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MD.SAQUIB ABRAR
Vijay Tendulkar (1928-2008) occupies an important place in contemporary Indian dramatic literature along with Girish Karnad, Badal Sircar and Mohan Rakesh. Besides twenty eight full length plays, he has also written twenty-four one-act plays. He was deeply concerned with the socio-political controversy of the contemporary society that forms the background for his plays. Many of his plays such as The Vultures (1961), Silencel The Court is in Session(1967), Encounter in Umbugland(l969), Sakharam Binder(\912), Kamala( 1981) and Kanyadaan(19&3) present this socio-political conflict in past as well as in the contemporary world. Moreover, his plays highlight the aloofness of modern man to present day politics, the friction between the society and the individual, relationship between man and woman, social awareness, Dalit's concern and such other social issues. Silencel The Court is in Session depicts women's subjugated and downtrodden condition and the conflict between an individual and the society on the basis of religion, sexuality and gender conflict in twentieth century male dominated society. But before analyzing the play, it would be apt to look briefly at the subaltern theory, an important aspect of the postcolonial era.
Subaltern theory treats the 'other' as those who were being segregated on the basis of class, sex, race, economy and had no voice of their own. The theory categorically asserts that conventions and traditions are entirely set up by those who are in authority. The term 'Subaltern' came to be used for colonized people in South Asian subcontinent in the 1970s. It throws light on the history of the colonized from a new dimension, i. e., from the perspective of the colonized rather than from the hegemonic power. It is used for those who are economically and politically alfresco of the dominant power edifice. On the other hand, there are critics who use this term for marginalized and the lower sections of the society. This term literally means "an officer in a subordinate position." Originally used by the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramisci for the proletariats and working class people, the term carried a key connotation with the publication of Gayatri Chakarworthy Spivak's essay entitled "Can the Subaltern Speak" ? (1988) that was later expanded in her book entitled Critique of Postcolonial Reason (1999). It is one of the most...