Contradictory Indianness: Indenture, Creolization, and Literary Imaginary

Contradictory Indianness emphasizes the reimagining of Indianness in the Caribbean by Indo-Caribbean writers, challenging monolithic perceptions of Indian cultural identity and evolution. It highlights the engagement with Caribbean poetics, forging symbolic bridges between Africanized and Indianized cultures and distinguishing between indenture and South Asian Indianness.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 244 pages
Publication date: 15 July 2022
Publisher: Rutgers University Press

Rewritten text:

Contradictory Indianness delves into the captivating realm of postcolonial Caribbean aesthetics, which has always embraced inclusivity, interraciality, and resistance against Old World colonial orders. To fully understand this aesthetic, it is essential to consider the contributions of Indo-Caribbean writers, who have reimagined Indianness within the region. While forms of Indo-Caribbean cultural expression, such as music, cuisine, or religion, are often recognized as creolizing processes, the literary imaginary of Indo-Caribbean writers has received relatively limited scholarly attention.

In Contradictory Indianness, the authors explore the work of several key figures, including Ismith Khan, Harold Sonny Ladoo, Totaram Sanadhya, LalBihari Sharma, and Shani Mootoo. These writers' engagement with the regional and transnational poetics of the Caribbean highlights symbolic bridges between cultural worlds that are conventionally perceived as distinct: the Africanized and Indianized. The book distinguishes between cultural worlds that are often assumed to be the same, such as indenture and South Asian Indianness.

By privileging Indo-Caribbean fiction as a creolizing literary imaginary, the book seeks to expand the study beyond a narrow canon that has inadvertently perpetuated monolithic and unidimensional perceptions of Indian cultural identity and evolution in the Caribbean. It challenges the notion that Indian cultural identity and evolution can be understood solely through the lens of indentures and highlights the interconnectedness of (post)indenture aesthetics within the broader transnational cartography of the region.

Through its insightful analysis, Contradictory Indianness offers a fresh perspective on the complexities of Indianness in the Caribbean, shedding light on the ways in which cultural identities are shaped, transformed, and reimagined in the postcolonial context. It is a valuable contribution to the field of Caribbean studies and beyond, providing a deeper understanding of the rich and diverse cultural tapestry of the region.

Weight: 352g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781978829107