the writers are
literate.
• Poetry is now being read rather than being heard.

Chapter 3: Tholkappiam: The Ancient Grammar

Tholkappiam, a grammatical treatise in Tamil is the most ancient one. It is believed to be from the fifth
or sixth century BC.

• Tholkappiam itself in the course of prescribing rules and regulations for various genres of literature and
classifications of grammar refers to many ancient works which are not known in detail.
• Tholkappiam had followed the traditional grammatical regulations of several thousand years.
• In its backdrop, a long grammatical tradition had been alive which has provided enormous material to
build up the first available grammatical treatise.
• The Tamils are fortunate to have recovered Tholkappiam intact without any loss since it has escaped from
huge deluges that usurped many valuable works of their glorious ancestors.
• An apparent reference to this is found in ‘Kalitokai’, one of the Sangam classical anthologies.
• The archaeological and historical evidences prove that Tholkappiam had emerged some two thousand five
hundred years ago when the whole of the Indian subcontinent was ruled by several kings and chieftains.
• Tholkappiam had emerged long before the period of Mauryas and Nandas.
• Tholkappiam states that the Tamil land was ruled by 'three famous munificent patrons'.
o In the prefatory verse of Tholkappiam, there is mention of the name of the Pandya king.
• Tholkappiam speaks of the script form of certain letters and they are developed from the Indus Valley
script.

A prefatory verse:

A prefatory verse to Tholkappiam rendered by one Panamparanar, a contemporary to Tholkappiar

provides the following valuable information in fifteen lines of the verse.

1. The Tamil land in the age of Tholkappiam is in between the northern Venkata hills and the southern
Kumari.
2. Tholkappiam deals with the written and spoken Tamil versions that prevailed in the Tamil land.
3. Tholkappiam is a three-fold work dealing with the alphabets, words, content and form.
4. Tholkappiar had referred to the ancient Tamil works and collected all appropriate materials of his age and
anthologised them into an impeccable dissertation.
5. Tholkappiam was presented before the learned audience of the Pandya king named Nilamtharu Thiruvil
Pandian.
6. Tholkappiar has mastery over the Indhra Vyakarna.
 7. The author of Tholkappiam is Tholkappiar, which is his proper name, and the work by him named with
that.

Structure and Composition of the Work:

• Tholkappiam is a grammatical work and it is composed of three major divisions. They are:
o Eluththu Athikaram— the chapter on the alphabets.
o Col Athikaram — the chapter on the words
o Porul Athikaram — the chapter on the content and form.
• Tholkappiar is the rule-maker in this regard.
• Earlier to this, that is before the sixth century B.C., no foreign word had infiltrated into Tamil. Up to that,
it was a pure Tamil era.

Chapter 4: Evolution of Indian Literature

Indian literature always had its own unique style from the beginning. The number of languages,
language families and dialects in the country is mind-boggling. These thousand plus languages and
dialects provided the perfect platform for people to outpour their thoughts, feelings and imaginations
and the result is one eclectic mix of finest literary creation. One hallmark of Indian literature over the
past 3000 years or so is diversity. One will be surprised to see the variety of works of literature that have
been produced in the subcontinent. During the medieval period, the amount of Persian literature
produced in the subcontinent would easily far exceed that which was produced in Persia itself.

• Brevity is in the genes of the Indians. This is the land that gave birth to varieties of Sutra literature,
Thirukkural, Dohas, to name a few.
• Early Sangam poetry not only reflects the poet's thoughts and emotions but also provides a large number
of clues to the highly civilised society that was in existence at that time.
• If Bharata produced Natya Sastra in the north, we see Tholkappiar producing astounding exposition of not
only grammar but also plenty of societal rules.
• From the earliest time to the commencement of the medieval period, the majority of the literature of India
was predominantly oral, and poetry and play dominated the scene.
• Prose was there, but poetry dominated. As a number of languages gained writing systems, grammar, etc.,
the written literature slowly gathered pace and gained prominence over oral literature.

Also read about Sangam Literature.

