EEG-VIII (UT-27)
Bachelors Programme
of caste discrimination remains a living Indian
B. D. P.
Term End Examination December, 2013 & June, 2014
reality. India has been majorly a caste-stratified
society since time immemorial and in spite of
Elective Course
ENGLISH
modernizing
( Eighth Paper : Essay and Unseen )
Time : Four Hours
EEG-VIII (UT-27)
Full Marks : 100
( Weightage of Marks : 70% )
Special credit will be given for accuracy and relevance
in the answer. Marks will be deducted for incorrect
spelling, untidy work and illegible handwriting.
The weightage for each question has been
indicated in the margin.
discrimination
blows,
oppressive
stealthily
continues
caste
to
sting,
though with compromised venom. The Dalits
were
mostly
indigenous
people
who
were
traditionally considered at the bottom of the
Indian Sanskritic system of social stratification.
They were also known as avarnas, meaning
1.
2.
Write an essay on any one of the following
topics :
40 1 = 40
those not accepted within the four-fold caste
(a)
Art and Morality
( varna ) system of the Aryans. They were
(b)
Literature in the age of Multimedia
perceived as so polluting that even their touch or
(c)
Crime fiction
(d)
Autobiography as an art form
(e)
The Psychological novel
(f)
The Historical novel
( Untouchables ). Historically they have been
(g)
Tradition and Modernity
subjects of most abhorrent violations of human
(h)
Childrens Literature.
shadows would defile the people of the higher
castes and hence they were named Achhutas
Write the substance of the following passage and
add a critical note on its theme and prose style.
20 + 10 = 30
dignity born out of caste discrimination. Though
widely reformed, yet even in 21st Century one
comes
across
horrid
cases
of
caste
based
Marginal writing is an engagement with a social
oppression. Physical violence on dalits in eastern
commitment. Marginality, especially in the form
India is definitely less than the states like
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EEG-VIII (UT-27)
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Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan but that is
rich diversity in all possible forums voicing
frequently because they remain silent in the face
marginal/dalit concerns and their bold and frank
of deprivation in employment, education and
perspectives.
other regular social engagements. Day-to-day
under the post-colonial category of subaltern
social
and
studies. Dalit/marginal literature is a child of a
exploitation of the dalits are still common in
peculiar Indian social system. Therefore, for
different parts of rural Eastern India. In the
proper understanding of the writings related to
recent past a steady chorus of Dalit voices has
this Indian subaltern group, fair knowledge of
been making itself audible in Eastern India.
both the system of stratification as well as the
There are some magazines from across Eastern
lives of these subaltern groups is necessary. A
India which focus on dalit aesthetics and dalit
sound
writings. These offer platforms for the rhetoric of
militant in texture. Taking up their pens in revolt
resistance and a polyphony of voices from this
as their bows and arrows, they fight when they
marginal community. We are not theorizing these
write. Their narratives are also poetics of pain. It
special articulations. Dalit Mirror is a literary
is sad but true that Dalit/marginal literature of
endeavour of an editorial board consisting of a
the Eastern India is still not included in the
group of dalit writers from Kolkata and Agartala,
academic curricula
Manohar Mouli Biswas, the editor of Dalit Mirror
hardly any text prescribed up to + 2 level and in
writes, FORGET NOT that the Dalit Literature is
most cases up to higher education. Leading
in its first generation writing. Engagement with
contemporary Bengali dalit writers like Manohar
these marginal writers and writers on marginality
Mouli
has been greatly enlightening. We appreciate the
Mandal, Kalyani Thakur, Jatin Bala, Manju Bala,
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oppression
and
harassment
[ P.T.O.
body
Literature
of
Biswas,
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of
resistance
dalit/marginal
comes
literature
is
proportionately. There is
Manoranjan
Baypari,
Lakhi
EEG-VIII (UT-27)
Dhurjoti Naskar, Sunil Kr. Das, Lily Haldar,
ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, left
Smritikana
Palos, Spain and headed westward.
Hawlader,
S.
Pramanick,
Nakul
Mallick, Debasish Mandal, Nitish Biswas and
After stopping in the Canary Islands off the coast
many others are hardly known by the academic
of Africa, Columbus ships hit the open seas.
elites.
virtue.
Covering about 150 miles a day, the trip was
Colonization still persists, only the form is
long and arduous. The crew was afraid of sea
different ! There are so many writers whom we
monsters and grew more restless everyday land
Ignorance
can
never
be
couldnt include. Let us be journeymen in the
gangotri to truth ! !
3.
EEG-VIII (UT-27)
was not sighted. Columbus offered a reward for
the first person to sight land. On October 12, a
Read the following passage and answer the
questions given below it :
crew member aboard the Pinta sighted one of the
Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy
believed was one of the Spice Islands, a group of
in 1451. His career in exploration started when
he was very young. As a teenager he travelled the
seas and eventually made Portugal his base. He
appealed to the kings of Portugal, France and
England to finance a westward trip to the Indies,
but all denied his request. After ten years of
monumental efforts but fruitless results, King
Bahama Islands. Columbus set foot on what he
islands in Asia ( now known as Indonesia ),
where valuable spices and riches came from. He
named the land San Salvador. Columbus failed
to find the riches he expected, and continued to
search for China. He next visited Cuba and
Hispaniola
Dominican
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to
encountered
finance Columbus in the hopes of acquiring great
Indians
wealth. On August 3, 1492, Columbus and three
inhabitants of the Indies.
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native
because
peoples
he
Republic
who
believed
he
they
).
He
named
were
EEG-VIII (UT-27)
Columbus returned to Spain a hero. He was
EEG-VIII (UT-27)
(c)
named Viceroy of the Indies. He soon returned to
Give a brief overview of Columbus early
life.
the New World but never found the riches he
expected. Some began to believe that Columbus
(d)
had found a new world rather that a shortcut
to the Indies.
discoveries in the history of the world North
reasons for your answer.
explorer to see the continent, and he believed
until his death that the islands he encountered
were in the Asian continent, his discoveries were
instrumental in the establishment of Spanish
colonies in North America. Today, we celebrate
Columbus Day in October to commemorate his
discoveries.
(a)
6 5 = 30
What makes Christopher Columbus so
popular ?
(b)
What
kind
of
welcome
did
Columbus
receive in Spain ? How was his visit to
Cuba ?
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significance
of
celebrating
Suggest a suitable title for the text. Give
America. Though he probably wasnt the first
Questions :
the
Columbus Day in October.
(e)
Christopher Columbus made one of the greatest
Explain
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