Literature views reality critically. Literature presents the essence of reality linking things together. As art is the negative knowledge of the actual world, it exists in the real world and has a function in it. Yet, it offers a knowledge that negates a false condition.

Historically, the East India Company was formed by some leading London merchants. With a purpose to trade with India, the British came here and after it as we all know they dominated Indian subcontinent for more than 200 years. By the beginning of the 19 th century the British felt the need for educating and civilizing the natives for various purposes. That is why a token grant of rupees one lakh per year was made for education. In reality, their idea was to promote only Oriental education and to prepare human resource which could them in administration. They established the private schools that imparted English educationsuch schools have been started as early as 1717 at Cuddalore near Chennai. They also established printing presses in different parts of the country. The motif behind all these development was to dominate, control and to spread the oriental authority in Asia. Articulating the goals of British colonial imperialism most succinctly, Thomas Macaulay said in his infamous ‗Minute on Indian Education' (1835) that-We must do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern, a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, words and intellect." 1 Thus after reading, speaking and comprehending English, Indians soon started writing also. Simultaneously, Indian writing in English had to range from the most utilitarian prose to the most ambitious verse-epics. It emerged as a new creative force of resistance. It resisted the injustice and cruelty of the colonizers and manifested what we often referred to as the literary renaissance. So from a sapling to a strong rooted banyan tree with multiple new branches, Indian Literature in English now has emerged as a major voice of the nation. Indians, however, did not start writing in English in a dayit took several historical events. Many distinguished personalities had tried hard to bring Indian writing in English to its present eminence. Historical Perspective is an effort to contextualize the growth and rise of Indian English Literature, from its inception to its present glory. This paper discusses thematically the journey of Indian Literature from the colonial to the post-colonial period and from resistance to the search of the roots. Literature reflects the emotions and attitudes of the people of the country. It is a powerful mean to express the writer's thinking and his/her approach. In India, the English

Though English does not find a place in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution yet the use of English has been allowed for various purposes under Articles 210, 343(2), 345, and 348(3)(iii). As the burden of history is too heavy to be overthrown, in at least five Indian states English enjoys the status of official language. Studies in English Literature continue to be promoted in a big way in all the universities of the country and graduating in English is considered socially valuable and prestigious. Gandhi used English and published in it prolifically in the heydays of nationalistic fervour. Nehru himself an exuberant user of English, argued for its inclusion in the list of languages to be patronised by Sahitya Akademi, the national body for Indian literature. Whether the literature written in this language in India is unique and if it deserves a special treatment in the country is a debatable issue as has been made out also by Salman Rushdie's assertion in his book, The Vintage Book of Indian Writing, -… the ironical proposition that India's best writing since independence may have been done in the language of the departed imperialists is simply too much for some folks to bear‖ (xiv) though Rushdie goes to correct himself in the very next sentence: -It ought not to be true, and must not be permitted to be true.‖ (Idem) If the awards given by Sahitya Akademi are any proof, the record of English is excellent as no book worthy of an award has been found only in twelve years (1961, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 73, 74, 95, 97 and 2008; 1960's may be treated as an exception as the anti-English movement was at its peak) since 1960 (the year English was included in the list). Therefore, Salman Rushdie's observation, -. . . the prose writingboth fiction and non-fiction-created in this period by Indian writers working in English, is proving to be a stronger and more important body of work than most of what has been produced in the 16 ‗official languages' of India, the socalled ‗vernacular languages', during the same time; and, indeed, this new, and still burgeoning, ‗Indo-Anglian' literature represents perhaps the most valuable contribution India has yet made to the world of books‖ (x) appears to be quite valid and genuine. However, there are others who refuse to accept anything written in this language as authentic Indian as -English is not the language in which most of the writers dream in.‖ However, there is no denying the fact that a vast literature in India exists in English despite the debate about the genuineness of the literature. ) provides the following information: -… Raja Rammohan Roy began publishing his work [in English] in 1816, and recent research has shown that Indians were contributing to English-language periodicals in India before the end of the eighteenth century. The first book so far known to have been published in English by an Indian was Sake Deen Mahomed's Travels (1794). Since English-language education started in India as early as 1717, it is possible that Indo-English literature was published even earlier. This needs concerted research which has simply not been done so far.‖ (312) B J Wadia is right when he writes: -… all that is written by Indians in the English language cannot be called ‗literature'.‖ (Iyengar 1945 ix) and therefore utmost care has to be taken in deciding the starting point of this literature.

