' THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH ' : FANON'S MASTER ESSAY

AUTHOR CAROLYN has said, '' No one knows the end of the story that is the story of your life. But what is the end of it depends on what you are doing and how you are spending your day and night.''

FRANTZ FANON was a 20th century psychotherapist and philosopher. Many political leaders and revolutionary movements have taken advantage of his caste, and sown the seeds of revolution in their respective regions and countries.

His book, '' The Wretched of the Earth '', holds the status of a scripture for revolutionaries all over the world.

Fanon was born on Martinique, an island in the West Indies, during the neo-colonial era. The island was a French colony then. Fanon writes in his book that local population in every city is divided into two parts :

One part, an area where the rich and successful people and those in authority live and where foreign rule applies ; two, miserable settlements where the poor and subjugated live. This class division naturally gives rise to racial problems.

Fanon believes that the oppressor often uses religion to try and legitimise his oppression, besides giving legal colour to his self-imposed supremacy by calling racial discrimination a law of nature.

He succeeds in persuading poor people that God does not like worldly comforts and wants the poor to embrace the hardships in the world, so that they may have a permanent abode in the paradise.

On the contrary, a revolutionary wants to enjoy paradise while living in the world. He wants to face reality rather than an imaginary paradise. He prefers the sorrow and happiness of the earth to the paradise of fools.

Fanon says that the neo-classical powers use a language in which the native people are identified as animals, beasts and uncivilised beings.

They make fun of local people's dress, traditions and religious beliefs. Their only aim is to ridicule the local population, and to prove to them that they are inferior, uncivilised and inhuman.

This behaviour causes resentment, rage and tingling for the local people, and the resentment gradually turns into hatred.

And when common people also join the struggle for freedom, this hatred takes the shape of revenge, and the anger accumulated over decades and centuries boils over in the form of terrible violence which consumes the culture, religion, language and tradition imposed in the name of power.

This is how people avenge all the abuse inflicted on them over decades and centuries.

Fanon believes that the revolt of the indigenous people takes the form of a revolution. They put their lives at stake for a bright future because they want to establish society based on justice for their future generations.

The World Students Society thanks Aftab Ahmed Khanzada.