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BOOK REVIEW LISTENING TO GRASS HOPPERS BY ARUNDHATI ROY

Lt Col DS (Naeem)

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2 RESTRICTED Listening to Grass-Hoppers

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Introduction a. Name of the book Listening to Grass-Hoppers: Field Notes on Democracy b. c. d. e. Name of the author Publisher in Pakistan Year of Publication Number of Pages Arundhati Roy Izharsons Printers for SBC 2011 252

2. About the Author. Suzanna Arundhati Roy is an Indian writer and activist who won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and in 2002, the Lannan Cultural Freedom Prize. Roy is a well-known activist for social and economic justice. She was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in May 2004 for her work in social campaigns and her advocacy of non-violence. 3. About the Book. After the award winning The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, it was different to see the democratic calculations. Listening to Grass Hoppers - a book for one who would call a spade a spade. It also 'field' notes on democracy. Arundhati Roys indomitable courage and quest for justice are reflected in this publication. Listening to Grass Hoppers is a collection of essays written in piercing style about happenings in India. With Listening to Grass Hopper, Arundhati Roy immensely focuses on the terms like genocide and prejudice, redefining them so as to make them understandable for the people which dont often encounter such terms in their daily course. Terms like these which have marked their presence in history, with a bloody stain still waiting to be washed. a. The first episode that is spread out before the readers is the killings of Muslims in 2002 Gujarat riots. Roy talks about how progress and genocide have gone hand in hand through the ages. She traces the journey of Hindu Nationalism and economic reforms which were two combined forces in the early 1990s, but today, they were slowly untangling themselves to go their separate and dangerous ways.
b. The 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament that shocked the government and the

people alike Roy moves on to write about the not so revealing investigations on the attack. At this juncture she talks about the dangers of a progressively powerful and entirely unaccountable judiciary; and about the collusion between large corporations, the government and the mainstream media.

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c. Roy in her essays accuses corporate India for its greediness and for its silence

about human rights atrocities; she accuses the media for ignoring the crisis she sees unfolding in the country, and finally accuses the right-wing Hindus for channeling public anger into religious intolerance.
d. Listening to Grasshoppers asks fundamental questions about the very fabric of

democracy, the system of governance that has been considered 'the best available option'. It may appear that the author is an upcoming ticket holder from the mighty Congress, but the book is as real as anything on politics would ever get. By again and again redefining the term democracy, the literary powers of the author have grown to such an extent that can delude the readers from the fundamental meaning of the term.
e. The collection of essays ends with an account of the August 2008 uprising in

Kashmir and an analysis of the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai. 'The Briefing', that is added as an appendix, is an imaginary text that brings together many of the issues central to the collection.

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