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Akshita Garg

Prof. Sandhya Nambiar

Indian English Literatures

1 November 2024

Concept of Multiple Englishes and Indian English Literature: Intersecting the Postcolonial Self and

National Identity

The concept of "multiple Englishes" is also based on the assumption of the wide dissemination and

localization of the English language, suited to the cultural, historical, and regional contexts. This change

heralds a great deviation from the earlier view of the English language as an exclusive standard to one with a

vibrant plurality, wherein every variant assumes different regional flavours, expressions, and cultural

orientations. In colonies like India, the movement of English into different forms is indeed spectacular. Here,

English has been repositioned so as to take on meanings which resonate well with local concerns, values, and

experiences. IEL is the absolute example of the phenomenon described: it is one of those examples that

wonderfully exemplify the complexity and layered realization of post-colonial reality in the Indian sub-

continent and reflects the post-colonial identity.

IEL can therefore offer an angle through which it can be understood how English has been powerfully

claimed and domesticated to become a local language for articulating the Indian experience and forging

national identity at the same time as negotiating the global community. Many interesting intersections of the

Indian self and the English language appear within the literary contributions of authors such as Salman

Rushdie, Vikram Seth, Kamala Das, Nissim Ezekiel, Rohinton Mistry, Shashi Deshpande, among others. Their

works aptly demonstrate how English could be used to communicate an Indian worldview. This exploration

beneath underlines the plurality within the English language but also makes it an instrument for self-

expression, a site for negotiating identity, and a means of asserting a postcolonial national self.
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Multiple Englishes: From a Single Standard to Diverse Expressions

It is often argued that there exist multiple Englishes rather than one standardized one that originated in

Britain and whose structure applies equally all over the world. Instead, as it crossed the world, that is, in its

journey and influenced by the forces of colonialism, globalization, and cultural exchange, local communities

shaped the language; and thus, English took several transformations. For example, it was adapted to contain

idioms, linguistic structures, and worldviews particular to each community, culminating in such variants as

Australian English, Nigerian English, American English, and Indian English. These variations in turn reflect

the cultural and historical contexts of their respective speakers.

This diversification heavily affects literature, as authors stretch the English language to express and reflect

local settings, customs, and perspectives. Its change is most pronounced in the postcolonial. While English

was once the colonial tool for domination, native writers use it in its new form to relate stories, critique

colonial history, and assert their special cultural identities. It thus turns into a means of resistance and self-

definition through the process of reappropriation by which the language is made to capture the lived realities

of its speakers.

Indian English literature in the postcolonial experience

English in India has a problematic legacy. As the language of British administration, it was set

hierarchically above the native languages of India and was used to enforce the domination of another culture.

Yet, English is now an important part of India's postcolonial present, in its education, its government, in media

and literature. From this troubled history comes a distinct, particular kind of English - one that captures the

truths, concerns, and identities of the people of India.

IEL occupies a unique position on the world literary map. It is at once local in its subtleties and global in its

significance. Indian writers use English to address a global audience but also focus on issues deeply embedded

in the Indian context, such as caste dynamics, gender roles, class struggles, religious pluralism, and the long

shadow of colonialism. In their narratives, they grapple with the paradoxes of postcolonial identity, where

English both weighs them down with the burden of colonial oppression and provides them with a means of
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self-expression. A fine example of the malleability of the language and the subject-agentive capacity of its

postcolonial subjects in recapturing their own tongue is in the reformation of English in IEL. Indian authors

created very different English- a rich one, culturally diverse, socially vibrant, and historically specific to

India-in a synthesis between local dialects, idioms, and cultural reference points with the English language.

Thus, it contributes toward the greater dialogue about various Englishes and presents another possibility

wherein English can form a flexible expression of varying global outlooks.

National Identity and the Postcolonial Self in Indian English Literature

The negotiation of national identity and the postcolonial self is a central theme in IEL. After independence,

India was faced with the challenge of constructing a unified national identity that could accommodate its

linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity. Writers in English are crucial to this process in that their writing

represents and articulates the complexities of Indian identity in a postcolonial context. There are several

duality dimensions within the postcolonial self in IEL. There is an intrinsic affinity towards the Indian

tradition, values, and cultural norms and at the same time, Western influence by the use of the English

language and adoption of ideas and practices from the West. These two are therefore two dimensions of

duality which create a dimension of hybridity, whereby, identities are neither entirely of the East nor solely the

West.

