Writing India, Configuring Indianness: A Study of two Indian English Novels from Early Twentieth Century
Writing India, Configuring Indianness: A Study of two Indian English Novels from Early Twentieth Century
Author(s): Somjyoti MridhaSubject(s): History, Philosophy, Language and Literature Studies, Cultural history, Essay|Book Review |Scientific Life, Non-European Philosophy, Comparative history, History of ideas, Indian Philosophy, Cultural Essay, Sociology of Literature
Published by: Presa Universitara Clujeana
Keywords: Early Indian English Novels; Colonialism; Nation; Nationalism; Identity;
Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the theme of imagining India as a nation while configuring Indian identity during the early twentieth century and it engages in a detailed study of two early Indian English novels published in 1909: The Prince of Destiny: The New Krishna by Sarath Kumar Ghosh and Hindupore: A Peep Behind The Indian Unrest, An Anglo-Indian Romance by Sidda Mohana Mitra. The paper concentrates on the complex and ambiguous negotiation between colonial discourse and nationalist ideology undertaken by Indian writers in a bid to imagine a nation which is yet to become a political reality. During the heyday of colonialism, Indian identity was ambiguously associated with loyalist aspirations characterized by Anglophilia. The essay also focuses on the politics of aspirational “Englishness” while negotiating Indian identity and it explores the challenges of writing Anglophone Indian literature during the colonial period.
Journal: ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF INDIAN STUDIES
- Issue Year: 1/2025
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 87-110
- Page Count: 24
- Language: English
