Echoes of Empire

This paper attempts to explore the representation of the Vijayanagara Empire and colonial tendencies in Salman Rushdie’s historical novel Victory City (2023). Unlike conventional narratives entrenched in the colonial and postcolonial epochs, Rushdie embarks upon an audacious exploration of precolonial antiquity inthe Indian subcontinent, traversing the ethereal realms of magic realism. Victory City’s departure from the conventional epochs of colonial and postcolonial India,however, beckons inquiries into Rushdie’s treatment of precolonial India and itshistorical consciousness. Employing a multifaceted methodology that intertwinesliterary analysis and historical criticism, this paper attempts to scrutinize Rushdie’srendition of the Vijayanagara Empire, interrogating its fidelity to historicalrecords and its potential to subvert colonial narratives. By juxtaposing Rushdie’sconstruction of an alternative archival narrative with established historical records,this paper evaluates the novel’s contribution to India’s cultural and historical identity.Ultimately, it offers a critique of Rushdie’s portrayal, highlighting its purportedneglect of India’s multifaceted historical legacy, perpetuation of reductionist viewpoints, and attenuation of its global cultural contributions.