Postcolonial Perspectives in Indian English Literature: An Overview
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrjss.2026.v06.n01.012Keywords:
Postcolonialism, Indian English Literature, Hybridity, Colonial DiscourseAbstract
This paper examines postcolonial perspectives in Indian English literature by analyzing how writers negotiate the enduring cultural, psychological, and political legacies of colonialism. Drawing upon the theories of Edward Said, Homi K. Bhabha, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, the study explores key themes such as linguistic appropriation, hybrid identity, historical revisionism, marginality, gender, diaspora, and environmental justice. It argues that Indian English writers transform the colonial language into a medium of cultural assertion while challenging imperial narratives and recovering suppressed histories. Through the works of Raja Rao, Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, Mulk Raj Anand, Bama, Mahasweta Devi, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kiran Desai, and others, the paper demonstrates how literature becomes a site of resistance, self-representation, and identity formation. It concludes that postcolonial Indian English literature extends beyond anti-colonial discourse to engage with globalization, social inequality, ecological concerns, and evolving notions of nationhood, thereby contributing significantly to contemporary postcolonial scholarship.
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