LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT CIA 3
Pt.1
Submitted by -
Under the guidance of -
Gyanesh Mishra
Ms. Vinothini M.
22211302
1BBAH B
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Background
The following poem is originally in the Manipuri language written by Thangjam Ibopishak
and translated as I want to be killed by an Indian bullet by Robin Ngangom. The emergence
of insurgency in Manipur dates back to 1964 with the formation of the United National
Liberation Front (UNLF), which remains one of the most formidable militant outfits. Many
people are affected by this across the state of Manipur. This following rebellion has caused
distress and chaos in the lives of many who are not even involved in it. The writers in
Manipur were the ones who were able to express the consequences and happenings taking
place with the people of the state. The poem focuses on and talks about a much more detailed
background of the feeling of nationalism and one’s love for their country.
Irony in the poem and title.
The poem talks about how a person even in his last seconds when he was in danger than to
he was in love with his country and wanted to be killed by an Indian bullet. This shows the
person’s love for his country and his patriotic thinking. Most people in these types of
dangerous situations would panic and freak out, because of their love for their country. If
we focus on the title of the poem it tells us how a person wants to be killed by an Indian
bullet, but the title also does represent a strange case of irony. On one side a person wants
to be killed but he wants to be killed by an Indian Bullet, on the other side it makes us
question why the person would end up in a situation like this. Irony refers to a situation in
which the opposite meaning is conveyed than the literal one. It makes us think that why
would a person want to be killed? Does it present a high contrast between what an actual
normal situation would look like i.e why does someone want to be killed, but by a specific
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type of bullet? In the following lines “One morning they entered my drawing room, the
five of them. Fire, water, air, earth, sky – are the name of these five. They can create men;
also destroy men at whim “ it talks about the five elements named fire, water, air, earth,
sky but refers to assains, terrorists, corrupt politicians and other evils of the society. There
are some other instances too in the poem, through which we can see the irony in the text.
The poem delivers a much more deep meaning than what we can see, at first sight, it tells
us how various factors in society can affect us, oppress our rights and stop us from acting
upon things in our life. A writer’s pen is very powerful and can raise the voices of many
and address issues in society.
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