Literature in the Medieval Period:

• The emergence of a variety of literature in a large number of languages during the medieval period and
almost on all the subjects of human endeavour marks the medieval mind as a 'Golden One' for India.
o That is in stark contrast with Europe and the West where the medieval period is referred to as the
Dark Ages.
• Religious literature, scientific literature, economic literature, political science, poetry, drama, stories and
every allied field gained prominence in India during this period.
Literature in the 19th and 20th century:

• In the late 19th and early 20th century, many writers across languages tried to emulate their Western
counterparts, especially when it came to stories and novels.
• The same period and up to 1947 saw the emergence of a unique type of literature, the independence
literature.
• Almost all the genres, especially prose and poetry writings, focused more or less on patriotic fervour.
• In the first two decades after Indian independence, when the country was coming to terms with
development and modernity, many poems, stories, novels, and plays in many languages focused on the
rural landscape, bringing out the travails of agrarian societies.
• Then came the phase in which Indian literature evolved into something new.
• For the next three decades came the stories and novels highlighting new problems that society faced –
labour unsettling, problems faced by women going for jobs, urban legends and so on.
o In fact, this period also witnessed the evolution of Indian cinema and many were inspired by the
stories and novels.

Contemporary scenario:

• Today, the oral and tribal traditions of the country are looked down upon but one should well remember
that it was a slow process from oral to writing tradition that literature evolved in India.
• With the printing press arriving, Indian literature never looked back. With education opening up for all,
the number of authors and the number of books increased exponentially.
• In the field of translation, India has been translating freely since ancient times. True to the spirit of the
term ‘Anuvad’, most of the classics were adapted into each region and language, to suit the local cultural
milieu.
• So, epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were among the most adapted works in the
subcontinent. Many religious classics and other texts were adapted and integrated into the local cultural
milieu.
• This is one of the main reasons why there is a commonality of culture or a thread of common culture
despite vast divergence among the cultural, linguistic and literary traditions of India. This aspect, function
and role of translation is not merely the hallmark or cornerstone of the evolution of Indian literature but of
Indian culture itself.
• At present, many new genres and sub-genres have come into existence. Rapidly advancing technology
and the digital world have reduced the gap between the author and the reader.

Chapter 5: India and the World

Indian literature being multilingual, multi-regional, and multicultural, are also pluriversal in their
outlook and world-making. Defined and determined by plurality, comparativism, translation, and
multilingualism they are in a position to provide their own model to world literature that may decolonise
world literature, otherwise, a field largely hegemonized by the Anglophone West.

• Critics from various non-western origins have discerned the imperial, neo-colonial West-centric agenda
of world literature that promotes ‘border regimes’ by its privileging of Euro-American theoretical
framework and anglophone writings.
English in India:

• English in India has claimed a space alongside, even encompassing the vernacular Indian tongues,
asserting its ability to articulate local moorings, angsts and desires.
• The genre of novel in India, for instance, was first tried in Bhashas – Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Bengali
– and only later in English.

Multilingualism:

• The monolithic view of Indian literature perpetrated under the sign of colonial regime already stands
challenged in post-colonial times. There is a consensus that even the regional literature is plural in its
orientations and language use.
• Multilingualism is the defining marker of the literary landscape of India, possibly in more pluriversal and
cosmopolitan ways than what the world literature can only aspire for.
• Most Indian writers are bilingual or multilingual.
• Many keep moving between English and Bhasha.
• The linguistic choices made by writers reflect their involvement in the multi-layered sensibilities at work
in the polyglot cultural universe to which they belonged.
• One of the oldest classics in Malayalam, Chemmeen, was one of the first South Indian novels to be
translated and find acclaim. Sanskrit and Prakrit texts of poetry are being picked up for translation by the
leading poets and translators.
• Multilingualism leads to the centrality of translation for Indian literature as in the case of world literature.

