போர்க்கால ஆவணமாகச் சிறுகதை : சுடர் ஒளி பத்திரிகையில் வெளிவந்த சிறுகதைகளை மையப்படுத்திய ஆய்வு: Short Story as a Wartime Document: A Study of Short Stories Published in the Sudar Oli Newspaper

Abstract

The various forms of discrimination and oppression experienced by the Tamil people as a consequence of majoritarian ideologies contributed to the emergence of an armed struggle. This context of armed conflict introduced a new dimension into Eelam Tamil literature, giving rise to what is known as Eelam War Literature. Such war literature was produced by combatant writers, writers who lived within the environment of war, and writers who remained outside the immediate context of the conflict. Newspapers and periodicals played a significant role in providing a platform for the publication of these literary works. Published amidst stringent state censorship and various forms of intimidation, newspapers and periodicals functioned not merely as media for the dissemination of news but also as instruments of struggle. They served as the voice of oppressed communities and as records of the experiences of the period of conflict. Among the newspapers that functioned in this manner was Sudar Oli, published from Colombo. During the period of the Eelam liberation struggle, the newspaper also served as a platform for literary representations related to the war. It provided space for a wide range of literary expressions, including short stories, poetry, drama, novels, and literary research. Against this backdrop, the present study seeks to examine how the short stories published in Sudar Oli functioned as documentary records of the lived experiences and socio-cultural difficulties encountered by Tamils during the period of the struggle. The study focuses on short stories published between 2000 and 2005. It is undertaken around the research problem of how the short stories published in Sudar Oli documented the lived experiences and difficulties faced by Tamils during the period of the Eelam liberation struggle. The study reveals that the short stories published in Sudar Oli documented the impact of war not through the language of macro-level politics, but through the everyday experiences, suffering, losses, and silent tears of ordinary people. Thus, these short stories serve as significant literary records of the lived realities and human experiences of the wartime period.

Keywords

• Sudar Oli
• War
• War Literature
• Displacement