Across Modernity and Tradition: Satyajit Ray’s Subtle Contestation of the Nation-State

Abstract

Modernity deserves a place amidst the two or three words that, according to Raymond Williams, were the most complicated in English language. In this article, I unpack the term, argue that it pervades the discipline of International Relations (IR) and demonstrate its contestation in the work of Satyajit Ray. I start with the second task first by sketching the normalization of the idea of the nation-state in IR and show how this idea forms a point in the constellation of modernity as described by the modernisation school of development. I argue that this constellation-view is reflective of the mainstream theorisation of modernity which views it as a package. From here, I undertake the former task of unpacking the term for which I rely on the works of Sudipta Kaviraj. Finally, as Kaviraj contests the mainstream theorisation of modernity by putting forth a new framework (‘sequential modernity’), I demonstrate how the films of Satyajit Ray performed a similar and subtle contestation of the same. By examining his movies such as the Apur Sangsar and Pratidwandi, I argue that Ray symbolised the ‘Bengal Renaissance’ which stood for syncretism and coexistence. Drawing on Bengal’s intellectual class’ openness to cultures worldwide, I conclude this paper by highlighting the need for theorizing beyond the Hobbesian view of anarchy prevalent in IR.