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The debate over whether religious or secular identities provide the most viable model for a wider national identity has been a continuous feature of Indian politics from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Moreover, in the last thirty years the increasingly communal articulation of popular politics and the gradual rise of a constellation of Hindu nationalist parties headed by the BJP has increased the urgency of this debate. While Indian writing in English has fostered a long tradition of political dissent, and has repeatedly questioned ethnocentric, culturally exclusive forms of political identification, few critics have considered how this literature engages directly with communalism, or charted the literary-political response to key events such as the Babri Masjid / Ramjanmabhumi affair and the recent growth of popular forms of Hindu nationalism.
The essays collected in Alternative Indias break new ground in studies of Indian literature and film by discussing how key authors offer contending, âalternativeâ visions of India and how poetry, fiction and film can revise both the communal and secular versions of national belonging that define current debates about âIndiannessâ. Including contributions from international scholars distinguished in the field of South Asian literary studies, and featuring an informative introduction charting the parallel developments of writing, the nation and communal consciousness, Alternative Indias offers a fresh perspective on the connections and discontinuities between culture and politics in the worldâs biggest democracy.
The essays collected in Alternative Indias break new ground in studies of Indian literature and film by discussing how key authors offer contending, âalternativeâ visions of India and how poetry, fiction and film can revise both the communal and secular versions of national belonging that define current debates about âIndiannessâ. Including contributions from international scholars distinguished in the field of South Asian literary studies, and featuring an informative introduction charting the parallel developments of writing, the nation and communal consciousness, Alternative Indias offers a fresh perspective on the connections and discontinuities between culture and politics in the worldâs biggest democracy.
PETER MOREY is Senior Lecturer in English Literature in the School of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies at the University of East London. He specializes in colonial and postcolonial literature and theory, with a particular interest in South Asia.
ALEX TICKELL is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Portsmouth. He has published widely on colonial and postcolonial literature.
ALEX TICKELL is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Portsmouth. He has published widely on colonial and postcolonial literature.
Acknowledgements
Peter MOREY and Alex TICKELL: Introduction
Anshuman A. MONDAL: The Limits of Secularism and the Construction of Composite National Identity in India
Alex TICKELL: The Discovery of Aryavarta: Hindu Nationalism and Early Indian Fiction in English
Elleke BOEHMER: âFirst Realise Your Needâ: Manju Kapurâs Erotic Nation
Shirley CHEW: âCutting Across Timeâ: Memory, Narrative, and Identity in Shashi Deshpandeâs Small Remedies
Amina YAQIN: The Communalization and Disintegration of Urdu in Anita Desaiâs In Custody
Ashok BERY: âReflexive Worldsâ: The Indias of A.K. Ramanujan
Peter MOREY: Communalism, Corruption and Duty in Rohinton Mistryâs Family Matters
Sujala SINGH: The Routes of National Identity in Amitav Ghoshâs The Shadow Lines
Ralph J. CRANE: Inscribing a Sikh India: An Alternative Reading of Khushwant Singhâs Train to Pakistan
Sharmila SEN: No Passports, No Visas: The Line of Control Between India and Pakistan in Contemporary Bombay Cinema
Afterword
Contributors
Index
Peter MOREY and Alex TICKELL: Introduction
Anshuman A. MONDAL: The Limits of Secularism and the Construction of Composite National Identity in India
Alex TICKELL: The Discovery of Aryavarta: Hindu Nationalism and Early Indian Fiction in English
Elleke BOEHMER: âFirst Realise Your Needâ: Manju Kapurâs Erotic Nation
Shirley CHEW: âCutting Across Timeâ: Memory, Narrative, and Identity in Shashi Deshpandeâs Small Remedies
Amina YAQIN: The Communalization and Disintegration of Urdu in Anita Desaiâs In Custody
Ashok BERY: âReflexive Worldsâ: The Indias of A.K. Ramanujan
Peter MOREY: Communalism, Corruption and Duty in Rohinton Mistryâs Family Matters
Sujala SINGH: The Routes of National Identity in Amitav Ghoshâs The Shadow Lines
Ralph J. CRANE: Inscribing a Sikh India: An Alternative Reading of Khushwant Singhâs Train to Pakistan
Sharmila SEN: No Passports, No Visas: The Line of Control Between India and Pakistan in Contemporary Bombay Cinema
Afterword
Contributors
Index