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Reading the Fragmented National Imaginary in Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and Shame as Symptomatic of Diasporic Schizophrenia

© Gargi Bhattacharya 2009

India as having been conceived as ‘imaginary homeland’ to diasporic writers, who exist at the fringes of national existence because of their self-exiled status, the paper is devoted to the fragmented vision of the many Indias that emerge after battling conflicts of interest and imagination in the writings of one of the most celebrated diasporic authors of our times—Salman Rushdie. His experiences, both as an insider and an outsider, remain imperative in the (de)construction of an entire nation’s fate. In two novels, Midnight’s Children and Shame, he unpacks the lethal forces of history that have hung heavy on this prehistoric nation, the way the subcontinent has survived manhandling for centuries and has consequently emerged battle-weary and scarred. The subsequent fragmentation of the topographical areas of the country following each war has symbolised, over the new century, the significant fragmentation in the nature of the nation state, the fissures in its post-colonial frame, and the deep psychological crisis in the post-national psyche. The paper is therefore an endeavour to undertake an analysis and scrutiny of a diasporic author’s imaginarium of his own splintered existence in tandem with his mother nation, and an effort to comprehend the quasi-historical and mythical treatment of the theme of the nation which in itself is mythical and legendary in character.

Gargi Bhattacharya: Pursuing Master of Philosophy (M. Phil.) in English, first year, in Jawaharlal Nehru University, after successfully completing M.A. in English in the same University and being ranked first. Variously employed in the capacity of ad-hoc lecturer in Shivaji College as also guest lecturer in Motilal Nehru College and P.G.D.A.V. College, all affiliated to Delhi University. Employed in the capacity of Production Editor in the prestigious SAGE Publications, New Delhi. M.A. in English Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University and B.A. in English from St.Xavier`s College, Kolkata. She has a particular interest in Critical Theory, Indian Writings in English, Folk Literature and Film Studies.