The Rewriting Of Indian History In Salman Rushdie's Works

As an Indian-born English writer, Salman Rushdie is exposed to cultures and ideologies of both the West and the East. Rushdie's multicultural identity equips him a special perspective. On the one hand, he rejects Western discourse. On the other hand, he disputes radical nationalism. He stands neither on the side of Western imperialists nor on the side of colonized people. Wondering around the two sides, Rushdie breaks the opposition and creates a new discourse by rewriting Indian history.By hybridizing history, personalizing history and fabricating history, Rushdie breaks through the traditional way of writing history and rewrites history from his own perspective. In fact, Rushdie's recreation of Indian history offers a way to interrogate and challenge western discourse. More and more writers in Commonwealth countries have been aroused to follow in Rushdie's footsteps to challenge cultural hegemony and imperialism. The target works of the thesis include Midnight's Children, Imaginary Homelands, Haroun and the Sea of Storeis and East, West. By adopting the theory of New Historicism, the thesis explores Rushdie's special treatment of Indian history in three aspects: hybridizing history, personalizing history and fabricating history. The thesis is consisted of five chapters:Chapter I provides the background information which leads to the thesis statement. Chapter II discusses the main principles and development of New Historicism. Close attention is paid to the view of New Historicism on literature and history. Chapter III focuses on the situation in India before and after Independence, imperialists'official record of Indian history and Rushdie's view on history. Chapter IV explores Rushdie's special treatment of Indian history in three aspects: hybridizing history, personalizing history and fabricating history. As the conclusion of the above, Chapter V points out the evaluation of Rushdie's rewriting of Indian history and significance of the research.Rushdie's rewriting of Indian history, interrogating imperial discourse, at the same time not going to extremity like radical nationalism, permits the space for different cultures to communicate, negotiate and coexist. In the present wave of globalization, cultures of developing countries can't be ignored. Consequently, writers with multicultural background deserve close scrutiny and study.