Indra Sinha's Animal's People as a Hallucination of Subaltern Voice

Abstract Indra Sinha’s Novel Animal’s People Is Often Read As An Example For An Authentic Subaltern Voice. It Presents, Within Its Fictional Frame As Pseudotranslation, The English Version Of The Life Story Of A Very Poor, Mentally Unstable And Physically Deformed Young Indian As Told And Recorded By Himself In Hindi. This Paper Traces The Complex Constellations Of The Many Voices And Languages In Play In The Novel And Argues That The Authentic Subaltern Voice Is A Hallucination That Convincingly Masks The Absence Of Its Speaker. This Is The Central Concern Of The Novel And Its Paratexts. This Chapter Maps The Constellation Of Voices In And Around The Novel Including The Supposed The Translation Of The Fictitious Tapes From Hindi Into English And Shows The Reasons And Consequences Of The Novel’s Ultimate Decision To Contain A Potential Cacophony Of Voices By Presenting One Single Voice.