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Title ‘ORIENTAL OTHER-WITHIN’: READING ‘INTELLECTUAL COLONIALISM’ IN SELECTED SOUTH ASIAN ANGLOPHONE FICTION OF TAHMIMA ANAM AND NADEEM ASLAM

Author(s) HAFSA AZHAR

Abstract This qualitative study explores the aspects of postcolonial intellectual colonialism in the selected South Asian fiction by Tahmima Anam and Nadeem Aslam. The study discusses how both South Asian writers in their works, The Good Muslim (2011) and The Blindman’s Garden (2013) respectively, may be seen as embodiments of what Lau defines as re-Orientalism. This research explores how these two writers, as Oriental Other-within, seem to subscribe to the stereotyping of the Orient by misrepresenting their culture. The present research is based on the theoretical underpinnings of Lau’s concept of re-Orientalism, according to which the representation of the Orient is distorted by the Oriental Other-within. These Orientals Other-within opt to play around the shortcomings of the orient by negotiating the indigenous culture to address the western desire to consume the exotic image of this orient. This study aims at how cultural producers, with eastern affiliations, like Anam and Aslam compromise the East by using the orient as a spectacle for repeating and reinforcing stereotypes. This explorative study also examines how the eastern culture is shown in crisis by reducing the native to a negative entity. Moreover, this study explores the reasons for re-Orientalism as adopted by Anam and Aslam, in their narratives. Additionally, this research investigates how the writers, negotiating their Orient’s rich culture, give in to the pressures of global merchandising the eastern culture as exotic and stereotypical Orient either it be Anam’s Maya or Aslam’s Mikal. The research concludes with the findings, that by mapping out their orient with their natively authentic approach, both, Anam and Aslam subscribe to the stereotyping of the Orient by presenting distorted, skewed, and dogmatically overly generalized representation of South Asian culture to the western world.

Type Thesis/Dissertation MS

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2021-09-03

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