The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics: A Biannual International Journal of Independent Critical Thinking
The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics is an Open Access, Double-blind Peer-reviewed/Refereed Journal. It is published in the months of January and July as Winter and Monsoon Editions. The journal aims at providing a better understanding of the polyphonic literary narratives. It aims to envisage the literary narratives not as an autonomous entity but as convergence where literary and extra-literary concerns interact and influence in subtle ways. The journal is, therefore, committed to recording the responses of readers, scholars, and academicians who approach a literary text as an interpretive dialogue across cultures, literatures, themes, concepts, and genres. The overall focus of the journal is on literary hermeneutics and independent critical thinking. The Journal aims to provide a forum for all like-minded scholars, researchers, academicians, independent critical thinkers, and creative writers globally. JOURNALS PARTICULARS Title The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics: A Biannual International Journal of Independent Critical Thinking Frequency Biannual ISSN 2583-1674 Journal DOI prefox https://doi.org/10.64846 Publisher Cavemark Publications Private Limited Chief Editor Dr. Mohammad Tariq Start Year January 2021 Subject Literature Indexing ROAD Impact Factor 3.951 (SJIF 2023) Open Access Yes Language English Publication Format Online Publishing Timeline 12 Weeks Acceptance Rate 35 % Use of AI Not more than 10 % Phone No. +91-9450297747 Email ID editor@literaryherm.org / literaryherm@gmail.com Mobile No. +91-7007267681 Website www.literaryherm.org / www.cavemarkpublications.com Address Phool Bagh Colony, Kursi Road, Lucknow—226026, UP, India Content-type Academic/Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed/ Refereed Review Scope The journal accepts unpublished works but is not limited to the following: Indian Literature in English, Pakistani English Literature, SAARC Literature, African American Literature, British Literature, American Literature, Art, Aesthetics, Myth, Culture, Folklore, Canadian Literature, Children’s Literature, Dalit Literature, Diaspora Studies, Disability Studies, Disaster Literature, English Language Teaching, Gender Studies, Postcolonial Literature, Tribal Literature, Commonwealth Literature, Comparative Literature, Cultural Studies, Cyber Literature, Linguistics, Science Fiction and Cultural Analysis and Translation Studies and Literature and theory of literature, women’s studies, world literature, etc. Policy Double Blind Peer Review Policy, open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Review Time A fortnight. Archiving Policy Our journal ensures long-term digital preservation of published content through participation in recognized archiving programs: LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe): A LOCKSS license appears under About the Journal → Archiving: LOCKSS License. This enables LOCKSS to store and distribute journal content at participating libraries via a LOCKSS Publisher Manifest page. CLOCKSS (Controlled LOCKSS): A CLOCKSS license appears under About the Journal → Archiving: CLOCKSS License. This enables CLOCKSS to store and distribute journal content at participating libraries via a CLOCKSS Publisher Manifest page. Through these preservation systems, the journal guarantees that its published material will remain accessible to the scholarly community, even in the event of technical failure or discontinuation of the journal. Statement on the Use of AI Tools The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics emphasizes originality, integrity, and transparency in scholarly work. We believe that human-authored contributions provide the strongest foundation for rigorous and innovative academic research in media and communication studies. In alignment with these principles, the journal does not endorse or encourage the use of generative AI tools for preparing abstracts submitted for consideration. If an author opts to use such tools, they are required to disclose this in their submission. The disclosure must include: The name of the AI tool used. A description of how the tool was utilized in preparing the abstract. The rationale for using the tool. Failure to provide this disclosure may affect the evaluation and acceptance of the submission. By adhering to these guidelines, we aim to uphold the standards of academic integrity and foster a culture of ethical research practices. Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs): The journal provides Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) for all the articles. A DOI is a globally recognized alphanumeric string assigned to a digital object, such as a journal article, to ensure persistent identification and permanent access on the internet. When a DOI is assigned, it will appear in the article metadata and citation information in the standardized format recommended by CrossRef. Authors who wish to have a DOI assigned to their publication should request the submission or production stage. Once assigned, the DOI will be visible on the article landing page and included in all references and indexing services, thereby enhancing the visibility, accessibility, and citability of the work. About the Publishing System This journal uses Open Journal Systems which is open source journal management and publishing software developed, supported, and freely distributed by the Public Knowledge Project under the GNU General Public License. Open Access, Double-blind Peer-reviewed/referred / Refereed Journal PL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics is committed to the highest standards of reviewing all publishable materials—articles, review articles, reviews, interviews—that undergo a rigorous peer-reviewing process. Literary Hermeneutics follows a double-blind peer review system after an initial editorial review at the board level. The details of the peer-review process are given below:. Upon receiving a submission, the editorial board will scrutinise the work for its originality and rigour at the board level, and all author-identifying information will be removed for blind peer review. Experts in the field do all reviews. A review report is created on the following parameters: originality, coherence, communicability, argumentation, rigour, secondary research and innovation, and factual errors. Reviewers decide whether the work will be rejected, published or needs revision. They write a substantive review report justifying their decision. If the work needs revision or has citation error(s), the Chief Editors will contact the contributors with the report specifying a period for revision. On getting a revised copy, if the reviewers feel that the work needs to be revised again, then they may ask the contributors for another quick revision. When the work is ready for publication, it will be sent to the publishing team for final editing, proofreading and publication. Reviewers will have to disclose a conflict of interest, and it will be made sure that all reviewed articles are treated confidentially before their publication. Decision:. The decisions are notified to the contributors, usually within a month. If a writer intends to withdraw his article within the stipulated time, he must seek permission by sending an email/letter of declaration to the chief editor. For two or more authors, it is necessary to seek permission and approval from the authorial team. The journal follows a double-blind peer review system after an initial editorial review at the board level. Below are the details of the peer-review process: Reference: Benefits of Open Access (Sources: SPARC, righttoresearch, Kingsley & Brown 2012) Benefits of Open Access Embracing open access, this journal swiftly shares its content, fostering a global exchange of knowledge. Committed to the principle of openness, this journal grants immediate public access to its research, promoting a worldwide dissemination of information. Rapidly accessible content underscores this journal's dedication to advancing global knowledge exchange. By providing immediate open access, this journal champions the free flow of research, enriching the global intellectual community. A staunch advocate for open knowledge, this journal empowers the public with unrestricted access to its content, fostering a broader dissemination of research worldwide. Reference: Benefits of Open Access (Sources: SPARC, righttoresearch, Kingsley & Brown 2012) Call for Papers We warmly invite submissions to The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics, a scholarly platform dedicated to advancing critical dialogue in literary studies and the humanities. The journal seeks original, unpublished research that offers fresh perspectives, strengthens theoretical engagement, and deepens our understanding of literature across diverse traditions, cultures, and intellectual contexts. We particularly welcome contributions that engage with innovative methodologies, interdisciplinary approaches, and emerging areas of literary scholarship. Submissions should demonstrate rigorous research, conceptual clarity, and originality of thought, contributing meaningfully to contemporary academic discourse. We look forward to your valuable contributions and to fostering a collaborative pursuit of literary knowledge, interpretation, and discovery. Areas of Research / Literature Journal Subjects: The journal invites research contributions in a wide range of literary and interdisciplinary domains, including but not limited to: Global Literatures Comparative Literature and World Literature (African, Asian, Latin American, European traditions) Classical Literature (Greek, Roman, Sanskrit and other classical traditions) British, American, & Indian