Chapter VI
Inferences and Conclusions
Almighty God has given every human being right to use reason to imagine the future and express it if he can the view of his future world or his idea of ideal human society. Authors being imbibed with the element of lofty imagination and keen observation are able to do it conveniently and convincingly as they have ability to express ‘ what oft was thought, but seldom expressed ‘. With this premise this work was taken up to take into account the projection about the future world and human society as expressed by them through their works. For this purpose three authors were selected belonging having some similarities and differences. The three authors selected were Rahul Sankritayan, Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. Two of them almost belonged to the same culture and civilisation as both Aldous Huxley and George Orwell had spent most of their life in Europe particularly England, though Huxley has spent a part of his life in United States of America too. And not only that these two authors had a student-teacher relationship also as Aldous Huxley had taught Orwell at Cambridge and he had high opinion of Huxley as a teacher. Third auhtor Rahul Sanskritayan, though a traveller had spent most of his life in India despite going to China, Japan and Russia during his travels. So it is expected that he projects the oriental view of the future world through his works. George Orwell was born in India in Motihari Bihar and spent some of his life in India and Burma, now Myanmmar. So all the three authors were related and connected to each other directly or indirectly, though it is not likely that Rahul has met Orwell at any point of time in his life.
As studying all the works of these authors, even fictions would have been impossible task and beyond the limit of the book so one representative work of each author was selected to ascertain their views about the future world. Hence one work of each one of them was selected for the study and that too in which they had projected their views about the future human world and society. Hence these three works- Baaeswin Sadi by Rahul Sankritayan, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell in which these novelists have projected their views about the future world. Almost all of them have lived and wrote in the same time and hence they can be termed as contemporaries technically though atleast two of them- George Orwell and Aldous Huxley have never met Rahul Sankritayan in their lives. They have lived and wrote in twentieth century when world was passing through a difficult phase and due to devastating World War I many poets like Eliot and Yeats believed that the end of the world had come. Humanity was suffering with a number of problems like violence, poverty, exploitation and a freedom struggle had also initiated against the imperialist powers in Asian and African countries. Due to success of Russian and Chinese revolution Marxism or Communism had become a great force to reckon with in the contemporary world. Though communist societies were getting transformed into totalitarian regimes gradually but even before that Nazi Germany under Hitler and Fascist Italy under the leadership of Mussolini had already given birth to dictatorial societies in which individual freedom and liberty of expression had been butchered ruthlessly. Due to it the world had divided into two opposite camps with conflicting interest and with equally aggressive posture- Capitalist Block led by U.S.A, U.K and France and communist block led by USSR and China. But even before that Allies were united for the cause of democracy and freedom against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy that engendered World War II that was even more destructive and violent than its predecessor First World War. The emergence of nuclear weapon had convinced many that the end of human society and world is not far off if the arms race is not restrained and the nuclear weapons are brought under control though international pressure and humanistic appeals. This has led many intellectuals to think about the future world and human society in coming times. Perhaps with this view these authors also wrote these works warning human society of the dangers imminent in both Capitalistic as well as communistic society so as to avoid these risks in order to create ideal , congenial, peaceful and healthy human society to live in and to find the lasting solution to the problems that the human society is encountering at that time when these authors wrote these works and gave expression to their views of ideal human society.
