As
the identity of literature depends essentially on nationality
and not on language, it is untenable to argue that only
regional literatures - called `Bhasha Literatures' by
G N Devy - are the national literatures of India. Since
these writers and Indian English literature writers
face the same situation, both embody in their literary
corpus the same Indian sensibility. Both are representatives
of Indian literature. Usually, writers of Bhasha literature
denounce Indian English literature as inauthentic and
lacking in Indian sensibility. The present paper seeks
to contest this charge, citing the contribution of writers
like Vikram Seth, Shashi Tharoor, Amitav Ghosh and R
Parthasarathi. Indian English writers like Kamala Das,
Manoj Das and Jayanta Mahapatra are bilingual writers,
and writers like Shashi Tharoor and Girish Karnad draw
their plots from Indian epics like The Mahabharata.
The author argues against bipolarity between Bhasha
literatures and Indian English literature, as both are
products of the same Indian mind and sensibility and
constitute one `Indian Literature'.
The
question of identity and nomenclature of literature
is open-ended. Can there be only one literature or many
literatures in a nation? What gives an identity to literature
- language or culture? Again, what is culture? Is it
singular or plural? These are some of the relevant questions
which need to be answered in the context of the identity
of national literatures. In a multilingual country like
India, there are several literatures written in the
different languages of the country. Which one is the
real Indian literature?
This
is a sixty-four thousand dollar question. The identity
of literature hinges on nationality, and not language.
Had language been the measuring rod of giving identity
to literature, there would have been only one literature
in English, which Bruce King calls, the International
English Literature in the English speaking world (both
in the first world and the third world countries). International
English literature is a myth or at best a utopian concept.
Similarly, regional literatures in India, which come
under the cover term `Bhasha Literatures', coined by
G N Devy, are not the only national literatures of India.
This paper proposes to establish that Indian English
literature is the new national literature of India and
`Bhasha Literatures' are bound to annex it, and if possible,
absorb it into their corpus to make it an integral part
of Indian literature.
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