A Seminar Paper on Post Colonialism

Submitted to: Dr Rajeevan M Thomas

Submitted by: Justin George

MTh 1, History of Christianity, FTS Manakkala

1.1 Introduction

A theoretical approach known as postcolonial theory aims to refute the discourse of colonial power that
still pervades today. It is a critical examination of the cultural legacies of colonialism and imperialism
with a focus on the implications for people's well-being of the domination and exploitation of colonised
people and their territories. It is an examination of the history, culture, literature, and rhetoric of imperial
powers using critical theory. Only after colonialism has occurred and the colonised people have had
time to reflect on and write about their oppression and loss of cultural identity does postcolonial theory
begin to take shape. An effort to grasp postcolonialism has been undertaken in this essay.

1.2 Colonialism
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "colony" comes from the Latin word "colonye,"
which means "colon-us," or "cultivators, planters, farmers, or settlers in a new country," and dates back
to the fourteenth century. However, the meaning of the word "colony" in the fourteenth century is very
different from what it means today. This phrase described the Roman settlers in the fourteenth century.
The term "farm" and "landed estate" were essentially all that was meant at the time. It was used for
Roman citizens who had previously resided in a hostile nation that had just been conquered.

Colonization is the process of becoming a colony. After the Middle Ages in Western Europe,
colonialism started as European explorers travelled the world, "discovering" new regions and claiming
them for their own king or queen as a part of their own nation. The improvement of ships, better
navigational tools, and the ability to map the globe all helped colonialism to flourish. New sources of
raw materials and new markets for manufactured goods were required due to trade demands and the
emergence of new forms of capitalism. The idea of a nation—a political entity that defines membership
in a specific social organisation and is under the control of a monarch or form of government—was also
promoted as nations expanded their lands.1

1.3 Post Colonialism

The time following colonialism is referred to as "postcolonial." The term "postcolonial" generally refers
to the period of time that comes after a former colony gains its independence. For example, when India
gained its independence from the British Empire in 1948, it entered the postcolonial period. However,
the word "postcolonial" refers to more than only the establishment of a new government. The ideologies
and practises that assume the superiority or rightness of the colonial culture constitute colonialism; these
ideologies and practises do not vanish when the colonists leave. Instead, the term "postcolonial" may be
1
Mary Clagues, Lierary Theory, the Complete Guide (Bloomsburry:Bloomsburry Publication,2017)213-214.
used to describe the period of time when a formerly colonised culture struggles to define its significance
as an independent entity.

Which language the one of the colonists, which had been the official language, or any indigenous
languages will a postcolonial society speak? How will the colonising country's or the postcolonial
nation's schools teach the latter's history? The challenges and contradictions of living in historically
colonised societies are largely examined by postcolonial literary theory. Which language the one of the
colonists, which had been the official language, or any indigenous languages will a postcolonial society
speak? How will the colonising country's or the postcolonial nation's schools teach the latter's history?
The challenges and contradictions of living in historically colonised societies are largely examined by
postcolonial literary theory.2

1.4 Context of post colonialism

Postcolonialism is an ideology that challenges colonial forces. It also expresses opposition to

dominance, hegemony, and power. It represents nationalism, nativity, and indigenousness. It goes
against the spirit of colonialism and neocolonialism (globalization). Postcolonialism advocates for
liberty and liberation. Postcolonialism values indigenous knowledge, wisdom, and perspectives. It
refutes the occident's claims, which affirm the superiority of the west in all spheres of life, and affirms
the contribution of the orient. In postcolonialism, there is a strong ideological conflict against the
colonial spirit. Postcolonialism, like postmodernism, rejects hegemonic forces. It opposes oppression
and systemic violence in the sociopolitical and religio-cultural realms.3

