Patel, Toni; Anant Pai (ed.); Ram Waeerker (ill);
Chand Bibi : The valorous princess who withstood the might of the Mughals
Amar Chitra Katha, No. 54
topics: | india | history | biography | comic
One of the handful of Muslim protagonists in AKC. [w:Chand Bibi]
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/110238-indias-immortal-comic-books-gods-kings-and-other-heroes-by-karline-m/ Based on Bucknell professor Karline McLain’s India’s Immortal Comic Books: Gods, Kings and Other Heroes To illustrate the complexities of the former, McClain deftly breaks down Pai’s thinking behind one of the most famous ACK issues, Shivaji (#23), about the life of the Indian folk hero Shivaji Bhonsle. Like many Indian historical figures, his life has achieved mythic status – so much so that an accurate biography of the man seems rather impossible. One ACK producer sheepishly even admits that the “gray areas” of Shivaji’s life were left out to create better hero imagery. Depending on whom you read, according to McLain, Shivaji can be interpreted as a Brahmin Marathi hero; an early Hindu nationalist; an anti-British figure who united India; or as a non-Brahmin who sought to lift the spirits of India’s lowest figures in society. Pai decided to portray Shivaji as a Hindu nationalist who sought to unite India under a common religious banner. So when the time came to show the feud between Shivaji and the Muslim ruler Afzal Khan, it “is presented not as an epic struggle between two men, one a hero and the other a villain, but also as a communal one.” As Shivaji stabs Khan, the king yells, “Ya Allah (Oh God)!” and falls to the ground. He is then decapitated by one of Shivaji’s men. Shivaji and his army then ride to glory and are universally hailed for bringing down the other ruler. This Hindu-Muslim animosity is really played up by Pai and the Amar Chitra Katha staff throughout other issues. For every victorious and just Hindu king, there was a Muslim foil – Rana Pratap vs. Akbar; Rana Singh vs. Babar; or Amar Singh Rathore vs. Shah Jahan. And even when the issue’s focus was a Muslim figure – as did happen on an infinitesimal number of occasions – McLain points out the astonishing feature that Anant Pai still pushed his Hindu nationalist agenda by employing a “divide and conquer” strategy to these books. If it wasn’t Hindu hero versus Muslim villain, then it would be Muslim hero versus Muslim villain. Writes McLain, “Although the belief that the majority of Indian Muslims were forcibly converted to Islam by foreign Muslim rulers – known as the ‘religion by the sword’ theory – has been debunked by many scholars over the past several decades, the idea lives on in the popular reprints of many of these comic book issues, as in other popular media.” In such a methodic manner, McLain breaks down many of ACK’s most famous issues to analyze how the event or figure is portrayed and how that might differ from popular history. For example, it is almost perfectly accepted by scholars and the public that Hindu nationalist Nathuram Godse did assassinate Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi because of his (Gandhi’s) support of an independent Muslim state. And yet there is no mention of Godse’s ideology in the ACK issue on Gandhi. If anything, looking at the specific book’s individual frames, it looks like the gun is firing itself. It is even surrounded by a halo!