Peter Paul Ekka

Romanticism and ‘othering’ in the land of princes

Abstract

This article discusses some short stories by Peter Paul Ekka, an Adivasi author from Jharkhand. Initially, it aims to demonstrate how – through the use of romantic and stereotypical descriptions – the Adivasi characters emerge as ‘others’ in relation to non-Adivasis as well as to the author himself. This urges us to further discuss and problematise the Adivasi/non-Adivasi binary. Thus, the article challenges the notion of cultural ‘otherness’ based solely on cultural terms and, specifically, on membership in certain groups that arises in contemporary forms of identity politics and in relation to marginal/subaltern literatures. Finally, the article expands its critique by referring to some foundational texts of postcolonial theory that, despite their authors’ intentions, have been absorbed into the call for subjectivity and rigid readings of culture that underpin the kind of identity politics that is mentioned and criticised here.