One of the work that was taken up for the study was Rahul Sankritayan’s fictional work Baaeswi Sadi ( Twenty Second Century) in which he projects the future world in the year 2124 A.D, which was one of the justification of this work being taken up for the study so as to ascertain how much of his predictions have turned to be true by the beginning of the year 2024, which is a century earlier than the time in which he had imagined the human society to be in. Though there is no evidence that Rahul Sankritayan had come across the other two authors under study- Aldous Huxley and George Orwell yet like them he has tried to look into future like these two authors. His projection about the future world, atleast in India, is more positive, healthy and optimistic that the world projected by Orwell and Huxley. Due to some effect he went into a cave and had along sleep for about a century and when his slumber ended he came out of the cave to find totally changed world. Though at the time he went into the cave he was still sixty years old and was serving as a teacher in one of the most prestigious educational institution Nalanda University but he found that the world and society around him had changed completely and mankind has learnt to control and eliminate the demerits of the society that prevailed during the twentieth century or in the year 1924. They have eliminated war, weapons and arsenal and have done away with army and defence ministry even at the level of the world state. They have done away with all caste, racial and other prejudices that had become menace for the Indian society in particular and humanity in general. In equality of any kind- social, gender, religion and caste has been rooted out and pure meritocracy prevails as like Plato in his work Republic, children are considered as the property of the state and not the individual one, so children are left in the school at a very early age where they are given full, fair and equal chance to pursue their inclinations and natural talents without any discrimination of gender, caste or any other hierarchy. There is full gender parity in this society which was not even dreamed in the year in which this work was composed and even today it has not been achieved completely in word and spirit. The working conditions have changed altogether, their working facilities have improved, working hours have been reduced and they get a lot of leisure to pursue their hobbies. They have managed their system so well that most of the beings are put to work after the completion of their secondary education as they are given jobs according to their qualification and interests and only selected few, really talented geniuses are allowed to continue their higher education further. Transport and communication system has changed a lot and they have nearly achieved the merit of punctuality. Author imagines a phone like instrument in which you can see even the image of the caller which is quite similar to the video call on the mobile phone of today but it was still unthinkable in the year 1924 when this work was written as it was still the age of analog dialling phones that too were available only in important government offices and with rich and elite class. In those days even the radios were also available only in the cities and in the offices of the muincipalities and Panchayat offices in the villages, atleast in India. In those days when this work was composed India was reeling under the torture of Imperialism, slavery and industrialisation that had led to the exploitation of the labour. Due to coming of the industries and slums around it the working and living conditions of the labours working in it had simply become inhumane, miserable and unbearable. They were faced by untold sufferings through out their lives that led to strikes, violence and protests against the capitalists. There was no freedom of speech or expression as it was not tolerated by the government of the day. But in the society of Baaeswin Sadi every body is free to express his opinion without any fear of oppression or exploitation. The problem of hunger and starvation has been completely solved as there is enough and health food for everybody, there is no shortage of anything hence there is no problem of incidents like hoarding, undue profit, and even stealth and thefts as everybody has adequate resources to lead a simple, dignified, clean and hygienic life in this world.
As far as one of the research question is concerned whether these works are science fiction and dystopia, it can be safely concluded that this work is not a dystopian fiction from any angle as the only negative thing depicted in this work is that the people who are suffering from incurable maladies are segregated from the society and kept in isolation so as to save the rest of the society from infection or harm of any kind, though these people are looked after well in the best possible humane way till their life ends providing the best of the medical facilities, otherwise this society is an ideal place to live in as they have learnt to overcome every hurdle and solve every problem encountered by the human society in the past. They have rooted out every kind of exploitation and every kind of problem like illiteracy, poverty, backwardness etc and the life is totally ideal and perfect in this society as they have learnt to regulate their democratic set up perfectly. There is flawless democracy right from the village level to the level of the world state. World cabinet includes representative from every important culture and significant country like Britain, Germany, Japan, China, America and of course India. Though it is nearly not a dystopian work but still much has to be achieved to acquire the level of life that has been projected in the work. Even nearly after the passage of the century since the composition of this work life in India and elsewhere is far from the ideal life projected in it. Still country is facing the demons of poverty, backwardness, unemployment, inflation and the innumerable divisions in the society based on colour, caste, creed and gender. Hence, it can be safely said about this work though it may not be a dystopian work but as far as the current life goes it is very much unreal or perhaps too much idealistic to be realised even in the next century. May almighty bless this country and world that it may achieve that level of life that has been projected in this work.
