Voices of Rebellion

Abstract

iv newlineABSTRACT newlineA little magazine is a periodical run with little capital and resources where artistic expression newlinealong with literary experimentation rather than commercial gain is the driving force behind its newlinecreation. Not burdened by profit concerns, little magazine editors have the independence to newlineaddress issues and concerns generally not addressed by the mainstream media and in the process newlinecounter the latter s dominant narratives. Little magazines are symbols of protest be they against newlineconventional literary forms or established social customs or political systems. They gave a fillip newlineto the Dalit movement in Maharashtra. In Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, little magazines newlineserved as alternative media platforms and expressed Marxist political and cultural ideas and also newlineboosted the literary career of several renowned writers and poets. newlineThe late sixties also witnessed the outbreak of the armed Naxalbari rebellion that sparked off in newlineNaxalbari (West Bengal) in 1967. The movement spread to the cities, especially Kolkata and newlinecaught the fancy of the urban youth. The little magazines mentioned above all aligned themselves newlinewith the Naxalite cause though their editors were not directly associated with the CPI-ML, the newlinepolitical party of the Naxalites. newlineThe aim in my research study is to understand the character and role of left radical little newlinemagazines with a focus on the Naxalbari uprising. The little magazines in Bengal, like elsewhere, newlinewere initially bold attempts to introduce new forms in literature and poetry styles. After the newline1950s, several political little magazines appeared espousing the communist ideology. This trend newlinewas set off by Porichoy, one of the oldest surviving Bengali little magazines. As mentioned newlineabove, left radical little magazines such as Aneek, Anushtup, and Frontier among others voiced newlinetheir support to the Naxalbari cause during the 1960s. My study of the little magazine movement newlinein Bengal is expected to throw new light into the rebellious nature of little magazines in general newlineand their representation of Marxist movements such as the Naxalbari agitation during the newlineturbulent sixties and early seventies in West Bengal. newlineThrough my study I intend to address the following questions:v newline1. How did little magazines influence the cultural and ideological climate of the 1960s and newline70s in West Bengal, particularly in terms of disseminating Marxist ideas and social newlineanalysis? newline2. What was the reach and impact of little magazines of this period in terms of circulation newlineand the nature of the readership? newline3. How did the little magazines construct and represent the Naxalbari uprising? And how newlinedid the Naxalite leadership perceive these publications? newline4. Were there conflicting voices and contestations within the little magazines in Bengal, in newlinetheir relationship to the Naxalbari movement? newline5. What were the silences and erasures within the little magazines, and the Naxalbari newlinemovement, in terms of their response to social phenomena? newline6. After the heyday of the Naxalbari movement, how did the little magazines in Bengal newlinerelate to the concerns that the movement addressed? newline7. What are the changes that Bengali little magazines have undergone in the context of the newlineinternet and digital technologies? newlineMy research into these questions is expected to enhance our understanding of the roles that little newlinemagazines play as an alternative media platform as well as why they sustain the readers interest newline(however limited) even in this digital age. The study would also enable us to comprehend the newlinerelevance of little magazines today. newlineKeywords: Bengali little magazines, Naxalbari movement, protest, counter culture, newline