Literature East Asian(Chinese, Japanese, Korean), Russian, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern Literature Postcolonial Literature and Decolonial Studies Feminist, Gender, LGBTQ+, and Queer Theory in Literature Modernist, Contemporary, Victorian, Romantic, Renaissance, Medieval, and Enlightenment Literature Migration, Diaspora, Indigenous Literature, and Oral Traditions African American, Caribbean, and Latin American Literature Theory & Identity Literary Theory and Criticism Genre Studies(Poetry, Drama, Novel, Nonfiction) Prose, Essay, and Narrative Studies Children’s and Young Adult Literature Fantasy, Science Fiction, Gothic, Horror, and Supernatural Literature Detective Fiction, Crime Writing, Satire, and Humor Studies Environmental Literature Environmental Literature and Ecocriticism War, Conflict, and Trauma Studies Literature and Psychology, Philosophy, and Religion Translation Studies and Adaptation Studies Literary Aesthetics and Literary Linguistics Literary and Cultural Memory Digital Humanities and Textual Digital Humanities and Textual Analysis Popular Literature and Mass Media Studies Avant-Garde and Experimental Literature Graphic Novels and Comics Studies Autobiography, Memoir, and Life Writing Mythology, Folklore, and Fairy Tales Mythology, Folklore, and Fairy Tales Migration and Exile Narratives Literature and Film Studies Disability Studies in Literature Legal and Political Narratives Narrative Theory and Rhetoric Psychoanalysis and Literature Psychoanalysis and Literature Cultural and Social Theory in Literature Posthumanism and Science Studies Literature of Revolution and Resistance Ecofeminism and Environmental Justice Queer Ecologies in Literature Literature of the Anthropocene Literature and Technology
Diaspora, Memory, and Minority Ethics: Re-reading Rohinton Mistry’s Fiction
The three main books of Rohinton Mistry—Such a Long Journey, A Fine Balance, and Family Matters—are studied from the viewpoints of diaspora studies and minority discourse. It seeks to show how Mistry reinterprets diaspora as an ethical and psychological condition influenced by memory, minority identity, historical vulnerability, and negotiated belonging within postcolonial India, rather than just as geographical displacement. Using theoretical frameworks from postcolonial and diaspora studies, the study uses a qualitative textual analysis of Mistry's chosen novels. Parsi identity representations, internal displacement, ethical realism, historical violence, and community fragility are examined using key concepts including Avtar Brah's "diaspora space," Homi Bhabha's "minority discourse," and Stuart Hall's theories of identity. To investigate the relationship between individual experiences and more general sociopolitical realities, close reading is used. According to the study's findings, Rohinton Mistry reframes diaspora as a type of minority ethics based on memory, history, and daily battles for dignity. By focusing on internal displacement, demographic instability, and moral tenacity rather than just physical movement, his fiction broadens the field of diaspora studies. The intersections of ethical realism, subnational belonging, and minority identity in Indian English literature may be further examined in future studies, along with comparative viewpoints with other diasporic and postcolonial authors.
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Ecological Imperialism and Rubber Capitalism: Plantation Environments, Labour, and War in Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace
Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace (2000) has drawn readers toward exile, diaspora, identity. Its rubber plantations have drawn far less notice. This article turns there. It reads Malaya’s rubber frontier through a dual sense of ecological imperialism. The first comes from Alfred Crosby’s account of biological conquest. The second, sharpened by Jason W. Moore’s world-ecology, is borrowed from Paul Driessen’s polemical Eco-Imperialism. Driessen’s politics are indefensible. His vocabulary, appropriated against him, still names something real. Colonial extraction and present-day environmental governance both impose asymmetrical power on Southern ecologies, however differently justified. Four movements structure the argument. Malacca’s spice gardens give way to monoculture rows, biopiracy folded into ordinary economic calculation. Racialised labour regimes bind land to bondage. One tree, the novel says, was paid for with an Indian life. War exposes plantations as militarised terrain, canopy and mud deciding battles firepower alone could not. Morningside’s post-war workers’ co-operative, finally, answers Driessen on his own terms. Autonomous Southern control, bent toward sustainability rather than extraction. Ghosh’s saga, read this way, anticipates his explicit climate writing. Rubber, not opium, is this novel’s deepest ecological plot.
