The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

"Today's Indian society is undergoing revolutionary changes. The reactionary forces that are dying are struggling madly to delay their lives. Their destruction is inevitable and unquestionable...The purpose of our association is to transform literature and art from...the reactionary class Save it from the control of the people, bring literature closer to the people, and become an effective way to reflect life and build the future..."

——Excerpted from "Manifesto of Progressive Writers of India".

Wherever there is oppression, there is resistance. This is true everywhere, and India is no exception.

Before the arrival of the British colonists, "India" was just a geographical term and a religious term. This subcontinent is full of states and has never been truly unified, let alone the concept of a country.

It was the British colonial rule that allowed Indians to gradually unite spiritually and ideologically, and began to self-identify with the country and national concept of "India".

The British also wanted to divide and rule, for example, deliberately creating regional and religious conflicts to make local Indians hate each other. However, with the brutal rule of the British, ethnic conflicts still became the main contradiction, and a series of independent liberation movements emerged.

The funniest thing is the first Indian Rebellion. Although there were various deep-seated reasons, the direct cause was the presence of butter and lard on the bullets. Soldiers had to bite them open with their teeth when loading. This insulted Hindu and Green believers, and a total of 85 soldiers refused to use these bullets. The British officers tied them up, stuffed bullets into the soldiers' mouths, and then ignited the beacon fire of the Indian uprising.

The Indians also tried many armed resistances, but unfortunately they were suppressed by the British colonists. The huge disparity in strength between the two sides made Indian progressives feel desperate, so they gave birth to the "non-violent non-cooperation movement" represented by Gandhi.

The progressive literary movement in India in the 1930s and 1940s was very similar to the modern literary movement in China, and was extremely revolutionary in its early stages. This put the British colonists on the verge of a formidable enemy and arrested more than 20 well-known writers within two or three years. The literary revolutionary movement across India fell into a low ebb.

The outbreak of World War II, the signing of the Joint Declaration of the United Nations, and Japan's rapid expansion in Asia. These events allowed Indian writers to see opportunities again, so they secretly discussed how to make a comeback.

The future India, Bangladesh and Pakistan were collectively known as British India at this time. More than a dozen progressive writers from all over the country quietly gathered in Calcutta. Some writers were arrested before they even boarded the train - they were under long-term surveillance.

The meeting place was a manor on the outskirts of Calcutta. Zhou Hexuan and Zhang Leyi took the train for two days to get there.

The person who came to the station to greet him was a servant named Duwan Patida. Just from the surname "Patida", we know that he is the lowest-level Sudra among the four major castes in India. He is dark and thin.

Partida bent down and saluted, and said in Indian English with a Bengali accent: "Your Majesty, the great Mahatma, I am Partida, a servant of Lord Gauss. Please allow me to guide you."

In India, a "Mahatma" in a broad sense refers to a person of noble character and superior intelligence. Zhou Hexuan never thought that one day he would also be called a Mahatma.

"Thank you." Zhou Hexuan nodded and smiled.

Zhou Hexuan held Zhang Leyi's hand, and Partida led him out of the station. Not long after, he saw a carriage.

Partida lowered her head and knelt down and said, "Please get in the car!"

A thin man in ragged clothes passed by them carrying a sack. It was almost evening at this time, and the sun was tilted, making the person's shadow longer. The person stepped directly on the shadows of Zhou Hexuan and Zhang Leyi.

"stop!"

Partida, who had just behaved extremely humbly in front of Zhou Hexuan, suddenly looked like an angry lion, pointed at the man carrying the sack and said: "You have offended a Mahatma, you must pay the price!"

The man carrying the sack looked at his feet, then at Zhou Hexuan, then suddenly threw away the sack and knelt down, kowtowing crazily like a chicken pecking at rice.

"What's going on?" Zhang Leyi was startled.

"I don't know." Zhou Hexuan was also a little confused.

Partida kicked the man over and then beat him wildly, while passers-by turned a blind eye.

Zhou Hexuan quickly stopped him and asked, "Stop fighting. What's going on?"

Partida pointed to the man lying on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, Mahatma, this is an untouchable. He just stepped on the shadows of you and your wife."

Zhang Leyi couldn't bear it and advised: "It's nothing, I just stepped on the shadow."

"No, this is an unforgivable offense, please allow me to punish him!" Partida said and started kicking again.

The man huddled on the ground holding his head, screaming in pain from time to time. But even with this cry of pain, he was still enduring it, as if he was not even qualified to cry out for mercy.

Zhou Hexuan really couldn't stand it, so he asked Sun Yongzhen to pull Patida aside. Then he took out a 10 yuan pound, placed it next to the man and said, "I'm really sorry, this is compensation for you."

The man didn't seem to understand English and huddled there shivering.

"You are so kind," Partida complimented, and then said to the man, "You are lucky to have met a tolerant wise man today."

It wasn't until Zhou Hexuan and others got on the carriage that the man picked up the pound, knelt down and kissed the place where Zhou Hexuan had just stood.

Generally, the highest way for lower castes to show respect to upper castes is to kneel down and kiss each other's shoes or toes. But that man was a pariah and untouchable. He could only kiss the ground to show respect and gratitude.

Zhang Leyi sat on the carriage, turned her head and looked at the scene from a distance, frowned and said: "This place in India is really scary, it is simply unreasonable."

"Yes, it's unreasonable." Zhou Hexuan nodded.

The Patida who was responsible for picking up the train was a servant of the Indian philosopher Aurobindo Gauss. He must have had some literary talent, but he was also so brutally discriminatory towards untouchables.

In India, there are also untouchables who are self-taught and change their destiny.

For example, Ambedkar, the "Father of the Indian Constitution", was born as an untouchable and was the first untouchable in Indian history to hold a university degree. He naturally became the leader of India's untouchables. He opposed Gandhi's position of protecting the caste system. The two reached a compromise in 1932 - that is, after the founding of India, untouchables were allowed to have the right to vote.

Even though he should have an infinitely high status as the "Father of the Indian Constitution", Ambedkar, who was born as an untouchable, was still discriminated against. In anger, he openly announced his separation from Hinduism, converted to Buddhism, and became an advocate of the Buddhist revival movement in India.