Nationalism and internationalism in selected Indian English novels: 1909 – 1930

The thesis aims at analyzing the ideas of Indian nationalism and Indian identity as constructed and disseminated through four Indian English novels published between 1909 and 1930.

The novels to be dealt with in this thesis were authored and published during two of the very important phases in the history of Indian nationalist movement – the Swadeshi Movement (1903-1908) and the Non Co-operation Movement of the 1920s. Thus, this thesis will prove how Indian English novels published before 1930, the majority of which have not been studied with proper attention, bear prominent impressions of the idea of Indian nationalism which was developing coterminously with the publication of these novels. It will show how the novels published in two different phases of the Indian nationalist movement bear similar and dissimilar impressions of the developing imagination of India as a nation.

Secondly, this thesis aims at establishing the unique aspect of Indian nationalism that the authors emphasize through their narratives, that is, the idea of internationalist nationalism. The authors believed in an idea of nationalism in which loyalty to one’s own nation does not entail the disavowal or denigration of the interests of other nations. Thus their idea of nationalism, as professed through their works, contained the implication of a humanistic internationalism.

Though some of these novels have been mentioned in previous researches, detailed analytical study of the works from the perspective of nationalism and internationalism has not been attempted till date. Whatever might be the reasons behind their slipping into oblivion, there would remain an immense void if this phase of evolution in Indian English literature is neglected.