Mythic Waters and Ethical Renewal: Reading Eliot’s, The Waste Land through Global Water Traditions
This research paper aims to identify the symbolic, imagery and mythic significance of water in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and to analyse how water imagery contributes to the idea of ethical and spiritual renewal in the poem. It also seeks to explore Eliot’s use of drought, rain, river, sea, and ritual purification as metaphors for the crisis and regeneration of modern civilization. The study is based on qualitative and analytical research methods. Primary text analysis of The Waste Land has been taken through close reading, while secondary scholarly sources and critical essays have also been consulted. The paper adopts mythological, symbolic, eco-critical, and ethical literary approaches to interpret the multiple dimensions of water imagery in the poem. This research finds that water in The Waste Land functions as a complex imagery representing destruction, purification, rebirth, fertility, and hope. The study concludes that mythic water imagery is central to understanding the redemptive structure of The Waste Land. Though the poem portrays cultural decay, dryness, and despair, it ultimately offers the possibility of renewal through rain, cleansing, and spiritual consciousness. Further research may compare Eliot’s water symbolism with Indian sacred river traditions or with ecological readings related to contemporary environmental crises.
A Comparative Study of Colonial Impact in Selected Novels
This research explores the multidimensional impact of colonialism as portrayed in two important postcolonial novels such as A Passage to India and Things Fall Apart. It examines both Indian and African experiences and reveals how colonial power not only invades territories but also reshapes cultural practices, fractured identities, and institutionalizes inequality. The research highlights how colonial forces disrupts indigenous traditions, creates identity struggles, and producing enduring psychological and social conflicts. Through a comparative analysis, the study identifies both parallels and contrasts in colonial experiences across different regions. E.M. Forster portrays colonial tension through interpersonal conflicts and racial barriers, while Chinua Achebe highlights the forceful destruction of traditional African societies. By applying postcolonial theoretical views, the research argues that colonialism remains a powerful influence on identity and hierarchical structures rather than merely a closed historical chapter. It provides deeper insight into how literature portrays the dynamics of resistance and transformation in colonized communities.
Sacred Ecology and Environmental Consciousness in Kalidasa’s Abhijnanashakuntalam
This study explores the ecocritical dimensions of Abhijnanashakuntalam by focusing on the idea of sacred ecology and environmental consciousness embedded within the forest hermitage. While the play has traditionally been interpreted through aesthetic, romantic, and dramaturgical frameworks, its ecological vision has not been adequately explored within contemporary environmental humanities scholarship. The study addresses this gap by arguing that Kalidasa transforms nature from a poetic backdrop into an ethical and living presence that regulates human behaviour, emotional balance, and social order. Through close textual reading, the paper analyses representations of forests, rivers, animals, seasons, and ascetic life to examine how ecological consciousness is woven into the dramatic structure of the text. The argument also engages with the concept of forest hermitage ecology to demonstrate how the play resists anthropocentric attitudes and imagines a relational bond between humans and the non-human world. The study finds that Abhijnanashakuntalam presents an early ecological worldview in which ethical living depends upon harmony with nature. The forest emerges not merely as a setting but as a moral and ecological centre shaping human identity and responsibility. What emerges from this study is the recognition that classical Sanskrit literature contains sophisticated ecological insights that remain relevant to present environmental crises. It suggests the need to reposition Indian classical texts within global ecocritical discourse to develop culturally rooted models of environmental ethics and sustainability.
Existential Anguish and Alienation in the Selected Novels of Anita Desai
This research paper examines the theme of alienation in the selected novels of Anita Desai, highlighting her profound psychological insight into loneliness, emotional suffering, identity crisis, and social isolation. Her characters struggle to balance personal aspirations with societal expectations while remaining trapped between tradition and modernity. Through symbolism, vivid imagery, and the stream-of-consciousness technique, Desai portrays emotional neglect, cultural displacement, and existential anxiety with remarkable depth. The study adopts a qualitative textual approach, employing close reading of selected primary texts supported by relevant secondary critical sources. Psychological and existential perspectives are used to analyze the complex emotional and social realities reflected in her fiction. The paper argues that alienation in Desai’s novels is not merely personal but also psychological, social, cultural, and existential. By combining innovative narrative techniques with deep psychological realism, Anita Desai transforms individual suffering into a universal reflection on the modern human condition, establishing herself as one of the foremost voices in Indian English literature.
