Language as Resistance: Hybridity and Marginalized Voice in Megha Majumdar’s A Burning

This paper examines how Megha Majumdar's A Burning (2020) portrays language as both a means of resistance and a marker of marginality in postcolonial India. The novel highlights the layered use of English, shaped by regional idioms, sociolects, and non-standard grammar, to reflect India's social hierarchies. The three protagonists, Jivan, Lovely, and PT Sir, inhabit distinct linguistic backgrounds that signify their socio-economic status and shape their access to voice, justice, and visibility. Drawing on postcolonial theory, including Bhabha's concept of hybridity, Spivak's critique of subaltern speech, and Berlant's notion of emotional legibility, the paper examines how Majumdar reimagines Indian English as both expressive and exclusionary. A Burning stands as a notable post-2000 Indian Anglophone novel, where English becomes a contested site for negotiating identity, power, and resistance.