Conclusion:

• The emerging alterities of Dalit writing, tribal writings and women’s voices have contested the unitary
ideas of identity, culture and nation. Polyglossic modernity is further accentuated by the Dalit feminist
writers who destabilise narratives of homogenous Indian feminism.
• In the post-liberalisation Indian economy, the diaspora is no longer a movement from east to west, from
struggle to opportunity, from bondage to freedom in search of better opportunities.
• Even in terms of book publishing, most international publishers are moving into Indian language
publishing and opening their offices in India. Both English language translations and Anglophone
writings have gained the confidence to dispense with elaborate glossaries explaining cultural markers to a
western reader.
• In other words, the myth of cosmopolitanism of English, as opposed to the parochialism of Indian
languages, has largely dissolved.

Chapter 6: Urdu Language and Literature

Urdu is an important Indian language that is included in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Spread across the country, it has a rich literary heritage. Urdu literature, particularly, its poetry,
continues to evoke interest among the readers and lovers of art and literature around the globe. As
language speakers are spread across different parts of the world, Urdu can hope for a wider and deeper
engagement with the people through the avenues of social media in a borderless world.

Urdu:
 • Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language that is a comparatively younger member of the great fraternity of Indian
languages.
• In the earlier period, the language was also referred to as Hindi, Hindvi and Rekhta before it finally came
to be called by the name Urdu around the 18th century.
• Urdu shares with Hindi a similarity in phonology and grammar. Urdu and Hindi sounds are the same
except for minor variations.

Evolution of the language:

• Urdu language and literature touched its peak in the 19th and 20th centuries.
• It was preceded by the educational and social reform movement of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898)
who founded the MAO College at Aligarh in 1877.
• Sir Syed advocated purposive and socially relevant literature and journalism and scientific outlook and
temper.
• He rejected the idea of literary works being confined to dealing with love, beauty and wild imagination.
• The Aligarh School inspired poets and writers like Altaf Hussain Huli (1837-1914) who wrote educative
and reformist poetry.
• A significant milestone in Urdu literature was the launch of the progressive movement in literature with
Mulk Raj Anand and Sajjad Zaheer in 1935, who were in London at that time.
• At the first All India Progressive Writers conference held at Lucknow in 1936 and presided by Munshi
Premchand, it was made clear that the canons of appreciating beauty have to be changed.
• The nineteenth century is considered to be a golden period of Urdu literature. It produced poets like Zaug,
Bahadur Shah Zafar, Momin and Ghalib.
o Ghalib is considered to be a great Urdu poet who added wit and intellect to the emotions and
sensitivities of poetic expression.

Works in Urdu:

• The Khanqahs (hospices) and Dargahs of Sufi saints like Nizamuddin Aulia, which was located in Delhi
on the banks of river Yamuna became hubs of inter-religious and inter-regional interaction which also
helped in the evolution of a composite language like Urdu.
• Unlike the court language Persian, Sufi saints interacted in the commoner’s language.
• Urdu words had started making their way into the sayings and poetic works of Nizamuddin Aulia, Amir
Khusro, Baba Farid, Namdev, Kabir and Guru Nanak.
• Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah, the ruler of Golconda himself, composed poetry in Telugu, Persian and
Urdu.
• An iconic, extraordinarily talented and multi-faceted figure in the cultural history of the Indian
subcontinent was Amir Khusro.
o He was a soldier, courtier, mystic, poet, philosopher, musician and singer, all rolled into one.
o Amir Khusro wrote beautiful poetry which paved the way for the future poetic journey of the
Urdu language.

Urdu Poetry:

• The first recorded collection of poetry is attributed to Wali Dakhani (1667-1707).

• In the north, Delhi becomes the hub of Urdu poets like Khan Arzoo, Hatim and Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-
Janaan.
• In the eighteenth century, Urdu poetry touched new heights with the arrival of Mir Taqi Mir on the
literary horizon.
 • A unique poet in the history of Urdu literature is Nazeer Akbarabadi who digresses from contemporary
traditional poetry dealing with love and beauty and concerns himself with the affairs of the mundane.
o He was a mystic.
o Mahadeo, Nanak and Narsi Bhagat find a mention in his poems.
• Urdu poetry continues to be the most popular genre of literature.

Note:

• The first recorded pieces of Urdu prose are in Deccani Urdu around the 15th century.
• The earlier prose is mostly the teachings of the Sufi saints to their disciples.
• The first significant work of literary prose is “Sabras” by Wajhi.
• In the north, Karbal Katha is considered to be the first piece of prose written in 1731.

