From Socialist Realism to a More Radical Poetic Discourse: Indian Context

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to look at poems in Indian languages to explore how the idea of socialist-realist poetics was received in these languages and how it played a crucial role over time. The Indian poets, inspired by the idea of socialist realism, tried utmost to convert the oppressed peoples’ voice into poetic aesthetic. How did they address the conflicting space between the middleclass-centered morale, values, class consciousness and the desire of a working-class revolution? How did they apply a prototyped optimism of the socialist-realist model in the caste-based, religion-tormented Indian reality? Was the socialist-realist poetics insufficient to represent the voice of the oppressed? Did the socialist-realist critics misjudge the poetic aesthetic and the progressive elements? Sometimes the line between mere propaganda/slogan and the poetic aesthetic became blurred and sometimes artificial optimism failed to look at the real reactions of the working class. The point at which this paper would conclude is the transition of poetry from a propagandist tool to a more radical poetic discourse on the Indian reality.