1.5 Post-Colonial Ideology

The post-colonial ideology arose in response to colonialism in the Asian continent, the third world, and
elsewhere. European powers such as Portugal, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom were keen on
colonising other countries in order to exploit and oppress them politically and economically. It entails
uprooting people, destroying their traditions and values, and pillaging their resources. In the colonised
third world, movements or struggles for independence were taking place, with demands for autonomy,
self-rule, and freedom. The goal was to decolonize, which produced results in the 1940s, 1950s, and
1960s. Many Asian and Latin American countries have achieved independence from colonial powers.
The native people have suffered greatly as a result of colonial powers. They were subjected to atrocities.
Many aboriginals, such as Red Indians and Maoris, have been attempted annihilation by western
powers. One of the main attempts of colonial powers was to separate indigenous people from their
culture and religion. One of the most important contributions of postmodernism and postcolonialism is
the emergence of subaltern consciousness (the study of their history, culture, and traditions).

As we have seen, postcolonialism includes a challenge to colonial ways of knowing, as well as 'writing
back' in opposition to such views. However, colonial ways of knowing continue to circulate and have
agency in the present; unfortunately, they have not vanished as the Empire has declined. One of Carole
Boyce Davies' reservations about 'postcolonialism' is that it may give the impression that colonial
relationships no longer exist. In her book Black Women, Writing, and Identity (Routledge, 1994), she

2
Mary Clages, Key Terms in Literary Theory (London: Continuum International Publishing Group,2012)63.
3
M Stephen, Introducing Post Modernism and Post Colonialism (New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company,2013)25.
argues that we must remember the "numerous peoples that are still existing in a colonial relationship
ship" all over the world, as well as "people within certain nations who have been colonised with the
former/colonies (Native Americans, African-Americans, South Africans, Palestinians, Aboriginal
Australians This comment brings up the issue of international colonialism, which still exists in many
former colonial countries; colonial oppression is far from over for these peoples. This is why, as I
argued in the Introduction, we should avoid using the term "postcolonialism" to refer to a historical
moment or period and instead reserve it for discussing aesthetic practisesAs a result, the term
"postcolonialism" is not synonymous with "after colonialism," as if colonial values are no longer
relevant. It does not herald a brave new world free of the ills of the colonial past, nor does it define a
radically new historical era. Postcolonialism, on the other hand, acknowledges both historical continuity
and change. On the one hand, it acknowledges that the material realities and modes of representation
associated with colonialism are still very much with us today, even though the political map of the world
has shifted as a result of decolonization. On the other hand, it asserts the promise, possibility, and
ongoing necessity of change, while also acknowledging that significant challenges and changes have
already been accomplished. So, with that firmly in mind, we can proceed to make some decisions about
what we collectively refer to as "postcolonialism." Keeping in mind our reservations about the broad
scope of the term, we can identify at least three key areas that fall within its purview. Postcolonialism, in
its most basic form and in a literary context, entails one or more of the following:

 Reading texts produced by writers from countries with a history of colonialism, primarily those
texts concerned with the work ings and legacy of colonialism in either the past or the present.
 Reading texts produced by those who have migrated from countries with a colonial history, or
those descended from migrant families, that deal primarily with diaspora experience and its
many consequences.
 Re-reading texts produced during colonialism, both those that directly address the experiences of
Empire and those that appear not to, in light of theories of colonial discourses.4

1.6 Major profounders of post colonialism

1.6.1 Edward Said

Said's theory of postcolonialism is largely based on what he believes to be the false perception of the
Orient or the East that has been created by western explorers, poets, novelists, philosophers, political
theorists, economists, and imperial administrators since Napoleon's occupation of Egypt in 1798. Said
claims that in an effort to portray the Orient as the "other" in contrast to the developed and civilised
West, people have always portrayed it as the savage, uncivilised "other." Said writes in his widely read
book Orientalism that "Orientalism is a school of thought founded upon an ontological and
epistemological dichotomy created between "the Orient" and (most of the time) "the Occident." 5

According to Said, such language has either been utilised to plan military conquests and colonisation
against the Orient, or as a justification for the occupations and horrors that accompany them.
He continues, arguing that it is seriously mistaken to believe that the end of direct colonialism put an
end to such atrocities. Instead, he contends that colonialism's aftereffects—chaos, military coups,

4
John McLeod, Beginning Post Colonialism…33.
5
Lutfi Hamadi “Edward Said: the Postcolonial Theory and the Literature of Decolonization,”European Scientific Journal June
2014 vol.2.
corruption, civil conflicts, and bloodshed—remain, mostly as a result of the colonial legacy, and they
continue to plague many of these nations.

