A water color image of Mahreen and Masuka
‘Now we begin to see how Derrida’s notion of ‘sous rature’ differs from that of Heidegger’s. Heidegger’s Being might point at an inarticulable presence. Derrida’s trace is the mark of the absence of a presence, an always already absent present, of the lack at the origin that is the condition of thought and experience.’ [Translator’s Preface in ‘Of Grammatology’ by Jacques Derrida, page: xvii (Translated from French to English by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, The Johns Hopkins University Press; First Published; Maryland, 1976 and First Indian Edition by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi).] Although renowned French philosopher Jacques Derrida had explained the term ‘sous rature (under erasure)’ from a linguistic, philosophical and metaphysical viewpoint, today the epithet ‘sours rature (under erasure)’ is being used from a more comprehensible prism. ‘Under Erasure’ seems equivalent to ‘self-censorship.’ Now what is ‘self-censorship?’ ‘Self-censorship, also known as self-censure, is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals purposefully choose to limit or restrain their own
expression, thoughts, or actions. It often arises out of fear or apprehension of potential consequences, such as social backlash, legal repercussions, or professional harm. While self-censorship can be seen as a means of self-preservation or complying with societal norms, it is a complex and intricate concept that warrants deeper examination (https://psychologyfanatic.com/self-censure/). To put in more lucid terms: do the authors, journalists or even common people feel ‘self-censured’ before writing anything which may challenge authority, hierarchy or hegemony? Be it state, government, religion, patriarchy, culture or anything with a cumulative force against an ordinary individual or a group of individuals with less power to bargain? How much free are we in the real sense? Can we speak up, write or claim for our just demands within a coercive state machinery? If Derrida seems too difficult to be understood, novelist Milan Kundera may sound somehow easier who underscored ‘the struggle of man against power as the struggle of memory against forgetting.’ Kundera,…
