İstibdâdî İdârenin Gizli Enstrümanlarından Hafiyelik ve Jurnalin Reşat Nuri Güntekin’in Romanlarına Yansıması
Osmanlı tarihinde devlet adına bilgi toplama faaliyetlerinin geçmişi hayli eskidir. Geniş coğrafyaya yayılmış bir imparatorluğun denetlenmesi, valilerden sade vatandaşa kadar hemen herkes hakkında bilgi edinilmesi, halkın beklenti ve şikâyetlerinin öğrenilmesi II. Mahmud Dönemi’nde (1808-1839) bir ihtiyaç olarak görülür. Şehir merkezleri, kaza ve kasabaların yöneticilerinden bu amaçla alınan jurnaller, İstanbul’a ulaştırılır. Jurnal hazırlama faaliyetleri, devletin içişlerinde genellikle insanların memnuniyetini ölçmeye yönelik yapılırken zamanla iktidar ve çıkar mücadelelerinin bir aracı hâline gelir. II. Abdülhamid Dönemi’nde (1876-1909) kurumsal bir yapı olarak öne çıkan hafiyelik; karmaşık, aydınlatılması zor bir görünüme bürünür ve pek çok kesim için korku ile anılan bir konuma yerleşir. İşte, kahvede, sokakta hatta evlerde yapılan devlet içerikli her türlü konuşma, hafiyelerin jurnal mevzuudur. Jurnaller; hafiyelere ikbal, imtiyaz sağlarken jurnallenen kişiler için tecrid, tevkif ve sürgün nedeni olur. Toplumu derinden etkileyen “jurnalcilik” olgusu, Reşat Nuri’nin kalemine de yansır. Sanatçının sosyal ve siyâsî hayatın çeşitli dönemlerini gerçekçi örneklerle yansıtan romanları; politik, sosyolojik ve kültürel açılardan tetkik edilebilecek pek çok konuyu içerir. Gizlice yapılan hafiyelik ve jurnal, dönemin siyâsî durumunu gösteren kurgusal hayat sahneleriyle görünür hâle gelir. Çoğu tarihî gerçekliği olan konuların roman kurgusu içinde işlenişi, Güntekin’in eserlerine hem edebî hem tarihî belge değeri yükler.
Reflections Spying and Reporting The Secret Instruments of Control in Reşat Nuri Güntekin’s Novels
The Ottoman state had a long history of information gathering activities on its behalf. During Mahmut II’s reign (1808–1839), given the geographical extent of the empire, it was seen as a necessity to collect information about everyone from governors to ordinary citizens and to learn about the expectations and complaints of the population. Accordingly, reports collected from the administrators of city centers, districts, and towns were delivered to Istanbul. While secret information gathering activities in this period were generally undertaken to gauge popular satisfaction with the internal affairs of the state, they gradually became a tool of power and interest struggles. The role of the spy, which came to the fore as an institutional structure during the Abdulhamid period (1876-1909), was complex and many aspects remain obscure. The spy was in a positionthat aroused fear among many people. All kinds of state-related comments, whether made at work, in cafes, on the street, or even in houses, might be the subject of reports by spies. While these reports conferred various privileges on spies, they could also trigger the arrest and exile of the people who were reported. The handling of the subject matter in Güntekin's novels, most of which is based on historical reality, endows them with both literary and historical value. The novels, in which social and political life during various periods is represented using realistic examples, include many subjects that can be examined from an anthropological perspective. The spy and the spy’s reports, which are among Güntekin's subjects and have enigmatic aspects, are revealed through fictional life scenes that demonstrate the political situation of the period.
The Ottoman Empire was ruled for 33 years, between 1876 and 1909, by Abdulhamid II. As a political actor, he made quite a name for himself among the Ottoman sultans and was perceived as the greatest enemy of some and the most cherished friend of others during his lifetime. While some perceived Abdulhamid as an oppressive, censorious, and autocratic personality because of his actions, others viewed him as a statesman and spiritual personality and would have considered rebellion against him equivalent to rebellion against Allah. Abdulhamid established a security service, the Umur-u Hafiye, to avoid the negative situations experienced by previous sultans and to suppress popular fears and delusions. Over time, however, the Umur-u Hafiye became a tool for sordid dealings and conflicts of interest. The organization, which started to be perceived as a cancer in society, caused various social and political crises until it was suspended by order of the state on July 31, 1908.
Reşat Nuri Güntekin, who liked to reflect on the political and social situation of his period in his works, frequently treated spying and reporting as secondary elements in his various novels. When Güntekin's novels are examined as a whole, in line with concepts of espionage and information collection, it may be understood that the author is painting a general picture that reflects social and political conditions under an autocratic government. This painting, drawn from the public's perspective, is black and white, not color. The black part consists of the palace and its surroundings, while the white consists of dissidents or those thought to be dissidents. The public, the main figure in the painting, is surrounded by absolute authority. Some were spied upon, and some were reported on. In the later parts of this panorama, there are enlightened people who were nonetheless detained and sometimes exiled to regions near and far.
Surveillance creates deep distrust, anxiety, and fear among people. It thus damages the unity and solidarity of asociety over time, turning people against each other as well as triggering prohibitions, arrests, and exiles. A common auxiliary element in the novels of Reşat Nuri Güntekin is the observation of society’s problems with a keen intellect. Güntekin, who writes rationally, intelligently, and optimistically, only induces a feeling of moral anxiety in the reader as he deals with the subject of spying and reporting, which he sees as a disaster, though in a measured style. He does not portray spies and informants directly as objects of and hatred and resentment. However, situations that might cause serious discomfort in people are presented as gently as possible, which is a kind of self-censorship applied by the author. Güntekin does not apply a statist approach when addressing the above issues but identifies the root of the problem and points out the remedies. He draws attention to the aspects of spying that negatively affect many segments of society, large and small. Thus, the identity of investigators does not fall within the limits of his interest. Rather than targeting individuals, he critiques their mentality. Accordingly, when an environmentof fear, which feeds a mentality in which people are accused and slandered on absurd grounds, is extinguished through reason and science, such inhuman activities will wither away. Handling his novels in a realistic way, Güntekin filters through every period he lived in and writes with a sense of responsibility. For example, he does not refrain from criticizing a group that he otherwise portrays as a supporter of freedom and justice. Moreover, his heroes, who are supporters of this group, commit similar injustices when they assume political power, and he has them deported for this reason. The author’s implicit aim is to prevent the reader from blessing a given administration or party by creating an awareness of humane administration.
Conversely, Güntekin shows the long-term effects of political events on people in his novels and enables the reader to think about the relevant period. For example: A boy of 17 or 18 who is exiled from school and deprived of education for years for reading a book that the government did not approve of; the exile of a doctor and his death in misery overseas for questioning the country’s course; reporting on and removing the epaulettes of a soldier playing traditional game without question. All of this material permits the reader to make inferences about the political environment. Güntekin was a master novelist. While he creates a deeply felt atmosphere of fire and political reality, he nonetheless tolerates every period and person, expands his sphere of influence day by day with his unique style and point of view, and attracts attention.