In this regard, according to Said, a strong coloniser has imposed a language and a culture, whereas the
cultures, histories, values, and languages of the Oriental peoples have been disregarded and even
distorted by the colonialists in their quest to rule over these peoples and profit from their wealth under
the guise of enlightening, civilising, and even humanising them. The fact that such peoples, who
typically have whole different cultures, have always been stereotyped by the so called Orientalists, who
so easily cross out all the nuances and national traits of these numerous civilizations, seems to Said to be
what makes it so frustrating As a result, the Indians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Latin Americans, and many
other people were portrayed in colonial publications as being nearly identical, the Orient, the "Other," in
contrast to "Us," the Occidental.6

1.6.2 Homi K. Bhabha

Homi K. Bhabha, born in 1949, is a prominent postcolonial culture theorist, literary and cultural critic,
and active supporter of the humanities. Although he is easily recognised as a proponent of postcolonial
theory, it may be more accurate to describe his work as vernacular or translational cosmopolitanism
given the breadth of his interests. Bhabha, who was up in Bombay, received his education and began
teaching in British universities before transferring to the University of Chicago and eventually Harvard,
where he now teaches in the English department and serves as the center's director. In the study of
colonial, postcolonial, and globalised cultures, Bhabha has been a deeply creative voice, building on the
work of psychoanalytic and post-structuralist philosophers.

His writings continue to be a crucial resource for anybody interested in the fusion of cultures brought
about by colonialism and globalisation. Bhabha's work develops a number of notions that encapsulate
the ways the colonised opposed the authority of the coloniser, an authority that was from the outset
conflicted and apprehensive, by drawing on a variety of challenging thinkers and covering a range of
histories and cultures.

His analysis of the colonial archive's instances, nevertheless, has more than just historical significance.
We can better understand modern trends, such as the fiercely stated identities that compete with one
another and the more complicated international networks, by using the ambivalence he notes.Despite the
significant history and successes of anticolonialism, Bhabha's work shows how colonialism persists
today. Instead, colonialism "makes an unsettling comeback in the present," to use a Freudian expression
that appears frequently in Bhabha's writing. In fact, we ought to keep referring to our situation as the
colonial present. That, however, implies not only the continuation of asymmetrical relationships, but
also the continuation of a half-millennium of resistance, negotiation, and cultural translation. Bhabha's
work continues to engage with examples of such complexities, and it begs us to translate it even further
to engage with examples outside its scope. Despite his work being sporadic and superficially

6
Lutfi Hamadi “Edward Said: the Postcolonial Theory and the Literature of Decolonization,”European Scientific Journal June
2014 vol.2.
unsystematic over the last two decades, Bhabha's influence has extended far beyond postcolonial literary
and cultural studies.7

1.6.3 Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.

Gayatri's writings are clearly motivated by a desire for political power. Spivak's critical work includes
numerous articles, books, interviews, and translations on topics ranging from poststructuralist ideas and
literary criticism, continental philosophy, feminist theory, and Marxism to the situation of marginalised
peoples denied political representation in postcolonial nations, the international division of labour, and
the limitations of universal human rights and international development policies.She published a number
of historical studies, literary critiques of imperialism, and international feminism as a member of the
'Subaltern Studies Group. She is best known for her article 'Can the Subaltern Speak?' (1988), which is
considered one of the founding texts of postcolonial theory, but she also rose to prominence through her
criticism of literature ranging from 18th and 19th century English literature to postcolonial texts by
Hanif Kureshi, Salman Rushdie, and Indian writer Mahasweta Devi. All of Spivak's works have been
translated into major European and Asian languages. She also publishes and gives lectures in Bengali.8

