Attempt a postcolonial analysis of South Asian literatures written in English.

Gandhi’s assertion may be seen as an example of a refusal or rejection of the categories of the imperial culture. This refusal is more than a gesture of nationalist assertion; it constitutes a radical interrogation of the bases and philosophical assumptions of European and British metaphysics. (Ashcroft, 1989,33)

At the same time, at another level, problems with English as the medium of instruction persist. In a recent issue of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) (July 28-August 3,2001 – Vol.xxxvi No.30), an article on the ‘Politics of Development in Postcolonial India’ discusses the social fracturing caused by English medium education. As a marker of class privilege, English education becomes a terrain of struggle and results in increasing polarization, fracturing and violence along class, caste, religious and gender lines (David Faust, Richa Nagar, EPW.