HISTORY AND TYRANNY IN RUSKIN BOND’S A FLIGHT OF PIGEONS

Abstract

Colonialism, a system which exerts one’s power and influence over others for establishing one’s control over the captives, certainly reshuffles the life and economy of the colonized. The colonizers are forced to undergo a change of identity with their arrival to the colonial lands, whereas the colonized are imposed to follow the cultural pattern.

This paper analyses the psychological and sociological existence, racial stereotypes, impact of cultural conflict and political trauma of both the colonizer and the colonized in a colonized nation. Ruskin Bond, an Anglo-Indian writer, realistically portrays the impact of 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, which is registered as the First War of Independence in Indian history, in his novella A Flight of Pigeons. The writer strictly follows the historical incident with some fictional touch and makes the story highly influential. The paper also focuses on the difficult times when the British officials are massacred and how the members of their family surrendered themselves blindly to the opponents for their survival. Through this novella, Ruskin Bond throws light on the colonial dilemma where

people undergo varied psychological and sociological experiences in their struggle for survival. Racial marginalization which causes mental stress leading to depression and frustration is also highlighted. The paper lays emphasis on the cross-cultural issues that pave way for loss of identity and cultural disasters. By depicting the politics of power and mixed-racial marginality, A Flight of Pigeons steadfastly affirms that colonialism and war often end in vanity and destruction abruptly.