1.6.4 Frantz Fanon

Fanon was among the first writers to be associated with postcolonialism. Fanon examined the nature of
colonialism and those subjected to it in his book The Wretched of the Earth. He portrays colonialism as
a source of violence rather than, as was previously assumed, reacting violently against resistors. His
depiction of colonialism's systematic relationship with its attempts to deny "all attributes of humanity"
to those it suppressed laid the groundwork for subsequent critiques of colonial and postcolonial
systems.9

1.7 Major components of Post Colonialism

1.7.1 Orientalism & the Other

In what is widely accepted as the seminal work of postcolonial thought, Orientalism (1978), Edward
Said argues that beyond the physical and economic aspects of colonialism, there was another aspect
present: the defining of the "Other." The Other, Said contends, is the result of a binary worldview, in
which the world was divided into an us-and-them structure. Said uses the term Orientalism to describe
the process of "Othering" of the Eastern colonies by the Western metropole, the European colonizers'
home nation. Orientalism is the European definition of all things related to the colonies as wild,
emotional, backward, powerless, and fundamentally different from the (purported) Occidental qualities
of civilized behavior, rational thought, modernism, and (justifiably) powerful. Through a conscious
production of knowledge, the West defined the East as inferior and, in doing so, also defined itself as
superior. However, and perhaps more importantly, Said argues, the West cannot exist without the East,
as it is a mutually dependent definition (there can be no West without an East) and it illustrates the
interconnected relationship of the colonized and colonizer. According to Said, the long-lasting effects of
Orientalism remain and represent an aspect of colonialism that never ended. The viewing of modernity,
7
https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780190221911/obo-9780190221911-0057.xml
8
https://www.grin.com/document/151826
9
https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/pgmgz/postcolonialism.html
progress, civilization, and power in Eurocentric terms is a legacy of colonialism with which we continue
to live and which postcolonial theory seeks to illustrate and destabilize.10

1.7.2 Assimilation & Hybridity

Another important aspect of postcolonial theory concerns cultural subjectivity and the intersections of
colonised and coloniser. Postcolonial theorists such as Homi Bhabha and Ann Laura Stoler have argued
that the spaces of "mixing" pose the greatest challenge to colonialism by destroying the very definitions
on which it is based, by destroying the binary categories that colonized/colonizer accept (Bhabha, 1994).
The colonial preoccupation with keeping the relationships between the two categories distinctly clear
through vast amounts of colonial policy regarding the intermixing of the racialized categories of
colonized/colonizer indicates a clear concern on the part of the imperial authority to keep it straight
which is the Other (Stoler, 2001). One type of hybridity is the physical creation of hybrid people, the
biological offspring of a coloniser and a colonised, but another type of hybridity occurs on a cultural
level. Postcolonial theorists (such as Bhabha) have also investigated the cultural blurring of the two
binaries. The concept of assimilation, or how aspects of the colonisers' culture were adapted into a local
manifestation (accepting some aspects while rejecting others), has provided fascinating insight into
forms of agency, resistance, and the impact of the colonial encounter on larger social structures such as
religion, gender, race, and class. The term hybridity refers to the new culture produced by colonialism a
culture distinct from both the coloniser and the colonised prior to encounter. encounters with larger
social structures like religion, gender, race, and class The term hybridity refers to the new culture
produced by colonialism a culture distinct from both the coloniser and the colonised prior to encounter.
While some postcolonial theorists see this space as valuable, others see it as problematic. Fanon
describes the hybrid man as having a schizophrenic mindset and associates assimilation of Western
habits with mimicry and a loss of identity, both of which are manifestations of colonial destruction. 11

