LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 25:5 May 2025
ISSN 1930-2940

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Aftermath of Decolonized Hegemony in Select Novels: A Socio Political Analysis

Dr. M. Subha, Associate Professor
Dr. D. Nagarani, Assistant Professor and
Dr. Jibin Francis, Postdoctoral Fellow

Abstract

The impact of colonization and the caste system on marginalized individuals in postcolonial India is complex and ongoing. The novels The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and Serious Men by Manu Joseph offer insightful perspectives into the ethical challenges faced by those who are denied access to power and resources. Despite the end of colonial rule, the caste system has persisted, perpetuating inequality and denying opportunities to those who are considered lower castes. Oppression in India was not solely due to colonization. The 'Varna Shastras' also played a significant role in dividing Indian society into four categories: Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vysyas, and Shudras. In this system, knowledge, education, power, and economic opportunities were predominantly reserved for the first category of people. The Kings shared power with the Shatriyas, and the traders with the Vysyas. Unfortunately, the last group was completely excluded from these benefits. This paper aims to explore the impact of decolonization on this hierarchical system in India and the ongoing struggles of marginalized individuals to overcome the challenges they face in their daily lives.

Keywords: Decolonization, hegemony, manipulation, multi-ethnicity, subversion

Introduction

Any marginalized person is very conscious about his/ her status in the periphery, especially in a postcolonial society like India. Contemporary literary discourse in English depicts this marginality in terms of culture and economy. Marginalized peoples, like all others, strive to establish their identity in the society through equality and well-being. They aim at upward mobility, nevertheless, the development need not necessarily be ethical, instead it focuses on financial growth thereby the development itself may become ironic according to natural human standards. The reputed awards as in the case of Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger and Manu Joseph's Serious Men identify this pertinent change in behavior. Though every individual aspires to reach a self-sufficient status in terms of economy, power is also an important factor after the deliberations of Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche. Both the selected writers consciously and carefully depict the current complexities of human life and the writings raise from marginalized voices and the marginalized through magnifying lens.

In a multi-ethnic land like India where there are so many religions, as well as major socio-economic and gender gaps, almost everyone, in one context or the other, may experience marginalization. When the marginalized write their lives, they document their current status in the society and trace their past as well. India, a multi-ethnic country, has its own previously constructed caste system in which there was only one upper caste and the others were layered one inside the other in a determined hierarchy. India consists of different religions due to various periods of invasion and colonization. In addition to this, economy and power was not shared to all due to hierarchy established through the Laws of Manu, which was originally rendered in Sanskrit in between 2nd Century BCE and 3rd Century CE. This created two major divisions based on economy, those who have and those who do not have.

The marginalized not only document their identity in the society but they demonstrate their strength and their originality. Their writing is a defense to their life and status. They never hesitate to display the contemporary reality in the globalized multi-ethnic world. Most importantly, when they narrate their own stories it sprouts with empathy and it is a celebration of their life instead of deploring for the deficits.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. M. Subha
Associate Professor
Department of English, AMET Deemed to be University, Chennai
subham@ametuniv.ac.in

Dr. D. Nagarani
Assistant Professor
Department of English, Anna Adarsh College for Women, Anna Nagar, Chennai
dnagarani2009@gmail.com
&
Dr. Jibin Francis
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of English, AMET University, Chennai
drjibinfrancis@gmail.com
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