Postcolonial Identity Crisis in Contemporary Indian English Novels
Author : Dr. Gajanan Malviya
Abstract :
The postcolonial identity crisis is a central theme in contemporary Indian English novels. This paper examines how this crisis manifests through hybridity, mimicry, diaspora, and subaltern struggle. The study combines literary analysis with quantitative data. Data on English proficiency, book sales, readership demographics, and diaspora populations provide empirical context. Key novels analyzed include Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things," Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children," Kiran Desai's "The Inheritance of Loss," Aravind Adiga's "The White Tiger," and Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Namesake." The paper finds that approximately 220 million Indians speak English, yet only 5.3 per cent of literate youth prefer English for leisure reading. Indian English novels have sold millions of copies globally, with over 35 million people of Indian origin living outside India. The findings reveal a contradiction between global acclaim and limited local readership. The paper concludes that the postcolonial identity crisis remains unresolved. Indian English novels continue to give literary voice to this lived reality. Future research should examine digital publishing, post-2020 novels, comparative studies with regional language fiction, and reader surveys.
Keywords :
Postcolonial identity crisis, Indian English novels, hybridity, diaspora, mimicry, subaltern, readership demographics.
