Revolution, resistance, romanticism — freedom is worth fighting for

The French Revolution is widely recognised as one of the most influential events of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Europe with far-reaching consequences in political, cultural, social, and literary arenas. Although scholars like Jeremy Popkin point to more concrete political issues as grounds for the upheaval, supporters of the revolution rallied around more abstract concepts of freedom and equality, such as resistance to the King's totalitarian authority as well as the economic and legal privileges given to the nobility and clergy. It is in this resistance to monarchy, religion, and social difference that Enlightenment ideals of equality, citizenship and human rights were manifested. These beliefs had profound influence on the romantic poets.
According to Simon Bainbridge, Wordsworth and Coleridge translated the revolution's emphasis on man's equality into the "language of the common man" and "low" subject-matter in the Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworth's everyday language and subject choices look like a literary revolution that mirrors the historical revolution by breaking down the boundaries that separated poetry -- with its elevated characters, plots, and diction -- from ordinary representation. As revolutionary as the biological theories of Darwin and the political theories of Marx are, some would say the most revolutionary theory to emerge from the nineteenth century was Sigmund Freud's theory of human personality, as defined at a relatively late statement of his theories in a selection from Civilization and its Discontents. Freud's analysis of the price human beings pay for living in the "civilised" world offers one explanation for the incredible violence that has characterised the lives of individuals and nations throughout the twentieth century. Freud's approach was to analyse dreams to understand the emotional life and responses of individual human beings. One of Freud's colleagues, Carl Jung, used the same basic approach in trying to discover the relationships between the stories we tell ourselves, in all cultures and at all times, and the dreams of nations and people. Jung's theories have been of special interest to musicians, artists and writers.
Implicit in these theories are the notions which supported one of the most troublesome geopolitical legacies of the nineteenth century, colonialism, with its attendant problems of racism, exploitation and oppression. One of the first writers to raise serious questions about what colonialism was doing to the masters of the various European empires was Joseph Conrad, whose novel Heart of Darkness raises such questions. Conrad's novel explores colonialism and its attendant problems with such insight that Francis Coppola used it as the basis for Apocalypse. Coppola's film about the United States' involvement in Vietnam suggests that the war is a continuation of European colonialism in Southeast Asia. The film also explores the problems of war and violence in the twentieth century, a century which is arguably the bloodiest one.
While there are many ways in which music has been related to revolutions of every kind during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, none is more direct than the way protest music has served to speak directly to ordinary people, calling them to fight against injustices in their own situations or to support such revolutions in other parts of the world. During the 1960s, such music became a major influence in popular culture worldwide. Since the 1990s, some of the most interesting protest music was composed and performed by women reflecting the increasing awareness of women about their contributions to the culture of the people all over.
Existentialism is the major new philosophic perspective to emerge from the bloody wars and revolutions that have resulted from the colonialism, racism and sexism of this century. It is a philosophy that has emerged as much from art, drama and literature as it has from philosophic writings, and its formulations have been as various as its proponents. There are Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, atheist and agnostic existentialists like Sartre and Camus, and some of existentialism's tenets are rooted in Buddhist and Taoist precepts. Jean Paul Sartre's The Wall and Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus provide two examples of the existentialist approach to understanding the human condition in the face of scientific theory in biology and psychology which suggest that all choices are determined and the experience of many individuals in increasingly complex societies seem to restrict human freedom. These factors suggest humans do not choose their actions and are controlled by forces outside of themselves. Existentialism rejects such views, and makes the case for choice.
 "Hastings' impeachment is characteristic of the sense of justice that seems to arise during the romantic period. However, the eventual disinterest of the public in the outcome of his lengthy trial may have set a precedent for the imperial bureaucracy to extend red tape, prolonging the resolution of issues which called its own validity into question past the point of popular concern." (Jody Dunvile)
"Despite the decline of Communism worldwide, the Leftist ideology continues to dominate India. Even today, the political correctness in the country is being dictated by the prevailing left prejudice. We continue to follow the obsolete yardstick of the mindless search of the root cause of any incident, which precisely veers around the socio-economic factors. In the process, there is a tendency to lose sight of the primary element associated with the incident. Thus, while dealing with the Maoist menace we talk about trickling down of the socio-economic benefits to the poor without realising the fact that this process needs a semblance of governance in the region. Telengana continues to be under-developed place despite 50 years of insurgency in the region. One needs to remember that any benefit can reach the needy only when rule of law is established in the region. It is in this perspective that the words of Rabindra Ray make sense: 'If the Naxalite violence is to be checked, it demands the meeting of violence with violence.' Only then the socio-economic preventives would be effective in healing the malaise." (Beyond the Realm of Romanticism -- Utpal Kumar)
Let us look at the political history of Bengal. Bengal was the epicentre of the Swadeshi movement. It produced more violent movements against the British rule since the Sepoy Mutiny than any other province. So the politics in Bengal has been dominated by anti-establishment since the British period. Also, Bengal was the first state to witness movements for workers' rights in India. These movements did not have much to do with communism but the driving force of a left movement has to come from the workers. Bengal observed industrial strikes since the late 19th century and these movements were crucial in the development of class consciousness among workers. There were also massive peasant movements in Bengal before the independence. The Tebhaga movement was one such movement which was against the Zamindari (feudal) system. It was a movement for demanding one-third of share of the crop for the peasants who produced them. After independence these movements continued with demands for land reforms, food security and for rehabilitation of the refugees. These movements were utilised by the Communist party to build a solid mass base among a large section of the people.
Dr. Barrows, in his History of the Parliament of Religions, writes, "Since faith in a Divine Power to which men believe they owe service and worship, has been like the sun -- a life-giving and fructifying potency in man's intellectual and moral development; since religion lies at the back of Hindu literature with its marvellous and mystic developments; of the European Art, whether in the form of Grecian statues or Gothic cathedrals; and of American liberty and the recent uprisings of men on behalf of a juster social condition; and since it is as clear as the light, that the religion of Christ has led to many of the chief and noblest developments of our modern civilisation, it did not appear that religion is any more than education, art, or electricity, should be excluded from the Columbian Exposition."
"[…] if in these times of fear,
This melancholy waste of hopes o'erthrown,
If, 'mid indifference and apathy
And wicked exultation, when good men,
On every side fall off we know not how,
To selfishness, disguis'd in gentle names
Of peace, and quiet, and domestic love,
Yet mingled. Not unwittingly, with sneers
On visionary minds; if in this time
Of dereliction and dismay, I yet
Despair not of our nature; but retain
A more than Roman confidence, a faith
That fails not, in all sorrow my support."- William Wordsworth.
Freedom, indeed living in a free environment where all talents and creativity can explode, needs testing, challenging and, above all, is worth fighting for - all emotions and feelings will conjure up romantic cherish.
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