Teaching Vernacular languages to the British:

• To teach British officials Indian languages like Hindi and Urdu, Governor-General of British India, Lord
Wellesley established the Fort William College at Kolkata in July 1800.
• The college appointed Dr. John Gilchrist as Head of the Indian languages department.

Urdu Journalism:

• The first Urdu newspaper Jam-i-Jahan Numa was launched in Kolkata in 1822 by Harihar Dutta.
o He was the son of Tara Chand Dutta, an eminent Bengali journalist and founder of Sambad
Kaumudi, a Bengal weekly.
• The first editor of Jam-i-Jahan Numa was Sada Sukhlal.
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s newspapers Al-Hilal and Al-Balagh and Mohammad Ali Jauhar’s papers
Comrade and Hamdard took up the cudgels against the British rule.

The National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL):

• As far as government efforts in promoting the language are concerned, it would be worthy to note the
contribution of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL).
• The NCPUL is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, Department of Secondary and
Higher Education, Government of India.
• It was established in 1996 to promote, develop and propagate the Urdu language.
• Nodal Agency for the promotion of the Urdu language, NCPUL acts as the principal coordinator as well
as the monitoring authority for promotion of Urdu language and learning.
• Further, many state governments have also set up Urdu academies in their states to promote the language.

Conclusion:

Spread across the country, Urdu has a rich literary heritage. Urdu literature, particularly its poetry,
continues to evoke interest among readers and lovers of art and literature worldwide.

Chapter 7: Post-independence Hindi Literature

The history of literature does not always mirror the history of society. Literature, sometimes, mirrors
social-political changes, but sometimes, it also reflects the possibilities of social-political changes.

Hindi Literature Post Independence:

• Hindi literature did not take a turning point when India attained independence in 1947.
• Instead, the diverse creative trends, already existing in contemporary Hindi literature continued with
minor variations.
• Freedom in 1947 brought along with it - job, enthusiasm and hopes fraught with the sorrow of the tragic
partition of the country.
• The violence and cruelty witnessed during the partition and subsequent communal riots put a deep scar on
the psyche of the people.
• This sorrow was reflected in the writings of some Hindi writers.

Hindi Literature Pre-Independence:

• Before independence, two prominent trends were prevalent in Hindi poetry.

• One of these was the progressive (Progatisheel) poetry.
• The other stream was of the Experimentalist (Preyogvaadee) poetry.
o This steam was established as Nai Kavita (New Poetry).

Eminent Hindi Poets:

• Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan, popularly known as Agyeya, is the most notable writer among
them.
• He wrote 11 poems, on the tragedy of the partition.
• His book titled 'Sharnarthee' (Refugees) published in 1948 contained these poems compiled under the
same title and stories based on prevailing communal tension and violence of those times.
• Nagarjun, Dinkar, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Sohan Lal Dwivedi, Bhavani Prasad Mishra and others -
expressed the angst and deep sense of sorrow due to partition in their poems.
• In the realm of Hindi literary criticism, a clash of realistic and individualistic trends was witnessed during
the 1950s and 1960s on the one hand, while traditions were being evaluated on the other.
• During this period, some old genres of writing faded away and some new genres emerged.
• The most important fading genre was Gadya Kavya (poetic prose) while very few Lalit Nibandhs
(Aesthetic Essays) were written after independence.
• Kavya Natak (drama in poetic form) is an important emerging genre.
• A new trend of secular writings started in Hindi literature around the 1980s.

Women’s Writings:

• Women’s writing emerged with a new gusto in and around Hindi literature.
• The trend of women's writing further strengthened and more and more writings with self-awareness and
intellectual acumen enriched Hindi literature.
• Global movements of women's liberation have also sharpened the vision of women's writings in Hindi.

Dalit Writings:

• In the 1990s, Dalit writings emerged in Hindi literature.

