The Politics of Nation Formation in Twentieth-Century English-Indian Fiction: Kipling, Forster, Rao, Narayan, Anand, and Rushdie

This book argues that the question of nation formation does not end with the finalization of independence. This work analyzes questions of aggressive and defensive nationalism, religion, language and the fate of the nation after independence. The book addresses the intersection of politics and fiction in the process of nation formation in English-Indian fiction during the twentieth century. It does this by explaining the position of a writer in the process of decolonization. The central question of this project is the construction in fiction, of political developments during the processes of nation formation in India, and how an English-Indian novelist reflects upon these issues. The conflict between colonizers and colonized in India has produced two extremes; the colonial aggressive stance and the native defensive position of fighting against colonial rule. The author has elaborated his argument on these questions in the form of aggressive nationalism and defensive nationalism. While discussing anti-colonial nationalism in India, it was relevant to my argument to address the construction of Gandhian nationalistic thought in fiction. Other significant questions raised include the issues of religion and language. Both these issues demonstrate important internal themes of a colonized society such as India. The final central question is the fate and development of a nation after independence.