This hybridity then becomes a source of strength as well as the site of tension for most Indian authors as

they attempt to navigate their difficult journey of articulating a uniquely Indian experience through a language

historically bound up with colonialism.

Critical Analysis of Some Major Works of Indian English Literature It is instructive to examine select

works by some of the most prominent IEL writers to develop greater understanding of how Indian writers

negotiate themes of national identity, postcolonial selfhood, and adaptation.

1. Vikram Seth: A Suitable Boy

Vikram Seth's novel A Suitable Boy is a panoramic view of post-Partition India and discusses issues of

family, marriage, social change, and national identity. Through the lives of four families, Seth encapsulates
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the linguistic, cultural, and religious tapestry of India. His English is laced with Hindi and Urdu and gives an

example of how the language is a manifestation of India's multilingual reality.

This code-switching is the hybridity of Indian English, where fluid language is a means to communicate a

uniquely Indian perspective. Seth's work shows the impossibility of any commonness in national identity

within a society marked by its diversity, echoing the complexities of postcolonial selfhood.

2. Shashi Deshpande: The Intrusion

In her short story The Intrusion, Shashi Deshpande handles the inner turmoil and alienation faced by

women in a patriarchal society.

Indian English use in the hands of Deshpande does strengthen the fight of the protagonist to be a different

individual in the background of traditional, patriarchal systems. The narrative voice of *The Intrusion* is

simple yet emotive because it captures the psychological impacts of societal norms on the lives of women. In

Deshpande's account, postcolonial identities are not only formed based on historical contexts but personal

fights against societal expectations within the domestic sphere.

3. Salman Rushdie: The Courter

Salman Rushdie's The Courter explores issues of identity, cultural dislocation, and belonging through the

use of magical realism and comedy. It captures the migrant experience and the sensation of straddling two

worlds as it revolves around an Indian family living in Britain. Rushdie's English is replete with Indian idioms

and rhythms, and therefore a mixed language was created, full of the tension of intimacy and estrangement.

This is the kind of text that shows how the very same language can both mark out and bring together

postcolonial identities as equally a legacy of colonialism and as a channel of global communication.

4. Rohinton Mistry: Swimming Lessons

The Parsi community in India forms the background of Rohinton Mistry's Swimming Lessons. Here, one

encounters the actual experiences that form the life of a minority group. While Mistry uses Indian English

interspersed throughout with Parsi idioms and cultural references, he tries to capture the specific realities of
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his characters' lives living amidst a multicultural society. The narrative style reflects the community's desire to

maintain its identity in the face of assimilation pressure. It portrays the internal diversity of Indian society and

the challenges of forming a common sense of nationhood in postcolonialism.

5. Vikram Chandra: Dharma

In Dharma, Vikram Chandra explores themes of dharma, morality, and violence against the backdrop of the

moral crises that the people are increasingly being faced with by an increasingly transformed society.

Chandra's use of Indian English, full of Hindi expressions and cultural references, parallels the ethical

dilemmas and spiritual questions his characters are faced with. In doing so, the voice of the narrative

represents this point of intersection between tradition and modernity that exists within postcolonial Indian

identity as often contradictory in itself. With his very effective use of language, Chandra brings out the

cultural and moral conflicts that arise in a society affected by both ancient traditions and modern realities.

Poetry and the Indian Identity

Indian English poets have greatly contributed in the way of exploring postcolonial themes through their

work. The poetry of Kamala Das, Nissim Ezekiel, and Arun Kolatkar goes to reveal the richness of Indian

experiences and identities articulated through language as personal struggles and collective ones.

1. Kamala Das: An Introduction and My Grandmother's House

In her poem An Introduction, Kamala Das comes forthright in stating her right to speak of herself and in

English in when she declares, "The language I speak / Becomes mine". That aptly captures her entire

movement of self-assertion and struggle, while she appropriates the mother-tongue English in uttering one's

deep-down thoughts and feelings. This way, her usage of English is very personal, strewn with rhythms and

cultural references of Malayalam of her motherland, bearing testimony to the hybrid self of an Indian

woman walking over the intersectionality of traditional and modern moorings.

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Similarly, in My Grandmother's House, the subject is memory, loss, and longing through words

expressing the poet's deep root connection. Das's work embodies the intricate nature of postcolonial

identity, where English functions both as a means of liberation and a reminder of colonial histories.