 • They enriched literature with their self-realisation and experiences.
• They made literature a vehicle of their emancipation in oppressive Indian society.
• Dalit literature is quite different from aesthetic Hindi literature. It reflects the realities of life in their
society, their travails and sorrows, and the resultant anger.
• Both men and women Dalit writers are enriching Hindi literature.
• Dalit literature is diversified with writings in different genres like autobiographies, novels, plays, stories,
poems, biographies, literary criticism, etc.
• They have created new aesthetics to express their specific realities.
• Dalit literature and Dalit discourse is a pan-Indian tendency as Dalits are in all parts of India, facing the
same types of torture, exploitation and slavery. Therefore, their experiences and their literary expressions
are similar.

Tribal Writings:

• Tribal people have their mother tongues in which they have continuously been expressing their joys and
sorrows, tortures and their resistance.
• Earlier, their literature was oral, but now, after their languages/dialects are developing their scripts, their
literature has started coming in written form and is also being translated into Hindi, English, Bengali and
other languages.
• Besides tribal writers, non-tribal writers are also writing on tribal life and realities.

Chapter 8: Information Technology: Beyond Self-Reliance

Despite the challenges and limitations, India has made all-around progress in technology. Although the
accomplishments in areas such as space and nuclear power are more noticed, India has made
phenomenal progress in the field of information technology. With initiatives like 'Digital India', 'Make in
India' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan', the signs are clear. India neither lacks potential nor
opportunities. India's ambitions in the field of IT can no longer be constrained.

• India is moving forward towards completing 75 years of independence.

• The country has moved forward, grappling with problems, economic deprivation, rampant illiteracy, lack
of infrastructural development, and many other similar problems.
• In 1947, 0.1 percent of the gross domestic product was being invested in India's scientific research.
• Under the present government, not only has investment gained momentum in this area, but its scope has
also expanded considerably. Programs like Digital India, Make in India, and Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-
reliant India) reflect both the forward-looking vision and broad outlook of the government in the field of
technology.
• In 2017, when ISRO launched 104 satellites into space on a single spacecraft and accomplished its first
Mars mission before that, India’s dominance in this field was established without any doubt.

Challenges Paved the Way:

• Almost 50 years ago, the telecom sector, like most other sectors, was dependent on multinational
companies to supply hardware.
• New technology could not make way to India due to high costs and a shortage of foreign exchange.
 • But a revolution swept the telecom sector in 1984 when the government, under the leadership of Sam
Pitroda, established the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT).
• Since the endeavour was to make the country self-reliant, the technology developed in the public sector
was generously transferred free of cost to private companies.
• Ultimately, the monopoly of multinational companies in the telecom sector in India was challenged.
• The resolution in the information technology sector and the computerization of railways are also path-
breaking events in India’s development journey.
• To break up the monopoly of foreign companies and to promote indigenous software and hardware
development, the Department of Electronics was established in the 1970s.
• When the use of information technology in Railway's passenger reservation project began in 1986, its
success not only shocked the world but made many processes easy and services accessible.
• The largest project proved how the technology could improve efficiency, cut corruption, and impact the
lives of millions.

Supercomputer

• Param - which was India’s first supercomputer, became a symbol of modern India’s technological
progress.
• The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) was established to cater to India’s
computing sector’s growing needs, especially the need for a supercomputer.

Resolve to Turn Crisis into Strength:

• ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (Self-reliant India campaign) has infused a new spirit of self-reliance in
India.
• The Prime Minister has opened new vistas of development and national pride by talking about
'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Vocal for Local'.
• The government has taken several major steps in the field of information technology.
• Novel innovations are being introduced, and new opportunities for economic development have been
created by opening new avenues somewhere and closing the old ones elsewhere.
• India has successfully attracted an unprecedented amount of new investment in information technology.
• The ban on Chinese applications engaged in dubious activities enthused India’s start-up ecosystem.
o While China has enforced restrictions on other countries' information technology companies and
provided every right or wrong support to establish its IT companies in other countries, India can
give legitimate incentives to domestic companies.

