Religion in South Asian Anglophone Literature

This volume studies the representation of religion in South Asian Anglophone literature of the twentieth and twenty-first century. It traces the contours of South Asian writing through the consequences of the complex contesting forces of blasphemy and secularization. Employing a cross-disciplinary approach, it discusses various key issues such as religious fundamentalism, Islamophobia, religious majoritarianism, nationalism, and secularism. It also provides an account of the reception of this writing within the changing conceptions of racial "Others" and cultural difference, particularly with respect to minority writers, in terms of ethnic background and lack of access to social mobility. The volume features chapters on key texts, including The Hungry Tide, The Enchantress of Florence, In Times of Seige, One Part Woman, Anil’s Ghost, The Book of Gold Leaves, Red Earth and Pouring Rain, The Black Coat and Swarnalata, among others.

An important contribution to the study of South Asian literature, the book will be indispensable for students and researchers of literary studies, religious studies, cultural studies, literary criticism, and South Asian studies.

Sk Sagir Ali is Assistant Professor at the Department of English, Midnapore College (Autonomous), West Bengal, India.

Goutam Karmakar is Assistant Professor, Department of English, BBTM College under Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, West Bengal, India.

Nasima Islam is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Acharya Girish Chandra Bose College, under University of Calcutta , Kolkata, India.