The Indian express has written an article about Vaikom Mohammed Basheer by describing him as ‘the philosopher of goodness.’ Vaikom Mohammed Basheer is popularly known as the Beypore sultan. Mahatma Gandhi had a great impact on Basheer. Basheer actively practiced secularism and participated in all major freedom movements in the Malabar districts.
The rightful inheritors of the earth is a story that questions the anthropocentric views of modern people. Anthropocentrism is a theory that believes humans as the center of the universe. It considers all other beings inferior to humans.
Basheer intends to drive his reader’s mind to more ecocentric ( focus on the ecosystem) or biocentric ( focus on all living things) through this story. Basheer confirms his affiliation with nature. Basheer uses simple language like in his other work Poovanpazham to grab the attention of the readers.
This story is filled with autobiographical elements. In this story, Basheer purposefully narrates two different ideologies with two different characters, Basheer himself and his wife. Basheer begins his story by stating that he was happy to be the owner of a tiny piece of this wide earth.
He bought two acres of coconut which had great value in the market. In the initial stage, he calls all unwelcomed guests who came to his plot trespassers. It includes birds, butterflies, crows, hawks, mongoose, fox, rats, bats, and cobra. Basheer narrates the troubles caused by these ‘unwelcomed guests.’
He thought that the land belongs to him and his wife or the maximum of his dog Shan and his hens. Later he found that bats are the threat that eats tender coconuts. Basheer hoped that everything would settle soon. But the threat became stronger every day.
His wife and her cousin decided to buy a gun to shoot all bats but they were threatened by the neighbors who believed bats as their dead ancestors. They warned Basheer’s wife that if she killed the bat, they would kill them.
The story ends by stating that Basheer realized that the world is for all, neither humans nor any other species have any privilege over anyone. Instead, everyone shares equal rights over this earth. He also mocks the religious misconceptions in the society by stating ‘ bats are no ancestors of ours, but they are among God’s countless creations.’
Basheer provides a logical background to openly criticize false religious dogmas that believe in the reincarnation of human souls in the form of animals. In some traditions, crows and bats are considered to embody dead souls. Basheer feels comfortable creating room for self-criticism. Basheer represents a society that believes to be modern yet ancient in its belief systems.
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