Deepa Mehta's 'earth'
Earth is a twisted tale, of a group of people, from different classes and backgrounds that revolve around a Parsi family in Lahore. This movie takes us back to the once multi-ethnic city of Lahore, where different religions - Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism - all co-exist in harmony. Earth uses the eyes of a Parsi girl, Lenny, while examining the social vicissitudes in Lahore, from March 1947 (the start of the movie) up until the time when partition actually takes place: the abruptness and uncertainty of partition divides the social fabric of the sub-continent - especially in Punjab - stripping its inhabitants of all identification apart from their religious affiliation.
Lenny’s maid Shanta, to whom she is greatly attached, is Lenny’s only source to the outside world, which essentially includes a handful of suitors for Shanta and a few other working staff personnel of the Parsi family. In Lenny’s interactions with these people we find that the suitors are a heterogeneous mix, religion wise. As tensions brim in the city with refugees pouring in large numbers, this little group of associates make a hollow vow to stay united and support each other.
The benignity of the general population is demonstrated in a scene where Dil Nawaz - one of Shanta’s suitors - disguised as a maulvi, fakes a telephone call to God to appease a crowd that bombards him with political queries. Later, the very same naivety of the general public draws them into some of the most gruesome acts history has ever witnessed: one night, trains drenched in blood and filled with mutilated bodies arrive in Lahore from Gurdaspur - a Sikh dominated town. At least one thing is made clear: the apprehensions associated with partition had by now brewed into a religious war, with Muslims on one side and Sikhs and Hindus on the other.
This was a turning point in the movie. Dil Nawaz lost his sister who travelled from Gurdaspur to Lahore and was even more devastated when Shanta refused to marry him. Mehta successfully shows how Nawaz turns from ‘man’ to ‘beast’ as he kills his own friend, Hasan, a Muslim, who was planning to abscond with Shanta to Amritsar. In the end, the only Hindus that survive partition in Lahore are those that convert to another religion - mostly Christianity and Islam.
Jinnah’s decision to play the “Islam in danger” card, in his attempt to garner support for his political goals - which did not include the partition of Punjab and Bengal, coupled with Congress’ tilt towards using Hindu symbolism to gain support for itself, had ostensibly moulded the issue of independence into a religious framework, that seemed like a zero-sum-game of power struggle between the Hindu’s and the Muslims. Prior to partition, in a conversation between Gandhi and Jinnah, Gandhi said, “you have hypnotized the Muslims,” to which Jinnah retorted, “You have mesmerized the Hindus.”[1]
Partition is the perfect example of how religion based politics is capable of dissipating widespread fear among the masses, which in India’s case has stained its history forever with the blood of countless innocent men, women and children.
[1] Partition of Pakistan: Legacy of Blood (film)
Lenny’s maid Shanta, to whom she is greatly attached, is Lenny’s only source to the outside world, which essentially includes a handful of suitors for Shanta and a few other working staff personnel of the Parsi family. In Lenny’s interactions with these people we find that the suitors are a heterogeneous mix, religion wise. As tensions brim in the city with refugees pouring in large numbers, this little group of associates make a hollow vow to stay united and support each other.
The benignity of the general population is demonstrated in a scene where Dil Nawaz - one of Shanta’s suitors - disguised as a maulvi, fakes a telephone call to God to appease a crowd that bombards him with political queries. Later, the very same naivety of the general public draws them into some of the most gruesome acts history has ever witnessed: one night, trains drenched in blood and filled with mutilated bodies arrive in Lahore from Gurdaspur - a Sikh dominated town. At least one thing is made clear: the apprehensions associated with partition had by now brewed into a religious war, with Muslims on one side and Sikhs and Hindus on the other.
This was a turning point in the movie. Dil Nawaz lost his sister who travelled from Gurdaspur to Lahore and was even more devastated when Shanta refused to marry him. Mehta successfully shows how Nawaz turns from ‘man’ to ‘beast’ as he kills his own friend, Hasan, a Muslim, who was planning to abscond with Shanta to Amritsar. In the end, the only Hindus that survive partition in Lahore are those that convert to another religion - mostly Christianity and Islam.
Jinnah’s decision to play the “Islam in danger” card, in his attempt to garner support for his political goals - which did not include the partition of Punjab and Bengal, coupled with Congress’ tilt towards using Hindu symbolism to gain support for itself, had ostensibly moulded the issue of independence into a religious framework, that seemed like a zero-sum-game of power struggle between the Hindu’s and the Muslims. Prior to partition, in a conversation between Gandhi and Jinnah, Gandhi said, “you have hypnotized the Muslims,” to which Jinnah retorted, “You have mesmerized the Hindus.”[1]
Partition is the perfect example of how religion based politics is capable of dissipating widespread fear among the masses, which in India’s case has stained its history forever with the blood of countless innocent men, women and children.
[1] Partition of Pakistan: Legacy of Blood (film)
posted by khiju at 7:38 PM
3 Comments:
thanks for the comment from a few months ago. im sorry but i just saw it.
That said, i would say something but ur accuracy has left me with not much to say. In my defence i guess alot of courage is required in order for one to be hooked on to life. Lets just say when we played care bears as kids i wasnt exactly lion heart :).
.....about the fake birds... i guess im not very good with sarcasm.... i dont think ANYONE can actually take flight.... but believers will believe anything. gee... i guess i am cynical.
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