Manifestation of Nationalist Consciousness in the Plays of Jyotiprasad Agarwala

Jyotiprasad Agarwala is one of the most distinguished creative giants of Assam. His writings and activities contributed to the culture and society of Assam have accredited him a distinct position. His literatures are imbibed with the reflection of contemporary issues of his time. Here, we can mainly refer his play Labhita that has reflection of Indian nationalism, Assamese nationalism and the cultural nationalism pertaining many issues of colonial India. Labhita is a play written in the later part of his life. His realistic thoughts and perspectives are very clearly rendered in this play. It represents the situation of India before independence and at the time of World War II. The rising social awareness, nationalist consciousness and dominance of a section of “Asomiya” society are reflected throughout the play. The conflict between conservativeness and modernity in rural areas of Assam due to rise of nationalism is one of the notable issues in the play. The play depicts the sense of nationalism among the common people. The courage of Assamese women and their bold participation in the national movement are the core of the play. It also shows how the people from Assam served for Indian nation by forgetting their regional differences. The researcher has studied all these issues of colonial Assam with the understanding of nationalism in the play. Reflection of such socially striking issues can be one of the possible reasons behind use and appropriation of Jyotiprasad Agarwala in the nationalistic discourse of Assam.