Towards Subaltern Modernity: Geo-politics in the Life-narrative of C.K. Janu

Abstract

The paper attempts to contribute to the debate on modernity from the perspective of resisting subaltern subjects, generating transformative effects of universal relevance. Choosing one’s life for narrative elaboration has often been seen as a distinctive marker of modernity. This is empirically informed by the narrative of C.K. Janu. The rallying cry of resistance as reflected through her life narrative Mother Forest: The Unfinished Story of C.K. Janu has shaped the notion of knowledge as emancipation in a regional context, but with a universal relevance. Mother Forest: The Unfinished Story of C. K. Janu is a brave project to revive a border culture. It can also be read as a counter-hegemonic practice, a resistance and a unique struggle against social exclusion. The narrative of C K Janu figures out as a resistance against social exclusion foisted on the sidelined subjects, interpreting subalternity in context. This life-narrative expresses a new subaltern modernity unraveling the duplicity of our institutionalized economy and polity. It provides a critique of the essentialist underpinnings of subalternity foregrounding the heterogeneity of the subaltern subjects in the process.