1.8 Key terms of Post Colonialism

1.8.1 Abrogation:

Abrogation refers to the rejection by post-colonial writers of a normative concept of 'correct' or

'standard' English used by certain classes or groups, and of the corres ponding concepts of inferior
'dialects' or 'marginal variants" The concept is usually employed in conjunction with the term
appropriation, which describes the processes of English adaptation itself, and is an important component
of the post-colonial assumption that all language use is a 'variant' of one kind or another (and is in that
sense 'marginal' to some illusory standard). Thus abrogation is an important political stance, whether
articulated or not, and even whether conscious or not, from which the actual appropriation of language
can take place.12

1.8.2 Agency: The ability to act or carry out an action is referred to as agency. It depends on the
question of whether people can act freely and independently or if what they do is in some way
influenced by how their identity has been built, according to contemporary theory. Because it alludes to
10
http://dcac.du.ac.in/documents/E-Resource/2020/Metrial/420AakanshaNatani2.pdf
11
http://dcac.du.ac.in/documents/E-Resource/2020/Metrial/420AakanshaNatani2.pdf
12
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts, (London: Routledge Taylor &
Francis Group,2009) 5.
the capacity of post-colonial subjects to take the initiative in engaging or opposing imperial authority,
agency is particularly crucial in post-colonial theory. The phrase has recently come under scrutiny as a
result of post structuralist subjectivity theories. Given that ideology (Althusser), language, or discourse
(Foucault) generate human subjectivity, the inference is that any action taken by that subject must also
be in some way a result of those factors. The issue of agency has been problematic for Bhabha and
Spivak's colonial discourse theory, which broadly agrees with the poststructuralist view on subjectivity.
However, many theories that emphasize the significance of political activity as a whole assume agency.
They imply that while it can be challenging for people to resist the influence of the forces that "create"
them, it is not impossibly difficult. Such forces may be recognized, which implies that they may also be
neutralized.13

1.8.3 Ambivalence: A term coined in psychoanalysis to describe a constant oscillation between wanting
one thing and wanting the opposite. It can also refer to a strong attraction to and repulsion from an
object, person, or action. It describes the complex mix of attraction and repulsion that characterises the
relationship between coloniser and colonised, as adapted into colonial discourse theory by Homi
Bhabha. Because the colonised subject is never completely opposed to the coloniser, the relationship is
ambiguous. Rather than assuming that some colonised subjects are 'complicit,' while others are'resistant,'
ambivalence proposes that complicity and resistance exist in a fluctuating relationship within the
colonial subject.Ambivalence also characterizes the way in which colonial discourse relates to the
colonized subject, for it may be both exploitative and nurturing, or represent itself as nurturing, at the
same time.14

1.8.4 Catalysis: A term adopted by Guyanese novelist and critic Denis Williams to describe processes
of racial change and racial inter mixing in New World societies, a formulation that deliberately
challenges the 'melting-pot' model. A catalyst, as Williams notes, is 'a body which changes its
surrounding substance without itself undergoing any change'. For Williams, American societies are
'crucibles in which catalysts of greater or lesser potency operate'. The process of catalysis in such New
World societies challenges the very concepts of race purity and its obverse, 'miscegenation', since it is
what both makes the societies unique and gives them a potency lacking in Old World cultures that
fetishize pure-race ancestry.15

1.8.5 Chromatism: This phrase, which derives from "chromatic meaning of or relating to color or
colors," is used to describe the essentialist division of humans based on color. It is occasionally used in
connection with the word "genitalism," a classification of men and women based on their blatantly
differing biological makeups. Both phrases are used to highlight the absurdity of establishing crude,
stereotyped differences between race and gender, and to imply that the degree of diversity within these
categories depends on how these categories are represented and constructed discursively.16

