Memory & Entitlement as Instruments of Exile (Saad Hafeez)

To be rooted- a need which has been articulated as existentially imperative for every modern man. But for the exilic figure, the refugee- this need is recreated and articulated through memories of the homeland- reminiscent longings for a lifestyle and a culture that is no more. While Palestinian refugees re-create their exile by clinging onto memories of oranges, saber plants (Abufarha 345) and so on; we see Ibnul-Wuqt actively participating in the creation of his exile through reminiscence and the articulation of entitlement.

Painted as the ideal British subject- a man with the requisite education in languages, food preparation and the tehreek-e-kaar of eating- Ibnul-Waqt’s failure to assimilate into the British community lay primarily in his own memorial longing, along with the reminiscence of his intellectual adversaries. His quest to reach the rational ideal is routinely hampered by his own memorial articulations of old Indian dishes and foods (Ahmed 174), which reminds the reader of the corporeal counterpoint to his intellectual longings. He cannot be the ideal British subject precisely because of these subconscious memorial queues which keep reminding his rootedness in Indian traditions.

This uprooting is carried out, on the second instance, on a communal level, where specifically Muslim memories of entitlement force them to exteriorize both the British and the Hindus. Longing for a dismantled empire, the Muslim exile is recreated precisely through memories of prestige and excess which accompanied their inclusion in the ruling class. As the narrator paints the Hindus as ‘mimickers’, the resonance of these memories comes through in the ‘maa ka doodh’ (Ahmed 221) analogy, where the mother’s milk (re: the memory of nobility) is held onto as something vital. Articulating the vitality of these memories does much in displacing the Muslim community at large.

Finally, when looking at his intellectual adversary, Hujjut-ul-Islam, we note that the main bones of contention arise out of claims of memory. The figure of the new ideal Muslim- as it emerges in the collector’s letter- is voiced through his claims of establishing a continuity with a glorified past and redeeming that past life (Ahmed 269-271). It is Ibnul-Waqt’s refusal to ascribe to this form of purist religion- his refusal to align his memorial narrative with that of his community- which contributes to his displacement from the Muslims in India.

The essential point being made here is that subconscious articulations of memory are- both when used reflexively and imposingly- essential instruments of exile. Going beyond customs, languages, traditions and all that anthropological jazz, it is memory which is instrumental in producing these deep-seated feelings of exile.

Reference used: Abufarha, Nasser. "Land Of Symbols: Cactus, Poppies, Orange and Olive Trees In Palestine." Identities 15.3 (2008): 343-68. Print. p.354