REVISITING HISTORY: DECOLONIZING THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT THROUGH KAMILA SHAMSIE’S ‘A GOD IN EVERY STONE’: A COLONIAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Description
Abstract: Academic and intellectual investigations have been conducted on the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent. The time has had a significant impact on the indigenous culture and political structure. Numerous scholarly investigations have shed light on a wide range of political, military, and economic factors that contributed to both the formation and ultimate dissolution of the British Empire. This study investigates the role of colonial ideologies in facilitating the formation of the British Empire on the Indian subcontinent. According to the study, the establishment of the British Empire was not solely attributed to its military strength, but more to the influence of colonial discourses. Nevertheless, these discourses also gave rise to anticolonial resistance and ultimately contributed to the eventual downfall of the British Empire, as it became increasingly fragmented and characterised by a persistent cycle of anxiety-driven repetition. This study is grounded in the literary work of Kamila Shamie, namely her novel "A God in Every Stone" published in 2014, which introduces an additional perspective to the topic at hand. The present analysis is centred on Homi K. Bhaba's theoretical framework titled "Of Mimicry and Man: The Ambivalence of Colonial Discourse." Contrary to prevailing beliefs, the research findings indicate that the establishment and dissolution of the British Raj in the Indian subcontinent were not solely determined by military power, but rather influenced by colonial ideologies.