A History of Indian English Literature

Indian English literature began as an interesting by-product of an eventual encounter in the late 18th century between a vigorous and enterprising Britain and a stagnant and chaotic India,and is now nearly two hundred years old,it is literature written originally in english by authors Indian by birth,ancestry or nationality.It is no part of English literature any more than American literature or australian literature can be said to be a branch of english literature.It is legitimately a part of Indian literature,since it's difeerentia is the expression in it of Indian ethos. Sahitya Akademi has accepted Indian English Literature as the most suitable applellation for this body of writing.The term emphasises two significant ideas:first that this liteature cnstitutes one of the many streams that join the great ocean called Indian literature,which though written in different languages has an unmistakable unity:and secondly,that it is an inevitable product of the nativization of the English language to express the India sensibility. Professor Naik traces the course of this history from it's beginnings to recent times,dividing it into convenient periods,in an analytical,critical and engaging style.