Postcolonialism and Literary Theory: Decentring Empire and Recentring India in Shashi Tharoor’s Selected Writings

Abstract

Shashi Tharoor’s selected non-fictional writings offer significant interventions in the interpretation of colonial history, Indian identity, nationalism, democracy, religion, caste, and social justice. This paper examines Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India, The Hindu Way: An Introduction to Hinduism, The Battle of Belonging: On Nationalism, Patriotism, and What It Means to Be Indian, The Struggle for India’s Soul: Nationalism and the Fate of Democracy, and Ambedkar: A Life through the theoretical framework of postcolonialism and literary theory. Drawing upon the critical perspectives of Edward Said, Frantz Fanon, Homi K. Bhabha, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, the study investigates how Tharoor interrogates colonial representations and reclaims Indian historical, cultural, and political agency. Inglorious Empire challenges imperial narratives by exposing the economic and political consequences of British colonialism, while The Hindu Way engages with questions of cultural identity and the representation of Indian traditions. The Battle of Belonging and The Struggle for India’s Soul examine competing ideas of nationalism, citizenship, belonging, pluralism, and democracy. Ambedkar: A Life extends the postcolonial discussion towards caste, marginalisation, constitutionalism, and social justice. The paper argues that Tharoor’s writings perform a dual movement: they “decentre Empire” by questioning Eurocentric historical narratives and colonial representations, and “recentre India” by foregrounding Indian experiences, traditions, plural identities, democratic values, and marginalised voices. The study concludes that Tharoor’s postcolonial intervention is not merely a rejection of colonialism but an attempt to reconstruct an inclusive Indian identity capable of negotiating the continuing legacies of Empire.