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INTERTEXTUAL MYTH AND POLITICAL ALLEGORY: REIMAGINING
INDIANNESS IN THAROOR’S
THE GREAT INDIAN NOVEL
D . R. Ki u higa
Head Depa men o M.A English
Nallamu hu Gounde Mahalingam College, Pollachi
h ps://zenodo.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17283277
Abs ac
Shashi Tha oo ’s The G ea Indian No el (1989) ep esen s a ema kable con luence o my h and
poli ical sa i e, deploying in e ex ual s a egies o c i ique he pos colonial Indian s a e and eimagine
na ional iden i y. By e elling he Mahabha a a h ough he lens o wen ie h-cen u y Indian poli ics,
Tha oo uses allego y, pa ody, and me a ic ion o challenge he cohe ence o na ionalis his o iog aphy. This
pape explo es how my h is in e wo en wi h poli ical allego y o cons uc a hyb id na a i e space, whe e
Indianness eme ges as a con es ed and luid idea. Th ough close eadings and heo e ical insigh s om
pos mode nism and pos colonialism, he pape examines how Tha oo cons uc s a sel - e lexi e na a i e
ha ques ions he au ho i y o bo h epic adi ion and his o ical u h.
Keywo ds: In e ex uali y, poli ical allego y, Shashi Tha oo , The G ea Indian No el, na ionalism, my h,
his o iog aphy, hyb idi y
In oduc ion
In The G ea Indian No el, Shashi Tha oo execu es a bold li e a y expe imen ha blends
my hology wi h poli ical his o y. By ew i ing he Mahabha a a as a pa ody o Indian poli ics
om he colonial e a o he pos -Eme gency pe iod, Tha oo c ea es a polyphonic na a i e ha
blu s he bounda ies be ween pas and p esen , my h and his o y, ic ion and u h. The i le
i sel is a pun, sugges ing bo h a ew i ing o India’s na ional epic and a sa i e o he mode n
Indian no el.
This pape a gues ha he no el’s in e ex ual engagemen wi h he Mahabha a a se es as
mo e han a na a i e gimmick. Ra he , i is a c i ical s a egy o in e oga e he ounda ional
my hs o Indian na ionalism. Using heo ies o pos mode n his o iog aphy and cul u al
hyb idi y, he pape explo es how Tha oo ’s no el o e s a adical eimagining o Indianness as
a dynamic, agmen ed, and plu alis ic concep .
Re iew o Li e a u e
Schola s ha e long ecognized he pos mode n and pos colonial dimensions o The G ea
Indian No el. Nalini Na a ajan eads he no el as a "pa odic na ional epic" ha decons uc s
India’s sac ed na a i es. Linda Hu cheon’s concep o his o iog aphic me a ic ion, which
highligh s he sel -conscious blending o his o y and ic ion, is especially use ul o analyzing
Tha oo ’s na a i e s a egies. Homi Bhabha’s heo y o hyb idi y also in o ms his analysis,
pa icula ly in unde s anding how he no el cons uc s Indianness as a p oduc o colonial and
indigenous in luences.
Tabish Khai emphasizes ha Tha oo ’s wo k challenges Eu ocen ic gen e bounda ies,
while Meenakshi Mukhe jee ocuses on he no el’s i onic mode o na a ion as a means o
esis ing na ionalis idealism. Collec i ely, hese pe spec i es sugges ha The G ea Indian
No el is a unique pos colonial ex ha econ igu es li e a y and poli ical adi ions h ough
in e ex ual engagemen .
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My h and In e ex uali y: A Palimpses ic Na a i e
Tha oo ’s no el is s uc u ed in 18 books, mi o ing he 18 pa as o he Mahabha a a, and
ea u es cha ac e s who a e allego ical s and-ins o eal poli ical igu es. Fo example, Ved Vyas
is bo h he na a o and a symbol o in ellec ual lineage, Gangaji ep esen s Maha ma Gandhi,
and P iya Du yodhani is a hinly eiled depic ion o Indi a Gandhi.
“In he beginning, he e we e he epics, and e e y hing else ollowed including poli ics.”
This palimpses ic na a i e c ea es a mul ilaye ed ex whe e my h and mode ni y in e sec .
Tha oo ’s use o in e ex uali y is no limi ed o naming con en ions; i pe mea es he plo
s uc u e, mo al con lic s, and cha ac e de elopmen . The no el hus becomes a me a ic ional
commen a y on how my h in o ms poli ical iden i y in pos colonial India.
