THE ANALYTICAL STUDY OF DIASPORA LITERATURE

A study of postcolonial literature must begin with the historical contexts of colonialism, contexts that are unremittingly and frighteningly shot through with violence. While it might seem a bad choice to begin with violence, it is a deliberate strategy that announces the very nature of the colonial encounter. The violence of colonialism-epistemic, cultural, economic, political, and military-is so integral to the history of 'Third World' nations that no literature or critical approach, as far as I know, has been able to ignore it. Zen was centrally air-conditioned and every possible corner of the house was fitted with an intercom. At that moment, Meenaben's diamond-studded cellphone rang and she gave instructions to the housekeeper in New Jersey. (1) I saw that her phone had the latest technology-with a flick on the touchscreen, she showed me the plush interiors of her homes in Ahmedabad and New Jersey.[i] Postcolonial literature seeks to address the ways in which non-European (Asian, African, South American, but also settler colony) literatures and cultures have been marginalized as an effect of colonial rule, and to find, if possible, modes of resistance, retrieval, and reversal of their 'own' pre- colonial pasts. That is, this literature seeks to understand, negotiate, and critique a specific historical 'event'-colonial rule-while looking forward to a more just, socially egalitarian world order. The most obstinate of all our belongings from the ancestral house in Delhi Gate was the dining table. It was transported out of the old house with great difficulty and refused to enter new homes of the family. With time, it had become larger, as it absorbed the load of our memories. It could not be forced into smaller tenements or apartments with doors much smaller than the Delhi Gate house. So, like an orphan it moved from one house to another, rejected by the family. The table appeared to be annoyed that it had lost its comfort zone in the old house and the family was no longer together. It is a literature of resistance, anger, protest, and hope. It seeks to understand history so as to plan for the future. In order to situate the themes of postcolonial literature, we need to first look at what colonialism itself meant and achieved. This chap- ter, intended to serve as an introduction, details the historical contexts of colonialism/neocolonialism, the conditions of postcoloniality and postcolonialism, and the basic assumptions and tenets of the critical approach that has come to be known as 'postcolonial theory'. The Delhi Gate house is a landmark in my life, as from here, we travelled around India. Recently, while sorting old photographs, I came across pictures of grandparents, uncles, aunts-both paternal and maternal-children of all ages and family friends posing against the backdrop of Mt Abu's famous Toad Rock and the Taj Mahal at Agra. Keywords : Postcolonial, historical, Political, Economic, Military, Transported 1. David Esther Ahmedabad city With a past Harper Collins new Delhi 2016 p. 4. 2. Ibid p.21 3. Ibid p.39 4. Ibid p.81 5. David Esther The Man With Enormous Wings Penguin Delhi 2010 p. 5 6. Ibid p. 12 7. Ibid p. 15