The second work under study is Aldous Huxley’s work Brave New World in which author imagines the future world modelled on capitalism and mass production. It imagines that science has advanced to that technologically advanced level that it has controlled the production of human beings like the cars in a factory on one hand it has facility to get the required number of professionals and workers in the society by controlling the supply of several type of fluids and acids in the embryo thus producing different set of individuals like Alphas, Beta, Gamma, Epsilons and the like and encouraging a particular type of behaviour with the help of electric current conditioning and hyponaedic conditioning. On the other hand the World Controllers have made the people slave of the drug known as Soma. People are disturbed not over their working conditions but they get agitated when they come to know that somebody has thrown Soma stock into the sea and the situation does not come under control till the new supply of Soma comes and the reply is resumed. The world depicted in this novel is like an ice candy which appears attractive, colourful and delicious outwardly but in content it is hollow and nothing but water and sugar and perhaps a bit of milk. Similarly though the life depicted in the novel is colourful and attractive externally but internally it is hollow, worthless and fickle. Life has become so mechanical that there is no place for emotions, sentiments and even rationality as the aim of this society is to achieve sustainable stability but these things are obstacles to it. There is no innovation in thought and action of these people as their rulers want to drown them in the dope of Soma so as to sustain their rule indefinitely. So although the life seems health and fulfilling like but comparing it with the life depicted in Rahul’s work it is like a hollow pipe before a solid steel pipe. The only characters that do not fit in the society are either outsiders belonging to savage civilisation like Adam or people like Bernard Marx and Helmholtz who are output of some lapse in the process of their birth. Adam becomes the symbol of rebellion against the status quo as he refuses to accept the synthetic and plastic artificial life of the society and resorts to natural life of penance and punishment so as to purify his body and soul of any sin that he might have committed by coming to this world along with this mother. The people of this world are also unable to comprehend the natural affections of a son for his mother that John exhibits at the time of his mother’s death as they had not seen any body who had come to hospital to see some dying person. So in this work though physically people of this world have achieved stability and prosperity but they are hollow from inner, they are moving without any soul or conscience of their own. Due to their addiction to Soma they have simply have become slaves of the masters of the world. They cannot think independently, have no morality to judge what is right or wrong that is why John who has been left out of their world by chance is a total stranger to this society even though his colour and features match with the people of this world. He belongs to the old world order that has been marginalised, stifled, alienated by the rulers of the city. So it can be safely inferred about this work that though externally the work does not seem to be a dystopian work but internally life depicted in this novel is not satisfying or fulfilling and it is without any conscience, soul or ethics. Hence, in this sense it can be considered as dystopian work to some extent.
The picture of the future world given in the third work under study Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four is the most horrifying and terrifying one. There is no scope of any individuality or privacy in this world as the Party in power demands hundred percent allegiance, faith, loyalty, devotion and obedience from all the people. They have employed technology to reach the innermost recesses of human mind and heart to detect any deviation from the principles of the party. They cannot think even of opposing party doctrines in their sleep and dreams. Protagonist’s neighbour, Mr Parson who is otherwise a devoted worker is just arrested because he shouts Down with Big Brother in his sleep which was a heresy and he is handed over to the police by his own children who act as spies and eyes and ears of the administration to trace any dissent among the people. Rulers of this world have used science and technology to study and observe the things that an individual fears the most. They use that method to bring the person in line with their thought, that they call as reformation or curing process. In the case of the protagonist of the novel Winston Smith, O’ Brien who is agent of Thought Police knows that Winston fears the rats the most. When Winston is still not ready to betray his beloved Julia, O’Brien uses this method of bringing a cage full of hungry rats near his face to bring him inline with the party doctrines and he betrays Julia that was the his last outpost of rebellion against the establishment that too falls.
Authors have imagined about the future world in the past, and they will continue to do so in future too. These three authors had been taken who were almost contemporaries, distantly connected with each other though living in different geographical regions. In the study of these works it can be inferred that if Baeeswi Sadi by Rahul Sankrityan is the one extreme, though it may not appear real even after the passage of nearly hundred years after its composition, then George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four is the other end on extreme as it dose not seem possible in the age of democracy any government will go to that extent to extract cent percent obedience from its citizens, though Nazi Germans and Russian Communists have nearly done so in the past. As far as dystopia is concerned if these three works are to be put on the scale of 1-10, 1 being the less dystopian work and 10 being the nearest to the dystopian work, then it can safely be concluded that Rahul Sankritayan’s work Baaeswi Sadi is least dystopian in nature and it can be place on number 2 on the scale, and Aldous Huxley’s work Brave New World can come at point 5 or 6 of the scale Orwell’a work Nineteen Eighty Four can be placed on the point 8-9 of the scale. Though every human being has brain to imagine about the future world but writers being ,sensitive mind and lofty imagination give the words to their thoughts that leads the average man to say ‘what oft is thought, but seldom expressed’ as most of the common men are mute authors. That is the utility of these authors and works for the humanity as they educate and warn the humanity about the future so that they can rectify the shortcomings and make this world a better place in future.
References
Abrahms, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms: New Delhi, Macmillan, 1995
Huxley, Aldous, Brave New World: New York, Granada, 1977
Orwell, George, Nineteen Eighty Four : Jaipur, Arushi Book Enterprises, 2020
Sankritiyan, Rahul, Baaeswin Saadi, allahbad, Kitab Mahal, 1953
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