Gender and Orality: A Study of Select Folktales
Aim: The paper aims to analyze gender-biases and discriminatory stereotypical practices as reflected in the folktales to advocate social change for a more equitable society. In pre-literate or non-literate societies, transmission of knowledge, belief systems, lifestyles and rituals took place in oral form that ensured cultural continuity and preserved societal norms/values. Folktales and orality are complimentary to each other as folktales/narratives are passed on orally in the form of speeches, acts, narrations or songs from one generation to the other. Methodology and Approach: The authors have used the primary and secondary sources as part of their research. The researchers have also applied the feminist and gender theories in this work with the intention to bring changes in the modern society with the help of folktales which help to change the traditional thinking regarding women and their individual existence. Folktales in Uttar Pradesh are found in the dialects like Awadhi, Bundeli, Kauravi, Braj and Bhojpuri etc. Outcome: In the countries like India where folk literature has a rich and long-standing history, literature produced and transferred orally is counted among the major defining attributes of its literary and cultural heritage. Orality works as ‘lifeblood’ to keep alive the folktales across generations. Conclusion and Suggestions: Although in modern age folktales seem outdated, but they preserve the soul of true India within stories guiding in every sphere of life. The folktales attack these traditional norms which become the shackles of the feet of the women.
Translation as Cultural Mediation: Examining Linguistic Adaptation in Multi-lingual Indian Films
Aims: This study aims to investigate the role of linguistic adaptation as a process of cultural mediation in multi-lingual Indian cinema. It seeks to understand how translation, beyond mere linguistic transfer, functions in negotiating cultural meanings across diverse audiences in the context of Pan-Indian film circulation. Methodology and Approaches: The study adopts a qualitative research design grounded in Cultural Translation Theory and Audiovisual Translation Theory, along with Venuti’s concepts of domestication and foreignisation. It employs comparative textual and thematic analysis of selected Pan-Indian films—Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), Pushpa: The Rise (2021), and Kantara (2022). Outcome: The findings indicate that translation in multi-lingual Indian cinema operates as an active process of cultural negotiation rather than a mere transfer of meaning. Translators reconstruct meaning to balance audience accessibility with cultural authenticity, employing varied strategies to make culturally embedded content comprehensible across linguistic boundaries. Conclusion and Suggestions: The study concludes that effective cultural mediation through translation plays a crucial role in the wider dissemination, reception, and success of multi-lingual Indian films. The study suggests further interdisciplinary research integrating translation studies, audiovisual media, and cultural studies to better understand evolving practices in contemporary Indian cinema.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohammad Wasif, Rukhsaar Alam https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Indelible Mark That War Leaves on Human Life and Relationships: A Study of Vikas Sharma’s Love and Ego
Aims: This research paper aims to explore the novel Love and War by Vikas Sharma in the context of the psychological impact that war and military violence causes. It delves into concepts such as PTSD and its manifestation in people who are living through active warfare; by analyzing the two pivotal characters in the novel. The paper aims to understand how war impacts the normal day to day living of the civilians and how they cope with the terror and violence surrounding them. Methodology and Approaches: In this research paper, an attempt has been made to do a character study of the two protagonists; predominantly through the lens of trauma theory. Concepts such as ‘Trauma’ and ‘PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) have been defined and employed. A thorough Textual analysis has been made to bring out the points of concern. Outcome: Through this paper, the researcher has come to expound the pernicious effects of war and military violence on people’s psyche. The researcher has come to find out about how prolonged war and violence leads to isolation and trauma in the innocent civilians and military alike. It also shows how normal day to day life is suspended during the crisis of a war. Conclusion and Suggestions: Through the research paper, we can draw the conclusion that war is disruptive and destructive to every aspect of normal human life and relationships causing immeasurable pain, isolation and trauma in the people. It is one of the foremost evils and a threat to the modern society which leaves an indelible mark on the human psyche.