India —The Future Hub of Manufacturing:

• Domestic players such as Apple, Samsung, and Lava Group are set to make India a major export hub for
mobile device manufacturing.
• In this field, India can challenge China and Vietnam, which control 85% of the global export market.
• The government has recently approved manufacturing proposals in India of five global and five Indian
companies (Lava, Micromax, Padget, UTL Neolynes, and Optiemus), which under the Production Linked
Incentive Scheme (PLI) have committed to manufacturing 12,500 billion phones over five years.
• The success of the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) of the Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology is exceptional.
o Under this incentive scheme of about Rs. 41 thousand crores, 22 companies have shown interest
in manufacturing mobile phones in India.
o The plan will make India a global hub for the mobile phone manufacturing industry.
 • In the next five years, mobile equipment and components worth more than 11 lakh crore rupees will be
manufactured, out of which devices worth more than seven lakh crore rupees will be exported.
o In the process, three lakh direct and nine lakh indirect jobs will be created.

Possibilities Inherent in Digital India:

• Due to Digital India, huge success has been achieved in bringing one billion Indians online.
• Smartphones available at an affordable price in India, Internet connectivity (data) at reasonable rates and
the world-class infrastructure of telecommunications have made the amazing revolution of digitisation
come true.
• The way millions of Indians are making payments through digital channels, filing income tax returns,
booking railway tickets, using banking services, and using e-commerce, connecting with the government
machinery is an astounding achievement for the world that even developed countries like America and
Britain cannot compete with.
• The development of the country's digital psyche and the environment guarantees a blissful future as
information technology will continue to dominate economic development for at least two decades.

Note:

• IIT Alumni Council's establishment with a corpus of about 21 thousand crore rupees is a laudable
initiative.
• Funds going to institutions such as Stanford, Harvard, MIT has now started coming to Indian institutions
and can inspire the new generation towards innovation, self-reliance, opening new start-ups, and job
creation.
• Indian companies have announced to bring indigenous 5G technology.

Chapter 9: Marathi Literature

“The cult of Vitthal has been enormously important in making history of Maharashtra and in the
establishing of new ways of thinking, believing and behaving so much so that the history of Maharashtra
is markedly different from what it would have been if 'Dnyaneshwar and Namdev' had not lived."

— Rise of the Maratha Power, Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade

Evolution of Marathi Literature:

• The journey of Marathi literature covers about seven centuries; it begins with the old Yadav Dynasty and
flows down to the present times.
• ‘Mahanubhav Panth’ and ‘Warkari Sampradaya’ laid the foundation of Marathi literature and were
influenced by the Nath Panth (9th and 10th century).
• Nath Panth is a medieval movement.
o It combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions of India.
o Gorakhnath is considered the originator of the Nath Panth.
o Nath tradition has extensive Shaivism related to the logical literature of its own most of which is
traceable to the 11th century or later.
o The Nath tradition was influenced by other Indian traditions such as Advaita Vedanta - monism.
 o Further, Nath Panth influenced movements like Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Mahanubhav Panth and
Bhakti Movement.
• Mahanubhav Panth was founded by Sarvadnya Shri Chakradhar Swami in 1100-1200.
o The cult accepted all members irrespective of their castes.
o Mahanubhav literature generally comprises works that describe the incarnations of gods, the
history of the sect, commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, poetical works narrating the stores of the
life of Shri Krishna to explain the philosophy of Mahanubhava.
o Most of the religious literature of the Mahanubhav cult is in ancient Marathi prose.
• Leela Charitra is thought to be the first biography written in the Marathi language.
o It was written by Mhaimbhat.

Yadava Dynasty:

• History says that Yadava capital, “Devagiri” became a magnet for learned scholars in Marathi to
showcase and find patronage for their skills.
• The origin and growth of Marathi literature is directly linked with the rise of the Yadava dynasty.
• The Yadavas of Devagiri used Marathi as their court language.

Bhakti Movement:

• In Maharashtra, the Bhakti movement began in the late 13th century. It was in the rule of the Yadavas that
the tradition of Saints emerged. Bhakti movement was the result of the rejection of inequality and
ritualism.
• Saints like Dnyaneshwar and Vitthal sang in their local, colloquial language.
o People in large numbers began to be attracted to the Warkari sect.
o Warkari sect tried to outcast inequality based on discrimination.
• It was the first time when the great literature in Marathi bloomed.

