Abstract

This study argues that the critical analysis of the discourse of a given time and place determines the identity, the social life as well as the social roles of people in that social order. With the help of the theorization of Fairclough and Wodak (1997), it explains how Waris Shah in his renowned discourse ‘Heer’ uncovers the historicity or social and cultural embedments during the 18th century Punjab. For Fairclough and Wodak the supremacy/ inferiority of social elements is being exercised via discourse. Waris Shah skillfully portrays in his epic poetry Heer how supremacy/ inferiority is interlocked with every incident of the individual(s) and society. His discourse exhibits that whosoever holds authority misuses it to subjugate others.

Key Words

Ancient Punjab, Heer, Historicity, Qissa, Waris Shah

Introduction

History is witness that literature is overflowing with various famous qissas like Shirin- Farhad, Laila-Majnun, Sohni-Mahinval, Qissa-e-hamza, Mirza-Sahiban, Khusro-Shirin, Puran-Bhagat, Romeo-Juliet and the most celebrated qissa among them is of Heer-Ranjha. The term qissa is an Arabic term that means ‘to tell a story. Usually, this term was utilized to tell the religious stories, but in the Islamic period in the subcontinent, it began to be used to narrate other stories that did not have religious characters. In the Persian language, the word qissa was initially employed to narrate the biographies of religious figures or prophets; however, after the second millennium C. E it began to be used for narrating the romantic stories of lovers. Heer by Waris Shah is a legendary qissa, and literature is rich with such kind of well-known qissas. It was written in 1766 and is believed to be a real account story of two lovers. It is believed that Heer and Ranjha is a story of two real figures that lived at the time of the Lodhi Dynasty. According to historians, the real name of Heer was 'Izzat Bibi', and Ranjha was 'Miyan Murad Bakhsh'. There is also a tomb in Jhang as a symbol of their love, and it is believed that both of the lovers are buried in a single grave.

Waris Shah is a great figure of 18th century Punjab who is widely acknowledged for his Sufi poetry. He holds his position as a classic poet. Although he has written various works, his fame mainly rests upon an epic poem Heer, which is his magnum opus. He was born in Jndiala Sher Khan in 1706. At that time, Punjab was going through social, religious and political upheaval and his epic poem is a true representation of his era. He has skillfully depicted in his masterpiece all the turmoil that his age was facing. His poetical work is a mirror of the violence of 18th century Punjab. After the death of his parents in the earliest phase of his life, he became a student of Ustad of Kasur. He started writing his masterpiece when he was living in a small room adjacent to the mosque and he completed it in Malka Hans. Many critics claim that the story of Heer has biographical elements in the form of Waris Shah's unsuccessful love for a girl named Bhagbari. Shah's teacher, in the beginning, was indisposed to read his poetry; however, when he read it, he admired Shah greatly by commenting that 'you have threaded precious stones in a string of grass.

The story of Heer is a tale of two adult lovers who deviated from the prevalent social norms and customs of society. The protagonist Ranjha belongs to a Ranjha clan and is a young man who was the apple of his father’s eyes. After the death of his father, Ranjha was mistreated by his brothers and sisters-in-law. They left him alone with a barren land by cunningly taking over his fertile land. They used to rebuke and taunt him for not doing any work and for playing the flute. Because of such constant scolding, one day, in a fury he left his home and village and reached Jhang: the place of Heer. Heer was the prideful daughter of Chaudary Chuchak. When it came to her knowledge that a stranger is sleeping on her bed, she went there with her sixty friends and beat him with a hard stick. When Ranjha opened his eyes and looked at Heer, she lost herself in the eyes of Ranjha, and they both fell in love with each other at first sight. Ranjha became the drover of Heer and started working at the home of Heer without any wages. He did the job of herdsman for twelve 

