Reactions and Insights - African and Indian Literature

By Hizzel B. De Castro

African Literature

             Africa, as one of the continents having a very distinct cultural and historical background, has contributed a great asset to the world literature. Though most of the black people in the land are said to be “illiterate”, according to most intelligentsia, their literature has become one of the world’s main current literature that have been studied and emphasized.

African literature is described to be one of the world’s complex literatures. The fact has been determined for this one main reason: it has revealed a lot of crucial and critical issues regarding the life, experiences and inner struggles of most black people. However, the issues on modern society and people have given emphasis in some ways. The uniqueness of African Literature has been distinguished through the creativeness of the writers that has truly worked for its existence.

The manner it is written, in some works just like of Achebe, has affected the impression of people in different societies. The way the words were expressed was not a subterfuge but a reflection of the dominant events that African people have encountered inside and outside their society. It is not perverse to any principles they have been holding into but a concrete illustration of the conflicts, obstacles and controversies that had been taking placedown from centuries to the present time.

Furthermore, for many reviewers and critics of literature, it has been distinguished that the major issues that were introduced by African literature has a great impact for both inside and outside societies of the African continent. These relevant matters can be seen and observed through the shared themes in most literary pieces written with utmost dedication by various authors. Basically, the themes that are explicit but mostly implicit revealed these following majorissues; slavery, apartheid, racial segregation, sexual issues, inferiority complex, colonial repression, origin, preservation of cultures and traditions, etc. These themes which binds the virtues of black people have had influenced the impressions of many, especially the “superior” people.

            On the other side, African literature has proved its progress from time to time, for it has greatly emphasized the difference of modernism and cultural heritage.

            It can be concluded that African Literature will be one of the most studied literature in the future times, for it has truly expressed the more significant and evaluative things about life. Most probably, the existence of their literature will continue to make an effect to the way of thinking of the black, the white and also the brown. 

Indian Literature

“India is a cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of the history, grandmother of the legend and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.” – Mark Twain.

India is a country that has acquired a great history from the ancient times. Its early Sanskrit literature was truly a gift for the first existence of their literature.  It is can be said that it has been rich in principles that had given impact for both ancient and modern people. The Vedas, for example, had been believed to possess great teachings for the people of the land. Its antiquity has contributed the full appreciation of their literature.

It is believed that Indian literature is the oldest literature in the world. Since India had a vast cultural diversities, huge literature has been produced for over many years. It can be concluded also that Hindu literary traditions have been a concrete reflection of Indian literary excellence.

Indian literature has also been of great distinction. This fact has had been understood through the creative interpretations of most distinguished reviewers of literature. For instance, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, as the world’s grand epics which found their existence in India settings, is a concrete example of the great epochs in the history of Indian literature.

Indian literature is of great antiquity in the sense that their literature that has been also described to be vernacular had existed before the time of A.D. that is, the Sanskrit Sacred Vedic text. It can be concluded that most of their literature reveals the very principle they had- that strong belief in Hinduism is necessary to save mankind. Indian literature, in addition, is said to be based on piousness, a deeply religious spirit. Its pietistic character had fully been developed thoroughly. 

Like African literature, Indian literary works has also undergone challenge over time. But it has continued to find its progress with the help of the famous writers.
 These literatures of them have a value that continually exists. Though there had been a lot of modernism in literature, still, Indian literature has found its way to exist. The most famous Indian authors of the modern era, like Rabindranath Tagore, V.S. Naipaul, R.K. Narayan and other authors, have genuinely shared good ideas about the life’s conflicts, and controversies.

 Indian literature, though in its antiquity, will continue to be one of the treasures of literature in the world for it has truly had its own greatness uniqueness that no other literature could have been acquired.