The English Language as a Site of Postcolonial Struggle in India with special mention of Raja Rao's Kanthapura

Abstract

This paper investigates how Raja Rao's Kanthapura (1938) serves as a profound example of the English language becoming a site of postcolonial struggle. It argues that Rao's deliberate and innovative manipulation, or "transmutation," of English into an “Indian” idiom function as a powerful act of decolonization. By embedding elements of Kannada oral tradition, narrative structures from Puranic storytelling, and a distinct "Indian English" lexicon and syntax, Rao not only challenges the linguistic hegemony of the colonizer but also reclaims agency for indigenous voices and worldviews. The paper will analyze Rao's authorial intent as articulated in his famous preface, explore his narrative strategies that mimic Indian oral culture, and demonstrate how these linguistic choices contribute to the novel's political resistance against British colonialism and its cultural dominance.