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Indian English literature its major distinctive characteristics

What is Indian English literature?


The term 'Indian English literature' broadly refers to the literature created by people of Indian
origin in the English language. It has a history of nearly two and a half centuries and spans a
large number of works on various subjects written by men and women both in India as well as
around the globe.
Formulating a coherent and precise definition of Indian English literature is problematic. The
brief and commonsensical description provided at the beginning of the essay describing
Indian English literature as writing in English produced by Indians is insufficient because
the concept of Indian people as a whole nation is a relatively new mi! of e"ually roughly
defined geographical# ethnical# cultural and historical notions arising primarily from $estern
%rientalist imagination.
&
Indian English literature a historical sketch
In order to characteri'e Indian English literature approporiately and describe its uni"ue
features one needs an understanding of its historical development and the conte!t in which it
was formed. Its history may be roughly divided into four periods( the earliest works# the
aesthetic period )c. &*+,-&.+,/# the realist period )c. &.+,-&.0,/ and the diasporic literature
)post &.0,/.
1lthough writing in the English language written in and about India# produced by
Englishmen# has e!isted already since the late &2
th
century the first te!t of Indian English
literature i.e. the first te!t in English authored by a person of Indian origin is the travelogue of
3heikh 4ean 5uhammad written in the late &*
th
century. %ther early te!ts in English authored
at the beginning of the &.
th
century by Indians such as the 6engali religious reformer
7ammohun 7oy or the 3outh Indian scholar 8avelli 9enkata 7amaswamy# notwithstanding
their literary "ualities# mostly served a pragmatic function.
3ince the +:s and ;:s of the nineteenth century a new phase of Indian English literature
& <riyamvada )+::./
known as the 'aesthetic phase' started# led by a few writers the most notable of whom were
5ichael 5adhusudan 4utt and =enry >ouis 9ivian 4ero'io. The primary medium which
they used was verse. Their productions had a primarily aesthetic function and were intended
to be art for art's sake. The writers largely drew on traditional Indian themes which were
freely interte!tuali'ed with the earlier literary productions of the native Indian languages.
In the second "uarter of the +:
th
century Indian English literature took a new turn and a wave
of realism insued. This period lasted appro!imately from &.+, to &.0,. It's writers focused on
the problems of contemporary Indian reality and everyday life. This literature was written
largely in prose# its primary genres being the novel# the short story# the novella# the essay and
the personal sketch. The most notable writers of this period were 7. ?. @arayan# 7aja 7ao#
5ulk 7aj 1nand and A. 9. 4esani. This literature was hardly uniform and within it we may
discern four primary ideological perspectives# all in relation and as a reaction to the
e!perience of 6ritish colonialism and the contact with the $est( authenticity# traditionalism#
nationalism and cosmopolitanism.
In the last decades of the twentieth century the centres of the Indian English literary culture
shifted entirely from the Indian subcontinent to the Indian diaspora abroad and another phase
of Indian English literature known as the 'diasporic phase' started. 1s the name suggests it was
dominated by writers of Indian origin living oversees# the most notable e!amples being
3alman 7ushdie and the @obel pri'e winning 9. 3. @aipaul. Its themes focused on the
e!periences of Indians abroad and their contact with the outside world.
+
Major distinctive features of Indian English literature
Indian English literature posesses a number of distinctive features which differentiate it both
from literatures in 3outh 1sian languages as well as obviously from the rest of the
1nglophone literature. 5any of these differences result from the particular circumstances
under which it was fomed and developed while in contact with the cultures of both English as
well as the vernacular Indian languages.
%ne of the uni"ue characteristics of Indian English literature is the fact that it's largely a
product of India's contact with the outside world and may be seen as a response to the foreign
+ 4harwadker )+::;/
discourses on India. The earliest works were directly or indirectly responses to the 6ritish
discourse B for e!ample the travelogues of 4ean 5uhammad mirrored the travelegoues left by
Englishmen in India while the works of 7ammohun 7oy were responses to the colonial and
missionary representations of =induism. The &.
th
century aesthetic works were written in
order to show that the Indians could compete with the English at producing at least e"ually
brilliant literary works. The majority of the realist Indian English literature produced in the
+:
th
century represented particular ideological view-points each of which developed in a strict
relation to the discourses on India of the 6ritishers. %bviously# the character of the diasporic
literature was moulded by the Indian immigrant e!perience and their contact with foreigners.
1nother important and perhaps the defining characteristic which differentiates Indian English
literature from the modern literatures of the 3outh 1sian languages is its cosmopolitan
character. English achieved the position of a cosmopolitan language of India by the middle of
the &.
th
century when it became the language of commerce# education and administration
throughout the subcontinent. The role played by the English language in India today is similar
to that of 3anskrit and <ersian in the earlier periods of 3outh 1sian history. Today the only
true rival of English for the role of a cosmopolitan Indian language is =indi-Crdu. Therefore#
Indian-English literature is a cosmopolitan literature unifying India unlike the regional
vernacular literatures.
1s Indian English literature attempts to convey something uni"uely Indian using a
fundamentally alien means B the English language B it is a literature of translations where
various uni"uely Indian themes were traslated into a different language B English )not