1.8.6 Commonwealth: Formerly the British Commonwealth of Nations, i.e. the political community
constituted by the former British Empire and consisting of the United Kingdom, its dependencies and
certain former colonies that are now sovereign nations.17
13
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts…8-9.
14
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts…12.
15
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts…34-35.
16
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts…37.
17
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts…51.
1.8.7 Ethnography: Ethnography is a branch of anthropological ethnography research that involves
direct observation and reporting on a people's way of life. It is the fundamental methodology used by
cultural anthropologists and is divided into two stages: fieldwork (the process of observing and
recording data) and reportage (the production of a written description and analysis of the subject under
study). Historically, ethnography was primarily concerned with recording the life and habits of peoples
from societies other than the observer's own—usually distant locales, that is, geographically or
culturally distant from the West, and seen as distinct from normative European cultures. Anthropology
began as a type of natural history, a study of the peoples encountered along the European expansion's
frontiers.18

1.8.8 Hegemony: The ruling class's ability to persuade other classes that their goals are the interests of
everyone, frequently not simply via economic and political methods but often more discreetly through
control of education and the media.19

1.8.9 Hybridity: Cross-cultural interchange produces new transcultural forms. Hybridity can take many
forms, including social, political, linguistic, and religious hybridity. It is not always a tranquil
combination, since it may be argumentative and disruptive in practise. 20

1.8.10 Identity: the method in which a person or a group identifies themselves Self-concept, societal
mores, and national understanding are all influenced by identity. It frequently combines essentialism
with othering.21

1.8.11 Language: Language has frequently served as a site of colonisation and resistance during
colonialism and post-colonialism. Since the language was repressed by colonial powers, many people
argue for a restoration to the original indigenous language. The usage of European languages by
postcolonial authors is a contentious subject.22

1.8.12 Neocolonialism: Neocolonialism is the term used to describe the ongoing economic dominance
and exploitation of Third World nations that are "politically free." As opposed to state domination by
Euro-American forces, neocolonialism is most frequently carried out through a network of politicians,
bankers, generals, and chief executive officers. International development and aid initiatives are
typically linked to economic policies that hinder the economies of underdeveloped nations.
Neocolonialism is therefore a more lethal kind of colonialism.23

1.8.13 Orientalism: the process by which "the Orient" was formed as an exotic other by European study
and culture (from the late eighteenth century to the present). Orientalism is more of a broad Western
generalisation about Oriental, Islamic, and/or Asian civilizations that tends to undermine and disregard
their significant distinctions than it is a thorough study of other cultures.24

18
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts…85.
19
https://literariness.org/2016/04/06/postcolonialism/
20
https://literariness.org/2016/04/06/postcolonialism/
21
https://literariness.org/2016/04/06/postcolonialism/
22
https://literariness.org/2016/04/06/postcolonialism/
23
https://literariness.org/2016/04/06/postcolonialism/
24
https://literariness.org/2016/04/06/postcolonialism/
1.8.14 Other: the manner in which one group excludes or marginalises another group on a social and/or
psychological level. When someone is labelled "Other," they tend to emphasise what makes them
different or opposite from others, and this spills over into how they depict others, particularly through
stereotyped pictures.25

1.8.15 Settler: The Shorter Oxford Dictionary defines 'settler' as 'one who settles in a new country; a
colonist (1695)' and 'generally: One who settles in a place as a resident (1815). Within colonial
discourse, the settlers generally referred to are Europeans who moved from their countries of origin to
European colonies with the intention of remaining. Increasingly the term 'settler invader' has been used
to emphasize the less-than-benign repercussions of such 'settlement', particularly on indigenous
peoples.26

1.8.16 Subaltern: Subaltern, meaning of inferior rank', is a term adopted by Antonio Gramsci to refer to
those groups in society who are subject to the hegemony of the ruling classes. Subaltern classes may
include peasants, workers and other groups denied access to 'hegemonic' power. Since the history of the
ruling classes is realized in the state, history being the history of states and dominant groups, Gramsci
was interested in the historiography of the subaltern classes.27