International Journal of Research, 2017

Indian Literature in English might as yet appear as a conundrum. India is of course, India, and English the language of England. English in India still reflects the stereotypical colonial hangover. But without resorting to such platitudes like English being an international language, and writing in English in India being one major way of getting noticed overseas etc, I might state that there is as yet little need for pleading the case for the existence and flourishing of Indian writings in English. But in festivals like this one where we are celebrating poetry from India under several sections like women’s writing and Dalit Writing and writing in the regional languages, how do we envisage the situation of the writer in English? A fish out of water? Or a sore thumb? Barring the specific curio aspect of the language the experience of the Indian writer can unarguably be evidenced through this chunk of the Indian literary spectrum—this usually gets noticed in the west but sometimes for ...

International Journal On Integrated Education, 2021

The British Government established English as a language in India. As a result, English would almost certainly perish as a language in India. It grew into something more. From a historical standpoint, Indian English literature has gone through many periods, including Indo-Anglian, Indian-English, and Indian writing in English, and, most recently, Indian English literature. Despite the diversity of its languages, races, and faiths, Indian writing in English has effectively grasped and embodied the multi-cultural, multilingual community. The present study focused on the development of the Indian English Novel of Pre & post-independence period. The main objective of this study to find out the rise and development of the Indian English Novel of multilingual India. Methodology Employed based on qualitative research.

International Journal of English: Literature, Language & SkillsLiterature, Language , 2019

As we know, England is not the only place in the world where literature in English language is produced. India happens to be the third largest producer of books in English. Indians' contribution to English literature is significant considering the fact that post-1980 Salman Rushdie phenomenon; hundreds of writers have written novels in English. Quite a few of them have won awards at the international level. My paper classifies the themes of 327 novels written after 2000AD by Indian authors, residing in or out of India, and apart from underlining the issues taken up by these writers' deals in detail with three works by different authors, covering three important dimensions of Indian society, viz., youth, family and Diaspora.

2023

The paper problematizes various issues, like nomenclature, sense and sensibility, Indian-English and suitability as teaching materials, related to “Indian English Literature” and discusses them in all possible dimensions. The discussion on the appellation concentrates on “Indo-Anglican Literature”, “Indo-English Literature”, “Indo-Western literature” and “Indian English Literature”. The reasons for the last term being dumped by the literary historians, creative writers and critics in favour of “Indian Writing in English” are explored. It is argued that the makers of this hybrid literature neither use Indian English nor do they display Indian sense and sensibility. The paper contests the claim that the diasporic writings are Indian writings. It is postulated that the themes of this literature do not enlighten the reader about the concerns of the main Indian society in the light of the matrix of the multinational publishers and the displaced authors in the capitalists and globalized world. If this literature could be used to achieve the objectives of NEP-2020 and if it could be taught in Indian regional languages are the other issues taken up.

Atlantis: Journal of the Spanish Association of Anglo-American Studies, 2013

Th e emergence of Indian literature in English as an object of study is a landmark in the history of English Studies in India.1 One need not reiterate the space it has occupied in English Studies curricula and research over a period of more than fi ve decades, although the pioneering work undertaken by eminent Indian teachers of English from the early generation —K.R. Srinivasa Iyangar, C.D. Narasimhaiah, G.S. Amur and M.K. Naik among them— in promoting the fi eld and attaining international recognition should be acknowledged. Th ey trained several generations of students in the fi eld through their courses, their extensive research and abundant publications. Of these pioneers, G.S. Amur stands out as unique,2 for his sheer profundity and range of engagement not only with Indian literature but also with American and postcolonial literatures and, more prominently, Kannada literature. He initiated interest in the fi eld by conceiving the idea of a book on Indian literature in English,...

Studies in Media and Communication

IntroductionIndian Literature with its multiplicity of languages and the plurality of cultures dates back to 3000 years ago, comprising Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas and Epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. India has a strong literary tradition in various Indian regional languages like Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and so on. Indian writers share oral tradition, indigenous experiences and reflect on the history, culture and society in regional languages as well as in English. The first Indian novel in English is Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Rajmohan’s Wife (1864). Indian Writing in English can be viewed in three phases - Imitative, First and Second poets’ phases. The 20th century marks the matrix of indigenous novels. The novels such as Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable (1935), Anita Nair’s Ladies Coupé (2001), and Khuswant Singh’s Memories of Madness: Stories of 1947 (2002) depict social issues, vices and crises (discrimination, i...