Ghosh, Religion, and Nationalism in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Egypt - Dissertation Example

Amitav Ghosh is a contemporary Indian writer with many renowned works to his credit, including; The Circle of Reason, The Shadow Lines, and In an Antique Land. The common thread that runs through all these texts is the discussion of religion and nationalism.Religion is considered to be an important factor in the politics and cultures of South Asia. Ghosh recognizes that religions in South Asia do not exist harmoniously, and in his texts, he does not promote one religion over another, or try to convert the reader.

In his descriptions of religious life in these countries, Ghosh illustrates how cultures in South Asian countries are affected by religious discord.Although India, the largest country in South Asia, is a secular state according to its constitution, religious tensions are always a part of life in India, subconsciously affecting various facets of day-to-day existence. Writers and authors try to portray the relationship between religion and nationalism in India from different perspectives; some like Salman Rushdie portrays the native point of view, while others like Rudyard Kipling write from the colonist’s view.

An author’s perception comes from personal experience. Rushdie is a native Indian, whereas Kipling was a British man born in India. Both of their novels reflect their views on India. For example, The Jungle Book focused on Mowgli, a native Indian, who was raised in the Jungle. Mowgli then formed a forbidden love with the daughter of a British officer. A definite colonial theme ran throughout this and many other Kipling novels. Rushdie, on the other hand, presents a native theme in his novels.

The Satanic Verses had the main characters from India. In the battle for good and evil, Rushdie implied that colonists were evil and natives were good. Ghosh takes a different approach to write about India and Indians. The partition of India and Pakistan was a complicated three-year battle about land, religion, and what ruling parties would be.