COLONIZING THE MIND: PROCESS AND PRACTICE OF COLONIALISM IN GURCHARAN DAS'S LARINS SAHIB

The aim of this paper is to reveal the process and practice of colonialism asreflected in Larins Sahib, Sultan Padmasee Prize winning play by Gurcharan Das. Theaction of the play is based on the real events in Punjab in 1846-47. The play is recreatedfrom the documents and letters exchanged by the principal characters. Prima-facie it is alove story of an Indian queen Rani Jindan Kaur and Henry Lawrence, an Agent of theEast India Company to the Government of Dalip Singh, the son of Maharaja RanjitSingh. Authors believe that imperialism operates in the play on psychological, political,economic, social, cultural and individual level. The play also throws light on thechanging cultural priorities in the process of colonialism. Colonial power initiallydefeats natives to show them that they are inferior and thereby incapable to rule.Secondly it lays down strict political, economic, geographical and military conditions tosustain control over them. On the cultural level, under the pretext of development andsocial reform, colonizers change cultural priorities. Once the colonizers have gained fullpower and altered the social and cultural priorities, they start to harass the colonized onindividual level. And when the colonized understand that they have been trapped in thenet, they start rebellion to overthrow the colonial rule. Thus the colonizer and thecolonized get locked in an unending struggle. However, the norms of the struggle arealways set by the colonizer. The play under assessment is a good example of the processand practice of imperialism.