Allegory and Its Hermeneutic Horizons: Reflections on Naguib Mahfouz’s Children of the Alley
Aims: This article examines the burden of allegory and its hermeneutic horizons in Naguib Mahfouz’s Children of the Alley. Set against state power, revolutionary aspirations, and social inequality, the novel traces a loose chronology from the beginning of history to the modern age. Its five episodes parallel the stories of Adam, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and the rise of modern science. Through the experiences of the alley’s children, history appears as a recurring cycle of creation and destruction, hope and despair. The article therefore outlines the novel’s multilayered allegorical significance. Methodology and Approaches: Using close reading and textual analysis, the study explores the hermeneutical dimensions of allegory in Children of the Alley. The novel resembles an Arabic roman fleuve (“river novel”), presenting a broad chronicle that maps generations of people and the course of human history over an extended period. Outcome: A close reading shows that the generations represented in the novel function as a macrocosm of humanity from Adam to modern man. The narrative spans the long transition from reliance on the supernatural to faith in science and reason. Conclusion and Suggestions: Children of the Alley emerges as a grand allegory of human history in which successive generations experience recurring cycles of creation and destruction, hope and despair. Future research may undertake comparative studies of multigenerational sagas across literary traditions to illuminate both shared patterns and distinctive cultural dimensions.
Economics is Life, Life is Economics: The Rhetoric of Agency in a Scathing, Compassionate Quarrel with the World in Neel Mukherjee’s Choice
Aims: This paper examines how Choice interrogates agency, freedom, and economic determinism within neoliberal modernity. Drawing upon Donald N. McCloskey’s idea of economics as a rhetorical and ideological discourse, the study explores how Mukherjee critiques liberal assumptions regarding rationality, development, and individual choice through fragmented postmodern narratives shaped by capitalism, migration, race, and class inequality. Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative approach based on close textual reading. It selectively engages with theories of postmodernism, neoliberalism, and postcolonialism through thinkers such as Fredric Jameson, Jean Baudrillard, Jean-François Lyotard, David Harvey, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. The analysis focuses on fragmentation, paranoia, intertextuality, and pastiche in the novel. Outcome: The paper argues that the novel exposes the illusion of autonomous agency under neoliberal capitalism. Mukherjee demonstrates that individual choices are deeply conditioned by structures of class, race, geography, and institutional power. The fragmented narrative destabilizes grand narratives of progress and development while revealing the human cost of economic rationality. Conclusion and Suggestions: The study concludes that Choice transforms economics into an ethical and philosophical question concerning dignity, freedom, and inequality. Further research may explore broader postmodern and postcolonial dimensions of neoliberal anxiety in contemporary South Asian fiction.
Writing Sikkim, Writing Identity: Cultural Belonging in Selected Indian English Texts
Aims: This paper discusses the construction of cultural identity in selected literary works written in English by Sikkimese authors, namely Parsu Dahal’s The Lama Who Never Was, Prajwal Parajuly’s Land Where I Flee, and Pankaj Giri’s The Fragile Thread of Hope. It aims to examine how these texts represent cultural identity and negotiate questions of belonging, displacement, and marginality within the socio-cultural context of Sikkim. Methodology and Approaches: The study adopts a qualitative textual and interpretative approach. It is informed by Homi K. Bhabha’s concepts of cultural hybridity and the Third Space, Stuart Hall’s understanding of cultural identity as a dynamic and evolving process, and Edward Said’s notion of geographical imagination. Through close reading and theoretical analysis, the paper investigates the literary strategies employed by the selected authors in articulating cultural distinctiveness and identity formation. Outcome: The analysis demonstrates that Sikkimese literature in English functions as a counter-discourse to dominant metropolitan representations of Northeast Indian culture. The study finds that motifs such as return to the homeland, food habits, dress, and rituals serve as important markers of cultural specificity. These elements contribute to the construction of a distinct Sikkimese-Nepali identity within a culturally diverse and politically complex region. Conclusion and Suggestions: The paper concludes that the literary representation of Sikkim reflects the hybrid and evolving nature of cultural identity. The study suggests that greater scholarly attention should be given to Sikkimese writing in English and other underrepresented regional literatures to enrich discussions on identity, hybridity, and cultural representation in contemporary Indian literary studies.
