REVIEWS
DR JERNAIL SINGH ANAND’S ARTICLE:
THE DEMONIZATION OF HUMANITY
https://theinternalnews.co/2023/04/11/ethics-the-demonization-of-humanity-by-dr-jernail-singh-anand/
In his discussion on “Ethics : The Demonisation of Humanity”, Dr. Jernail Singh Anand attempts to situate the myth of the creation of human evil much before the Christian Myth of Creation featuring the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan. He introduces his work, Tant-Tantra, that he says is a parody of the Indian classic Panch Tantra. He traces the genesis of how the gods in Indian mythology, led by Brahma, permit the out-of-work police force of devils, or asuras, to inject some evil in humanity, as otherwise there is no work for them to do, and they have been pressurising the gods by a million-year strike. Dr. Anand treats this genesis of human criminality with his usual subtle sense of satire and mockery. The gods, however, strictly prohibit the asuras from corrupting the animals, birds and plants, as their pristine status is required to maintain the balance of good and evil in the world.
The genesis of human criminality is traced, therefore, not to Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve, but to the opening of Pandora’s Box. The progress of evil is then traced through the various epochs of Indian mythology, namely, Satya Yug, Treta Yug, Dwapar Yug, and finally, Kali Yug. To which, Dr. Anand adds his own version of the Age of Corporate Evil, ruled by Lustus : the evil Prince of Darkness. Dr. Anand ends with an exhortation to his audience and readers to re-establish Ethics as the cornerstone of the world, in order to avoid complete annihilation. A noble design, indeed. However, where Dr. Anand reveals his keen practical mind in analysing corporate evil, and giving it the metaphysical shape of mythology in his epic Lustus : The Prince Of Darkness, here perhaps he displays too much faith in the human desire to reform, and reject evil. Also the amalgamation of the Greek myth of Pandora’s Box sits uneasy with the story of the Indian mythological epochs of human society, or Yugas, as the time periods are vastly differing. The Greek myth belongs to about 3300-2100 BC, whereas the earliest Indian mythological epoch or Yuga is said to have existed at least a million years before that. Perhaps, Dr. Anand will surely discover some cursed yogini of the Satya Yug, who will agree to become the cohort of the asuras, instead of the European-origin Pandora.
Best wishes
Mandakini Bhattacherya
Associate Professor in English
Fakir Chand College
(Affiliated to University of Calcutta)
Diamond Harbour
West Bengal
India
Mail : mandakinibhattacherya@gmail.com
- Teachers’ Council Secretary, Fakir Chand College
- Joint Secretary, Proyas, Sarsuna, a Women’s NGO
Featured poetry : https://madswirl.com/author/mbhattacherya/
Brief Bio-Note in Third Person:
Mandakini Bhattacherya, from Kolkata, is Associate Professor of English and a multi-lingual poet, literary critic and translator. She has her own Poetry Page on the Dallas-based Mad Swirl Magazine. She participated in the All India Young Writers’ Meet organised by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, in February, 2020. She is co-translator of ‘A Life Uprooted : A Bengali Dalit Refugee Remembers’, published by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi (2022). She is Joint Secretary of Proyas, a women’s NGO in Kolkata.