 years. Ranjha and Heer began to meet secretly but one-day Kaido Heer's uncle caught them. After this incident, Heer's family and tribe decided to marry her to Saida Khera without her permission. Although she denied getting married in front of Qazi, her family forcefully married her to Saida Khera. After her marriage, Ranjha adopted Jog and became a Jogi. After learning Jog he reached Rangpur, the village of Heer's in-laws. There Ranjha and Heer both made a plan to elope with the help of Heer's sister-in-law Sethi. Sethi and Murad Baloch got success in elopement, whereas Heer and Ranjha were caught and then presented in the court of Raja Adli. At first, he gave the verdict in favour of Khera's but when Heer and Ranjha prayed, and his village caught fire, he asked pardon from them and gave Heer to Ranjha. Then they came back to the village of Heer and decided to marry each other. Ranjha went back to his village to make wedding preparations, whereas his family of Heer plotted her murder. They murdered Heer with poison on her marriage day and sent a letter to Ranjha about her death. After reading the letter, Ranjha made a cry and died of grief.

Research Methodology

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) considers discourse a social practice (Fairclough & Wodak, 1997, p. 258). The term has its origin in critical theory related to language, in which language usage is considered a system of social practice. The development of interrelation among people is based on their similar thoughts and interests and also on the certain historical perspectives that are the results of social practices. According to Fairclough and Wodak (1997), each of these dimensions requires the following analysis:

• Text analysis (description)

• Processing analysis (interpretation)

• Social analysis (explanation)

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is based on the idea of exposing power systems, control, and factual claims. It always contributes to the unwinding of a discourse's cognition, exposing that the literary text's idea is coded by a network of multiple meanings. It considers ‘language as social practice’ (Fairclough & Wodak, 1997), and takes into consideration the context of language use to be crucial (Wodak, 2000c; Benke, 2000). It also outlines the relationship between society, language, and power structures.

Literature Review

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) considers discourse a social practice (Fairclough & Wodak, 1997, p. 258). The term has its origin in critical theory related to language, in which language usage is considered a system of social practice. The development of interrelation among people is based on their similar thoughts and interests and also on the certain historical perspectives that are the results of social practices. According to Fairclough and Wodak (1997), each of these dimensions requires the following analysis:

• Text analysis (description)

• Processing analysis (interpretation)

• Social analysis (explanation)

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is based on the idea of exposing power systems, control, and factual claims. It always contributes to the unwinding of a discourse's cognition, exposing that the literary text's idea is coded by a network of multiple meanings. It considers ‘language as social practice’ (Fairclough & Wodak, 1997), and takes into consideration the context of language use to be crucial (Wodak, 2000c; Benke, 2000). It also outlines the relationship between society, language, and power structures.

Conclusion

History is a significant aspect of human life. According to Fairclough and Wodak (1997), history is not merely the recollection and retrieval of bygone happenings rather it is a medium via which one can oversee one’s present. They accentuate how power structures at institutional levels are utilized as a means of social control. Fairclough and Wodak (1997) state that in every society there is a variety of relations of power that constitute and define the social body. With the critical analysis of discourse, these relations of power can be recognized and implemented. In Shah’s Heer, there exist several pictures of the interaction of people. The story depicts the 18th century Punjab where power was not flowing in the whole society rather it was hoarded in a few hands, and the one who held power tried to control and manipulate others' lives. With the critical discourse analysis of Waris Shah’s epic poem Heer, this study retrieves the historicality of 18th century Punjab and explains how Shah throws light on the misuse of authorities in the domain of justice, religion and jobs.

References

• Alam, F. (1998). “Introduction to English prose.” In Niaz Zaman, Fakrul Alam and Ferdous.
• Benke, G. (2000) `Diskursanalyse als sozialwissenschaftliche Untersuchungsmethode', SWS. Rundschau, 2, 140±62.
• Dijk, V. (1977). Text & context: Explorations in the semantics & pragmatics of discourse. London. Longman Group Ltd.
• Fairclough, N., & Wodak, R. (1997). `Critical discourse analysis, in T. van Dijk (ed.), Discourse studies: A multidisciplinary introduction, 2. London: Sage.