fundemantally suited to them/. 1s a result# as e!tensive research has shown# the styles of
English employed by various Indian writers carry with them the features of their native
languages such as synta!# rhythm# style and even vocabulary. Therefore# another defining
characteristic of Indian English literature is its uni"ue style of English.
5oreover# due to the fact that in the 6ritish empire English was the language of
administration associated with power and privilege and it provided economic opportunities for
employment the backgrounds of the writers of Indian English literature were affected. 5ost of
them came from middle and upper classes. 1lso# unsurprisingly# the more 1nglici'ed the 'one
the more Indian English writers it produced. The majority came from the areas of the three
presidencies of the 6ritish empire and from major urban regions. Indian English literature is
therefore geographically and socially more e!clusive than the vernacular Indian literatures.
;
Indian English literature and the vernacular South Asian literatures
Today# Indian English literature is becoming increasingly prominent and popular in the whole
world# including among $estern audiences. It has received accolades internationally# as is
evident by the recognition given to 3alman 7ushdie or the @obel pri'e awarded to 9. 3.
@aipaul.
%ne of the results of this increased popularity of Indian English literature is the fact that it has
eclipsed the vernacular literatures of India in the international scenes. This is suggested by a
large amount of data collected by @alini Iyer and 6onni Dare.
E
<ublication statistics prove that
in the largest book markets such as the 1merican book market foreign translated books )of
which books in vernacular 3outh 1sian languages obviously only make up for a fraction/
constitute less than one percent of the whole book market. 3tatistics obtained from $orld8at
by the same authors regarding the presence of the works of some of the more popular Indian
writers in libraries worldwide )which appears to be tiny/ prove e!actly the same thing. 1part
from that# Indian English literature has a disproportianately higher media presence in the $est
compared to the vernacular 3outh 1sian literatures. The same is visible from the uneven
dispersion of $estern book awards and promotion of publishers B English language works
seem unfairly supported. The available publication data suggests that even among narrow
academic e!pert cirlces the research and production of scholarly articles on 3outh 1sian
writers is surprisingly lacking. 1ll this suggests one conclusion B the vernacular literatures in
3outh 1sian languages virtually do not have an audience outside India.
%ne of the factors# albeit probably not the sole or even major one# which accounts for this
situation is the disparaging treatment which the vernacular Indian literatures happen to be
given in the public discourse in the $est. This approach to them is particularly e!emplified by
the statements made by none other than the most brilliant writers of Indian English literature
such as 7ushdie or @aipaul# which treat Indian English literature as the most valuable
contribution of India to the world of belles letres and dismiss the modern Indian vernacular
literatures and the themes they touch as parochial# naive as well as lacking in depth and not
; 4harwadker )+::;/
E Iyer F Darre )+::./
dealing with world-wide concerns.
In India# although obviously# literature in the modern Indian languages is still being produced
and read# the vernacular languages are becoming increasingly displaced by English. 4ata
collected on the educational curricula of higher educational institutions in India by Iyer and
Darre suggest that insufficient emphasis is put on the study of the vernacular languages and
the literatures# while English and especially 6ritish literature receives disproportionatelly
great attention. 1part from that# one must remember that India constitutes the world's third
largest market for English-language books. Effort has been e!erted to support the
development of the vernacular Indian literatures# by organisations which are active to promote
3outh 1sian literature# such as the 3ahitya 1kademi )1cademy of >etters/# which publishes
translations of modern works in 3outh 1sian languages and regularly gives awards to
vernacular writers. 6ut despite such activities the English language is on a rise in India and
this trend will only continue due to the important role of English in the international business
sector.
,
Conclusive remarks advantages of Indian writing in English
%ne may want to conclude a discussion of Indian English literature with a more general
appreciation of the advantages of writing in English. 1part from obvious commercial and
linguistic advantages such as making communication easier and transmitting typically Indian
themes to the wide world one may also speak of other deeper advantages. In modern India
the English language without much doubt succesfully performs its role of a lingua franca of
India# unifying or at least attempting to unify the whole nation. It cannot be stressed more that
it is the language of the Indian cosmopolis in a similar way as 3anskrit and <ersian were in
the past and Indian English literature is a key factor contributing to cultural unity for India
just as the literary cultures of 3anskrit and <ersian did in the past. 6ut apart from that# it
cannot be overstressed that while the Indian English literature took over the originally
$estern concept of India as a single nation it developed this originally alien idea and thus
contributed to the building and solidifying of Indian nationhood.
2
, Iyer F Darre )+::./
2 5ee )+::;/
References
&. 4harwadker# 9inay The Historical Formation of Indian-English Literature Gin(H
<ollock# 3heldon )+::;/ )ed./ Literary Cultures in History. Reconstructions from
South-Asia# Cniversity of 8alifornia <ress.
+. Iyer# @aliniI Dare# 6onni )+::./ )ed./ ther Tongues. Rethin!ing the Language
"ebates in India# 7odopi.
;. 5ee# Jon After #idnight$ The %o&el in the '()*s and '((*s Gin(H 5ehrotra# 1ravind
?rishna )+::;/ An Illustrated History of Indian +riting in English
Ghttp(KKwww.open.ac.ukK1rtsKferguson-centreKindian-litKdocumentsKpub-doc-jon-mee-
sept:0.htm B last access( &&.:..+:&EH.
E. <riyamvada# Aopal )+::./ The Indian %o&el in English# %!ford Cniversity <ress.

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