Namdev:

• Namdev flourished some years after this period.

• He was a tailor by caste and profession.
• He wrote a great many ‘Abhangas’ on devotion to God.
• The first or early period of Marathi literature extended from 1200-1350 A.D.
• The style of the literature of this early period is called Archaic Marathi.
• Namdev being a poet of later date than Mukundraj and Dnyaneshwar, his style is somewhat more modern
and the purity of diction permeating all his poems is evident.

Note:

From the middle of the 14th century till the beginning of the 16th century, the Mohammedan Kingdom
ruled and the place of Marathi was taken by the Persian language. This was a completely blank period in
Marathi literature. Saint Eknath was born in 1518. The seed of literary genius germinated again.

• The third is the most brilliant period in the history of Marathi literature.
• It extends from the beginning of the 17th century to the close of the Peshwa rule. It was almost a period of
two hundred years.
• Three great poets Ramdas, Tukaram and Mukteshwar were born in only a year or so (about 1603 A.D.)
Saint Tukaram:

• Saint Tukaram, the greatest poet in Marathi literature preached asceticism, toleration and devotion to
God.
• He took the Bhakti movement to its height.
• He was a ‘Warkari' of devotionalism tradition.
• Saint Tukaram composed Abhanga poetry, a Marathi genre of literature that is metrically simple, direct,
and fuses folk stories with deeper spiritual themes.
• ‘Tukaramgatha’ is the Marathi language compilation of his works, which covers a wide range of human
emotions and life experiences.
• He includes a discussion about the conflict between ‘Pravritti’ and 'Nivritti' i.e. between having a passion
for life, family and business and the desire to renounce, leave everything behind and individual liberation
i.e., ‘Moksha’

Ramdas:

• Ramdas was a saint of keen insight.

• He wrote ‘Dasbodh’ containing sermons on abstract as well as practical topics.

Note:

• The Shayari tradition of the 7th century also became very popular which gave rise to a folk singing form
called ‘Powadas’ immortalising historical events that glorify the valour and heroic deeds of Shivaji.
• Literary criticism in Marathi is thought to have existed in the British period. It extended from the
beginning of the 19th century up to the present times.

Post-Independence Marathi literature:

• The Marathi poetry written during the first decade of the independence period is known as ‘Navkavita’.
• Globalisation has deeply influenced post-90s Marathi poetry.
• Women poets also contributed to Marathi poetry with their intense expression.

Kadambari:

• The novel is a popular genre in Marathi literature. In Marathi, the novel is called Kadambari.
• ‘Yamuna Paryatan’ is considered the first significant novel in Marathi written by Baba Padmanji.
• Narayan Sitaram Phadke was a major novelist who, with his romantic novel, dominated the Marathi
readers for almost two decades.
• Modern Marathi novel adopted all complexities of contemporary life.

Chapter 10: Modern Odia Poetry

Folk elements are interspersed not only in Odia poetry but amply evident in other literary forms, be it
novel or play and the like. In the context of upheaval, the establishment of time-tested normative order,
based on values assumes enormous importance while the world is going through turbulent times. A just
societal moral dispersion can only be enforced through the pursuit and propagation of folk literature.

Folk Culture:

• Folklore and folk culture have variously given a fillip and stimulated it to grow vividly.
• The language of folk literature is as simple and spontaneous as mountainous spring, so also its rhyme.
• Myths are extremely important in folk literature.
• Puranic epitaphs in modern poetry have transformed the societal realities into dramatic symbolism. It has
transposed individual experiences into a recipe for the masses.
• Myths further sharpen the edges of poetic expression.

Folk Literature of Odisha:

• Eminent Western scholar John Beams, while serving as the Collector of Baleswar, during the last phase of
the 18th century had initiated the task of collection, compilation and deliberation of folk literature in
Odisha.
• A seminal treatise, 'Folklore of Odisha', written by him was published in 'Indian Antiquity' in 1872.
• In the present context of globalisation, folk literature or folklore has been well recognised as a scientific
study of social process and development, like the other branches of social sciences.