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Contesting the Colonial Dichotomy of Centricity and Margins and the Hegemony of Authorial Discourse: Postcolonial and Postmodern Concerns in Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs
Aim: This paper examines Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs as a postcolonial and postmodern rewriting of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations. It aims to explore how Carey challenges colonial constructions of centre and margin, interrogates the authority of canonical literary discourse, and reclaims marginalised voices through the strategy of writing back to the British literary canon. Methodology and Approach: The study adopts a qualitative textual and comparative approach grounded in postcolonial and postmodern literary theories. The paper examines the fictional representation of Tobias Oates, Carey’s counterpart to Dickens, to investigate questions of textual ownership, narrative authority, and the politics of literary representation. Outcome: The analysis reveals that Jack Maggs destabilises colonial binaries of centre and periphery by repositioning the transported convict from the margins to the centre of the narrative. The novel challenges imperial assumptions regarding Australia as a penal colony while simultaneously exposing the mechanisms through which canonical authors appropriate and shape subordinate voices. Conclusion and Suggestions: The study concludes that Jack Maggs functions as a powerful postcolonial counter-discourse and a sophisticated postmodern interrogation of authorial authority. Future research may further investigate the intersections of postcolonial rewriting, neo-Victorian fiction, and metafictional strategies in contemporary literature to understand their role in reshaping literary and cultural memory.
Copyright (c) 2026 Huma Javed Subzposh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Of Fathers and Daughters: Reimaging King Lear in A Thousand Acres
Aim: The paper examines the feminist and postcolonial reimagining of King Lear in A Thousand Acres, focusing on how canonical narratives are revised to foreground marginalized female perspectives and critique patriarchal authority. Methodology and Approach: The study adopts a comparative and interpretative approach, drawing upon feminist and postcolonial theoretical frameworks. It analyses narrative strategies, characterization, and thematic shifts in Smiley’s novel in relation to Shakespeare’s original play, with particular attention to narrative voice, gender politics, and intertextual rewriting. Outcome: The analysis reveals that A Thousand Acres reconfigures the moral and emotional center of King Lear by granting agency and psychological depth to Goneril and Regan through the character of Ginny. The novel exposes suppressed histories of abuse, challenges traditional sympathies aligned with Lear and Cordelia, and reinterprets familial and social power structures through a feminist lens. Conclusion and Suggestions: The paper concludes that feminist rewritings such as Smiley’s not only contest canonical authority but also expand interpretative possibilities by recovering silenced voices. It suggests that further research may explore similar rewritings across cultures to understand how gender, memory, and narrative perspective reshape literary traditions and challenge entrenched critical assumptions.
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Class Discrimination and Racial Conflict: Transporting Wuthering Heights to Windward Heights
Aim: This paper aims to explore the intersections of class discrimination and racial conflict through a comparative reading of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Maryse Condé’s Windward Heights, with particular focus on how postcolonial rewriting reconfigures the ideological framework of a canonical Victorian text. Methodology and Approach: The study adopts an intertextual and postcolonial analytical framework, drawing on the concept of intertextuality proposed by Julia Kristeva. It examines narrative strategies, characterization, and socio-cultural contexts to analyse how Windward Heights transforms the thematic concerns of Wuthering Heights. Outcome: The analysis demonstrates that while Wuthering Heights contains latent suggestions of “otherness” and social hierarchy, Windward Heights foregrounds these issues by situating them within the historical realities of the Caribbean. Condé’s reworking amplifies marginalized voices and presents race as a central determinant of social relations, thereby revealing the interconnectedness of racial and class structures. Conclusion and Suggestions: The paper concludes that Windward Heights is not merely a response to Wuthering Heights but a critical rearticulation that exposes its suppressed colonial subtext. By aligning class prejudice with racial discrimination, Condé’s novel expands the scope of postcolonial literary studies and invites a re-evaluation of canonical texts through alternative cultural and historical perspectives.
