Cultural Conflict of Two Stories Thesis

But Rushdie's relationship with English as a writer, even as a critic of the former British Empire, is far more complex. In Salman Rushdie's text "English is an Indian literary language," Rushdie states that the output of literature in English by Indian writers is more interesting and vital than those produced in India's native languages. Through creativity and dialogue with the oppressor, a great literature has been generated. India's original languages were vast in number but parochial. Ironically, English has proved to be a unifying force for Indians, even if one of the unifying ideologies for Indian writers in English is their attempt to create a new, national literature that is distinct from the British.

This phenomenon is not new, of course. Great Irish writers also used the English language that was imposed upon them to create great works of literature. Even if the ideology that resulted in the imposition of English upon Indians within the educational system of colonialism was not moral, it did have fruitful literary results. Writers with hybrid literary identities are in a constant struggle with the language -- the source of their art is also what they are striving to critique.But in this struggle, an intense self-consciousness about how language is used can result in more powerful prose, because the meaning of words is not taken for granted. Rather than viewing English as something imposed upon Indian writers, Rushdie views English as a constantly-changing entity, to which Indian writers are making a vital and necessary contribution. Macaulay strove to create "a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect" but instead today's Anglo-Indian writers, like Rushdie are proving to be the educators of English-speakers all over the world in how to linguistically innovate and see the world anew (Macaulay 1835). In deference to his own, hybrid authority, Rushdie embraces the culture of the British. He does not regard it as superior, rather he views cultural exchanges, even if they have a problematic origin, as possessing the ability to spur literary growth.

Works Cited

Macaulay, Thomas Babington. "The Civilizing Mission" from "Minute on Indian Education"

(1835). http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/victorian/topic_4/macaulay.htm

Rushdie, Salman. "English is an Indian literary language.".....