1.9 Postcolonial Literature

The goal of postcolonial literature is to describe the interactions between European nations and the
peoples they colonised. By the mid-twentieth century, European countries controlled the vast majority
of the world. Postcolonial studies became interested in the literature and art produced in these countries
after independence. There are a few noteworthy aspects of postcolonial studies: Postcolonialism is the
theoretical wing of postcoloniality, and it refers to a mode of reading, political analysis, and cultural
resistance that deals with the history of colonialism and the current colonial structure. It includes ideas
like social justice, emancipation, and democracy in order to oppose oppressive structures of racism,
discrimination, and exploitation. Postcolonial research, in contrast to colonial approaches, focuses on the
differences among native people. Postcolonial studies seek to understand how colonial oppression,
resistance, and adaptation occurred. Salman Rushdie, Chinua Achebe, Alice Walker, Alice Munro,
Joseph Conrad, Derek Walcott, M. Coetzee, Booker T. Washington, and other major postcolonial
writers attempt to confront the disintegration of indigenous culture, the journey of Europeans with
native guides, colonial oppression, mimicry, exile, disillusionment, cultural identity, double
consciousness, unhomeliness, multiculturalism, magic realism, alienation, problem of
genderPostcolonial theory emerged prominently in the late 1980s or early 1990s of the last century. It
was influenced by renowned postcolonial theory critic Frantz Fanon's 'The Wretched of the World,' a
work regarded as a landmark in postcolonial studies. Three prominent postcolonial theorists, namely
Edward Said (Orientalism), Gayatri Spivak (Subaltern), and Homi K. Bhabha's terms mimicry,
hybridity, and others, contributed significantly to postcolonial theory. They were influenced by three
twentieth-century French thinkers and critics named Michael Foucault, Jaques Lacan, and Jacques
Derrida. These postcolonial theorists examine both colonial and postcolonial texts critically. The
postcolonial theory demonstrates how colonial ideology, representation strategies, and racial

25
https://literariness.org/2016/04/06/postcolonialism/
26
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts…210.
27
Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts…215.
discrimination are encoded in literary texts. Postcolonial literature, in this way, paves the way for new
research areas and theories such as feminism, diaspora, expatriate, African-American poststructuralist,
psychoanalytic, and others. It is the academic study of colonialism's cultural legacy, with a focus on the
human consequences of colonised people and their lands being controlled and exploited.28

1.10 Critiques of Postcolonial Theory

The term "postcolonial" is the first and most serious criticism levelled at postcolonial theory. Critics
contend that the term "postcolonial" is either too broad in its definition, encompassing virtually all times
and places, rendering it meaningless, or that it is overly simplistic. Aijaz Ahmad has argued that an
overly broad definition of colonialism (and, later, postcolonialism) leads to meaninglessness, pointing
out that "colonialism" then becomes a trans-historical thing, always present and always in the process of
dissolving in one part of the world or another, so that everyone gets the privilege, sooner or later, at one
time or another, of being the coloniser, colonised, and postcolonial  sometimes all at once, as in the case
of Australia . Ann McClintock has challenged the concept of a postcolonial by pointing out that it is still
rooted in a binary colonial/postcolonial. "The singularity of the term effects a re-centering of global
history around the single rubric of European time," she claims. McClintock goes on to say that, in its
simplicity, the term also privileges the nineteenth-century European colonial experience as the standard
—an essentialism of colonialism that ignores, or at least minimises, imperial projects both preceding and
following the European era (such as Japanese imperialism) (such as Soviet imperialism). Furthermore,
critics such as McClintock argue that the term postcolonial implies that colonialism has ended and that
we can look back on it with a new postcolonial perspective. While official colonialism as defined by
nineteenth-century European standards may have passed, many have noted that colonial fingers remain
deeply entwined in the world, and many geopolitical relationships could (and frequently are) defined as
colonial, or neocolonial. Is it possible that a postneocolonial theory will emerge at some point? The
question is only half-joking, but it highlights a problem with defining the theoretical perspective as
postcolonial and what it implies. With all of its emphasis on knowledge production, postcolonial theory
has not been blind to the power of language, and as a result, some of the most heated debates about
postcolonial terminology have come from those who have worked to define the concept themselves.
Further critiques of postcolonial theory have emphasised European colonialism's uncomfortably
dominant position in postcolonial theory. Indeed, while it is still an example of European colonialism,
the Spanish colonial project in the Americas has received little attention because it ended decades before
colonialism in Africa and Asia. Similarly, Australia is beginning to be represented in the 2000s and
2010s, and the experiences of groups subject to internal colonisation, such as indigenous populations,
have had far too little voice in the project of rewriting colonial history. Postcolonial theory has also been
accused of ignoring structural conditions in favour of subjectivity, to the point of overlooking true
power entirely. Finally, the highly self-critical nature of postcolonial theory has led to accusations that it
has devolved into an esoteric realm, perpetually debating what it is and what it should be called.29