2. Nissim Ezekiel: Night of the Scorpion and Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa TS

The poems of Nissim Ezekiel, such as Night of the Scorpion and Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa TS,

reflect his mastery in the use of Indian English to express the complexities of Indian life. In Night of the

Scorpion, Ezekiel depicts a rural community's response to a scorpion sting, where the ordinary blends with

the supernatural. It speaks through English yet still tries to anchor the narrative into a decidedly Indian

context. It highlights cultural beliefs and rituals. The other Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa TS takes the

format of comedy but, above all, reflects cultural misunderstandings and the harsh realities of urban life in

India. Through his poems, Ezekiel demonstrates that Indian English can successfully articulate the subtlety

of experiences of India while negotiating themes of identity, belonging, and the postcolonial condition.

3. Arun Kolatkar: The Bus

The postcolonial Indian cities seem to exhibit the dislocation and alienation of citizens as evident in Arun

Kolatkar's poem, The Bus. The Indian writer here uses a bus trip metaphor to delineate on the chaotic

existence in modern times, taking upon itself Indian English and hence putting together the realities of such

fractured existence into a larger metaphoric scenario of writing that is basically speaking and saying the self

to fight with the crises of this very postcoloniality of identity. Kolatkar’s work underscores the potential of

Indian English to convey the complexities of contemporary Indian life while engaging with universal

themes of displacement and belonging.

4. Mamang Dai: The Sorrow of Women

Mamang Dai’s poem The Sorrow of Women delves into the experiences of women in the context of

cultural and historical upheavals in Northeast India. Dai’s use of English reflects her deep connection to her

indigenous roots, blending traditional themes with contemporary issues. The poem encompasses the

emotional weight of loss and resilience, which personifies the struggles that women face in a postcolonial
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society. In her work, Dai emphasizes the importance of language to express the nuanced realities of

marginalized communities, showing how Indian English can be a powerful tool to amplify diverse voices

within the literary landscape.

Conclusion

In short, theory of multiple Englishes has re-shaped the idea of a living and continuously evolving medium

reflecting diverse experiences and identities. Indian English Literature is a key place to investigate this play of

language, postcolonial identity, and national selfhood. We see in the works of Indian authors the

transformation of English into a local language that speaks to the complexities of Indian life while engaging

with global conversations. Such rich tapestry of IEL is indicative of possibilities with English as a tool of self-

expression, resistance, and cultural negotiation. In this regard, Indian writers operate at the junctures of

language, identity, and history and become part of a more complex and wide-ranging conversation in relation

to postcolonialism and national identity issues. Exploration of the multiplicity of English within the Indian

English literature underscores not only language as being adaptable but also a resilience of postcolonial

subjects in reclaiming and redefining their own narrative.

Works Cited

Chandra, Vikram. "Dharma." Love and Longing in Bombay, Little, Brown and Company, 1997, pp. 89-
127.

Dai, Mamang. "The Sorrow of Women." River Poems, Writers Workshop, 2004.

Das, Kamala. "An Introduction." Summer in Calcutta, DC Books, 1965.

---. "My Grandmother's House." Summer in Calcutta, DC Books, 1965.

Deshpande, Shashi. "The Intrusion." Collected Stories, Penguin Books India, 2003.

Ezekiel, Nissim. "Goodbye Party for Miss Pushpa T.S." Collected Poems, Oxford University Press, 2005.

---. "Night of the Scorpion." Collected Poems, Oxford University Press, 2005.

Kolatkar, Arun. "The Bus." Jejuri, Clearing House, 1976.

Mistry, Rohinton. "Swimming Lessons." Tales from Firozsha Baag, Faber and Faber, 1987.

Rushdie, Salman. "The Courter." East, West, Vintage, 1994.

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Seth, Vikram. A Suitable Boy. Viking Press, 1993.

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Mukherjee, Meenakshi. The Perishable Empire: Essays on Indian Writing in English. Oxford University
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Narayan, R.K. "English in India." The Writerly Life: Selected Non-Fiction, Penguin Books India, 2001.

Rao, Raja. "Language and Spirit." The Meaning of India, Vision Books, 1996.

Rushdie, Salman. "Commonwealth Literature Does Not Exist." Imaginary Homelands: Essays and
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