Nayantara Sahgal: A Century of Political Insights PDF
Preview Nayantara Sahgal: A Century of Political Insights
NAYANTARA SAHGAL This book is a comprehensive critical re-reading of Nayantara Sahgal’s oeuvre. One of the most significant Indian English writers, her fictional and non-fictional engagement with historical events and political dilemmas inextricably links her to the colonial, anti-colonial and post-colonial discourse in India. Drawing transcontinental connections with the ideas of Fanon, Foucault, Said, Beauvoir, White, Beck and Habermas the monograph juxtaposes recurring themes in her writing with the ideas of significant Indian post-colonial commentators. Tracing the subliminal tendencies in her writing to Gandhian humanity and Nehruvian pragmaticism, the book moves beyond clichés of feminist criticism and genea- logical ties to unveil a unique artist who has folded nearly a century of Indian experience in her work. Drawing on novels, essays, speeches, journalism and interviews by Nayantara Sahgal, this volume will be of great interest to scholars of South Asian literature, post-colonialism, politics and contemporary history/culture/change. Maninder Sidhu is Professor and Head, Department of English and Centre for Research, GCG-11, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. NAYANTARA SAHGAL A Century of Political Insights Maninder Sidhu Cover image: Gama5 / Getty Images First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Maninder Sidhu The right of Maninder Sidhu to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Disclaimer: Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-032-22277-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-40599-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-35385-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003353850 Typeset in Bembo by codeMantra For Sabrina and Sabharsh CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix List of abbreviations xi Chronology xiii PART I Contexts and Intertexts 1 1 Introduction 3 2 Intellectual Intertexts 21 3 Moral Moorings: Gandhi and Nehru 43 4 Contemporary Intersections/Deflections: VS Naipaul, Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy 60 PART II Novels and Memoirs 79 5 Autobiographical Effacement 81 Prison and Chocolate Cake, From Fear Set Free and Relationship 6 Political Interventions 99 viii Contents Storm in Chandigarh, A Situation in New Delhi and Rich Like Us 7 Cosmopolitanism and Historiographic Fiction 131 Plans for Departure, Mistaken Identity and Lesser Breeds 8 Post-Secularism and the Religious Turn 167 When the Moon Shines by Day, The Fate of Butterflies and Encounter with Kiran 9 Afterword 182 Books by Sahgal 187 Select Criticism of Sahgal’s Writings 189 Index 191 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to Aakash Chakrabarty, Brinda Sen and Muhilan Selvaraj and their team at Routledge for the professional expertise, sharp-sightedness and in- valuable guidance they brought to the publication of the volume. They smoothly and speedily steered the book through its progressive stages, and gave it the final form. I am very grateful to Prof Akshaya Kumar for sighting the possibilities in the project when I first discussed the proposal with him; his optimistic and help- ful response propelled the plan out of inertia into fruition. My sincere thanks to Prof Manjit Inder Singh for mentoring my academic aspirations with his inval- uable scholarship; he went through sections of the manuscript at a short notice, correcting its course where required with his insightful observations. Thanks are due to my supportive family, refreshingly disruptive friends, uplifting students, diligent helpers and unconcerned canines who provided the ambience, space and time so integral to the writing process. Finally, I formally acknowledge the energy my partner, Manvesh, infused into the project – there’s no way the book would see the light of day without his backing.
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