1.11 Goals of Post Colonialism

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The Concept of Postcolonialism and Postcolonial Literature Dr. Reena Chatterjee
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The ultimate purpose of postcolonialism is to account for and counteract the cultural legacies of
colonialism. It is not just concerned with resurrecting ancient worlds, but also with figuring out how the
world may move past this moment together, towards a point of mutual respect.

Post-colonialist thinkers recognize that many of the assumptions which underlie the "logic" of
colonialism are still active forces today.

One of the major goals of postcolonial theorists is to provide room for various voices. This is especially
true for subalterns, whose voices have hitherto been muted by dominant ideologies. This space must
first be cleared inside academics, as is commonly acknowledged in the conversation. In his book
Orientalism, Edward Said paints a clear picture of how researchers who studied what was once known
as the Orient (primarily Asia) ignored the opinions of those they studied, preferring to depend on their
own and their peers' intellectual superiority. European imperialism shaped this mindset.30

1.12 Evaluation and conclusion

Post colonialism is a study of the impact of colonialism on cultures and societies.it provides the voice
for the voiceless. Space is given for the subaltern people. Postcolonial theory arose from the frustrations
of colonised peoples, their direct and personal cultural struggles with the invading culture, and their
fears, aspirations, and ambitions about the future and their own identities. The backdrop for postcolonial
theories and practise is how the colonised respond to changes in language, educational curriculum, race
issues, economic issues, morality, ethics, and a slew of other issues, including the act of writing itself.
The discourse of post colonialism is reassuring.

Bibliography

Ashcroft, Bill. Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. Post-Colonial Studies The Key Concepts. London:
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group,2009.

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Boehmer, Elleke. Colonial and Postcolonial Literature Migrant Metaphors Second Edition. New Delhi:
Oxford University Press, 2005.

Clages, Mary. Key Terms in Literary Theory. London: Continuum International Publishing Group,2012.

Gandhi, Leela. Post-Colonial Theory A Critical Introduction. New Delhi: Oxford University
Press,1998.

McLeod, John. Beginning Post Colonialism. New Delhi: Viva Books,2010.

Stephen, M. Introducing Post Modernism and Post Colonialism. New Delhi: Concept Publishing
Company,2013.

Articles

Chatterjee, Reena. Concept of Postcolonialism and Postcolonial Literature.

Lutfi Hamadi “Edward Said: the Postcolonial Theory and the Literature of Decolonization,”European
Scientific Journal June 2014 vol.2.

Webliography

https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780190221911/obo-9780190221911-
0057.xml
https://www.grin.com/document/151826
https://worldarchitecture.org/architecture-news/pgmgz/postcolonialism.html
http://dcac.du.ac.in/documents/E-Resource/2020/Metrial/420AakanshaNatani2.pdf

https://literariness.org/2016/04/06/postcolonialism/
The http://dcac.du.ac.in/documents/E-Resource/2020/Metrial/420AakanshaNatani2.pdf