Strategic Outsiderism of Fyatarus:

Performances of Resistance by ‘Multitudes’ after ‘Empire’

Abstract

This paper would talk about a transition from a pattern of life where there were limited resources, possibilities and aspirations, to one which promises uninterrupted flow of capital and resources in the present context of West Bengal. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) came to power in Bengal in 1978 after the period of Emergency with promises and hopes for the oppressed classes. However with the emergence of neo-liberal form of capitalism, the Left party, just as the Right, could not but respond to the necessity for transformation towards a post-Fordist economy, characterized more by consumption and less by production. In this re-conceptualization of capital, the concern that has to be addressed is that of marginalization and resistance. This essay would discuss how this resistance would emerge from the existential locations that could not be accommodated within the nexus of dominant power structure, resulting in breakdown in communication between state and its multitudes. These locations emerge from structures of deprivation internal to the Empire. This would be illustrated through a series of short stories by Nabarun Bhattacharya which talks about a group of fictitious flying characters called ‘fyatarus’. They are people variously marginalized and they participate together in acts of damage that emerge out of immediacy rather than any coherent political program.