Poli ical Allego y and Sa i ical C i ique
The no el u ns India’s mode n his o y in o a my hic saga, using allego y o c i icize he
ailu es o leade ship and he disillusionmen wi h pos -independence poli ics. The Eme gency,
ep esen ed h ough he au ho i a ian ule o P iya Du yodhani, is po ayed wi h bi ing i ony.
“The Age o Da kness descended no wi h a oa , bu wi h he clicking o ypew i e s and he
silence o censo s.” By mapping my hic con lic s on o poli ical episodes, Tha oo e ames he
idea o na ionalism. The no el mocks he sanc i y o poli ical igu es, po aying hem as allible,
egois ic, and powe -hung y. This sa i ical one des abilizes he oic my hs su ounding he
eedom s uggle and ques ions he legi imacy o poli ical au ho i y.
Rew i ing Indianness: A Hyb id Cul u al Iden i y
Tha oo ’s no el a icula es a ision o Indianness ha is nei he homogenous no
essen ialis . Ins ead, i is po ayed as a hyb id cons uc , shaped by colonial encoun e s,
indigenous adi ions, and global mode ni y. “India is no a monologue. I is a cho us o
con adic ions, a plu ali y o oices ha e use o be silenced.” This iew aligns wi h Bhabha’s
concep o he " hi d space," whe e iden i y is nego ia ed and ea icula ed h ough cul u al
hyb idi y. Tha oo ’s blending o Sansk i ic ocabula y wi h con empo a y poli ical discou se
exempli ies his usion. The na a i e hus esis s bo h colonial mimic y and na i is pu i y,
o e ing ins ead a luid and e ol ing na ional iden i y.
Conclusion
Shashi Tha oo ’s The G ea Indian No el s ands as a landma k in Indian English li e a u e,
no only o i s o mal in en i eness bu o i s ideological audaci y. Th ough in e ex ual my h
and poli ical allego y, he no el exposes he cons uc edness o bo h na ional his o y and
cul u al iden i y. I in i es eade s o ques ion he my hs hey inhe i and o emb ace a mo e
nuanced, plu alis ic unde s anding o Indianness. In doing so, i eclaims he epic o m o
pos colonial c i ique, demons a ing he endu ing powe o na a i e in shaping and eshaping
he na ion.
Wo ks Ci ed
Bhabha, Homi K. The Loca ion o Cul u e. Rou ledge, 1994.
Hu cheon, Linda. A Poe ics o Pos mode nism: His o y, Theo y, Fic ion. Rou ledge, 1988.
Khai , Tabish. "Pos colonial Pa ody: W i ing a he In e s ices o Empi e and Na ion."
Pos colonial Tex , ol. 2, no. 4, 2006.
Mukhe jee, Meenakshi. The Pe ishable Empi e: Essays on Indian W i ing in English. Ox o d
Uni e si y P ess, 2000.
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Li e a u e, Wa and Memo y: Na a i es o T auma and Healing in 20 h and 21s Cen u y English Li e a u e
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Na a ajan, Nalini. "Na a ing he Na ion: Indian Poli ics and Pos colonial Allego y in Shashi
Tha oo ’s The G ea Indian No el." Jou nal o Commonweal h Li e a u e, ol. 28, no. 1,
1993.
Tha oo , Shashi. The G ea Indian No el. Penguin Books, 1989.
Mali, R. S. (2024). “Poli ical Allego y in he Li e a y Wo ks o Shashi Tha oo ,” ShodhKosh:
Jou nal o Visual and Pe o ming A s, 5(7SE), 250–254.
Kuma , Mohi & Hooda, Neelam (2024). “My h and Poli ics o Na ionalism: A Pos colonial
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The Adap ion o Sel -Re lexi i y and Me a ic ion App oach o My h and His o y in Shashi
Tha oo ’s The G ea Indian No el: A Pos -Mode nis S udy
Explo ing he In e play be ween My h and His o y in Shashi Tha oo ’s The G ea Indian No el
(IJFMR)
“T ea men o Na ionalism in Shashi Tha oo ’s The G ea Indian No el” (REDVET Jou nal)
“His o y, My h and Allego y in Shashi Tha oo ’s The G ea Indian No el,” Academia.edu
The My hi ica ion o Con empo a y Poli ical His o y and he Rise o a Despo in The G ea
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