Nationalism and SAARC Literature in English.

SAARC Literature

Notion of ‘Nation’ and ‘Nationalism’ has been pivotal issue gaining attention of the writers of South Asia in recent decades. Delineating conceptual variability of the terms: ‘state’ - ‘nation’ and ‘patriotism’ – ‘nationalism’, the ideologues attempt to redefine the idea of Nation and Nationalism contextualizing the said concepts into the local conditions. The hegemonic impact of western literary practices has arguably overshadowed the indigenous literary spirit, however, literary production of the writers from the East has noticeably made its way in the world literature in the twentieth and twenty first century. Consequently, revival of indigenous model of nation and conception of nationalism has become prevalent expression in contemporary literature of South Asia. This paper is an attempt to examine variable perceptions pertinent to the idea of ‘nation’ and ‘nationalism’ discoursed in literature of SAARC nations: India and Pakistan. Analyzing two of the critically acclaimed texts with regards to nationalism – The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh and The Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie, the paper examines scrupulously the conflicting ideologies pertinent to nationalism; for instance, constitutional nationalism that was triggered during anti-colonial era and religious nationalism that accentuates the revival of ancient religio-cultural ideologies in favor of asserting the complete indigenous power.

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