The Tuesday Interview | ‘Opium an important factor in understanding violence in Manipur’

In the concluding paragraph of his new non-fiction work Smoke and Ashes, celebrated novelist, essayist, and anthropologist Amitav Ghosh talks about the climate crisis as an increasingly dark horizon. This is a topic the Gnanpith Award-winning author has been steadfastly writing about in recent years. Smoke and Ashes’ is a genre-bending work that brings together the key themes Ghosh has been researching over the past decade: colonialism, the enduring but largely unknown effects of the opium trade, and how its repercussions have now left us teetering over the edge. In an interview with DH’s Rashmi Vasudeva, the author spoke about why the story of opium continues to be bleak and how horticultural histories have shaped our world in deeper ways than we realise. Excerpts:

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You mention that while you were growing up, you knew so little about China that it could well have been marked, ‘Here be dragons!’ How relatable this is! We all know so little about China, but, strangely, this doesn’t seem to bother us. However, you say this is not because of a lack of curiosity on our part. Can you elaborate?

Indeed, while we are largely ignorant about China, we certainly live with many stereotypes about the country—about Chinese food, for instance. But the lack of curiosity about Chinese history and culture is frankly astonishing. And it is not just me. For most of the world as well, China exists as a great blank. What I am saying is that these mental barriers against China exist not just in the minds of Indians but also of many other people across the world because of certain patterns of global history. You see, as much as Indians engage with the world, it is almost always in relation to the West.

We also do not read anything about China in our history textbooks — we read about British kings. Very few of us are aware, for instance, of one of the most important figures in world history, the Chinese emperor Ch’ien-lung (or Qianlong). He is largely responsible for creating modern China, and curiously, he also had a deep interest in all things Indian. Even the fact that tea originated in China is ignored; many believe tea is Indian!

You write that plants have played a powerful role in shaping our world. But we grow up mostly reading about human agency in history...

It is only the modern way of thinking that places humans at the centre of everything—all history is not just about humans. Till quite recently, historians hardly paid attention to all the other entities around us. But if you read our epics, you will notice the powerful role plants and animals play. Bhima, for instance, is saved by the snake king. The relationship between India and China was largely through plants, but this was mediated by Western powers. And therein lies the issue. The struggle to limit the production and consumption of opium and the fight to undo the British opium regime played pivotal roles in our national history. And yet, because of the stigma attached to opium, we do not learn about this.

You said you had second thoughts about writing opium’s ‘bleak story’ once your research was complete. But you went ahead because you were convinced about the vitality of the Earth...

Yes, the Earth is indeed a living, breathing entity, and this is now accepted even by scientists. The fact that we didn’t realise this for a long time is a profound indictment of the ways in which we have approached life on this planet.

Is this really a deadly game between human hubris and the “power and intelligence” of the opium poppy?

Absolutely. That is why I felt it was important to complete the book, despite the subject being so distasteful. We tell ourselves the story that humans are at the centre of everything and that we are omnipotent and all-powerful. But opium shows us that reality is exactly the opposite—it holds a mirror to how frail humans are, how fragile our society is, and how easily it can be undone. Opium, as we know, is deeply connected to the environmental crisis we are witnessing now.

It is chilling how your predictions about the poppy’s ability to create cycles of repetition are playing out in Manipur. Many say the violence can be traced back to poppy cultivation in the hills and the chief minister’s so-called ‘war on drugs’.

Exactly. Opium has to be taken into account when you analyse this violence. However, it is not just any particular community but all communities in Manipur are involved in the opium trade. Here we are seeing how opium can undermine all sorts of social structures—it has virtually undermined the state. This is because of opium’s money power, of course, and this is evident not just in Manipur but also in a place like Mexico. Opium creates money, which creates armaments that end up with drug cartels.

It is not that the world is unaware of the power of opium, but it has no way of processing this information. We only hear of global criminal networks, but we do not recognise the ways in which this substance inserts itself into society and starts undoing everything—opium creates this incredible corruption wherever it goes.

Do you think there is any real way of snapping opium’s bond with humanity’s dark side?

Yes, patterns were broken between the 1880s and the 1940s, largely due to the anti-imperialist movements across the globe. Around 1950, there were widespread movements against opium growth and consumption in China, with many women’s groups and activists coming together. But I do not think, at this point, that such movements are possible again. The present-day opioid crisis has to be seen in the context of several other intersecting crises: climate change, the loss of biodiversity, and a global political crisis of unprecedented scale. Who would have thought a fascist party could be voted to power in Italy? I am afraid we are going to see many more such far-right parties come to power around the world.

A few years ago, you lamented that so few fiction writers were tackling the world’s most pressing issue in their works. Have things changed?

A lot more is written about climate than before. We need to recognise that the earth is speaking to us. Also, let’s accept that climate change is sensational; we see it all around us. Just a few days ago, there was a tornado in Milan—something unheard of! Of course, we also have to take into consideration other anthropogenic impacts in a place like Uttarakhand, for instance. Water has a memory just like Earth does, but we continue to make things worse and are carrying on as usual.