Ecological Consciousness in the Shiv Puran: A Study of Ancient Indian Environmental Thought
Aims: This paper aims to explore environmental ethics embedded in ancient Indian scriptures, particularly the Shiv Puran through an eco-critical perspective. It seeks to highlight how this texts promote a harmonious relationship between humans and nature and offer sustainable ecological insights relevant to contemporary environmental crises. Methodology and Approaches: The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative methodology, employing the theoretical framework of eco-criticism. Selected narratives, verses, and mythological representations from the Shiv Purana is critically analyzed to examine their ecological consciousness. Outcome: The analysis reveals that the Puranas present nature as sacred and interconnected with human existence. Elements such as rivers, forests, animals, and mountains are not merely physical entities but are imbued with spiritual significance. Conclusion and Suggestions: This study examines ecological consciousness in the Shiv Puran, highlighting its integration of environmental ethics within a spiritual framework. Through key narratives, it reveals principles of harmony, conservation, and coexistence. The study concludes that ancient Indian knowledge traditions offer valuable ecological insights and advocates their integration into contemporary environmental discourse, education, and policy for sustainable development.
Cinema, Representation and Muslim Women: An Islamic Feminist Critique of Suparn Verma’s Haq (2025)
Aims: This paper critically examines Suparn Verma’s Haq (2025) through the lens of Islamic feminism, with a particular focus on the representation of Muslim women, Islamic law, and gender justice. The study seeks to investigate how the film engages with issues such as Triple Talaq, marital oppression and women’s legal rights, while assessing whether the narrative offers a nuanced understanding of Islamic jurisprudence or reproduces reductive stereotypes surrounding Muslim women and Muslim communities. Methodology and Approaches: The paper employs qualitative textual and thematic analyses of the film, drawing on the theoretical perspectives of Islamic feminism, postcolonial feminism, and feminist legal critique. Drawing upon the works of scholars such as Saba Mahmood, Leila Ahmed, Asma Barlas and Lila Abu-Lughod, the study analyses the film’s narrative structure, characterization, dialogues, and socio-legal framing. Outcome: The analysis demonstrates that although Haq foregrounds important concerns regarding patriarchal practices and women’s vulnerability within marital structures, the film ultimately presents a limited and selective understanding of Islamic legal traditions. Conclusion and Suggestions: The paper concludes that meaningful cinematic engagement with Muslim women’s issues requires a more historically grounded and ethically nuanced approach to Islam, gender and law. The study suggests that future representations of Muslim women in Indian cinema must move beyond victimhood narratives and engage more responsibly with Islamic feminist scholarship and lived Muslim realities.
From Social Exclusion to Self-Assertion: Queer Identity and Performance in I Am Vidya and The Gift of Goddess Lakshmi
Aims: This research paper studies I am Vidya: A Transgender's Journey by Living Smile Vidya and The Gift of Goddess Lakshmi: A Candid Biography of the First Transgender Principal by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey and Manobi Bandopadhyay. The themes of works are queer identity, social exclusion, gender performance, and self-assertion. The paper examines how transgender individuals suffer because of rigid social rules and traditional beliefs about gender in Indian society. Methodology and Approaches: Both autobiographies describe the emotional pain, rejection, discrimination, humiliation, and loneliness faced by transgender people in their everyday lives. The study also explores how the writers struggle to express their true identities while facing social pressure and marginalization. Using Queer Theory and Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity, the paper analyses how gender is socially constructed through behaviour, appearance, and repeated actions. Outcome: The autobiographies not only present suffering and exclusion but also show courage, resistance, and self-confidence. Conclusion and Suggestions: Through autobiographical writing, both writers challenge social stereotypes and strongly assert their identities and dignity in society. The autobiographies highlight the urgent need for social acceptance, equality, and respect for transgender individuals in Indian society. The study suggests that awareness, education, and inclusive social attitudes are necessary to remove discrimination and marginalization faced by the transgender community.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Refracting The Tempest through the postcolonial lens: George Lamming’s water with Berries and Pleasures of Exile
Aims: This paper aims to critically examine the postcolonial reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest through the works of George Lamming, particularly Water with Berries and The Pleasures of Exile. It seeks to explore how the canonical text is reconfigured to interrogate colonial power structures, identity formation, and the enduring psychological impact of empire. Methodology and Approaches: The study adopts a postcolonial theoretical framework, drawing on the insights of Frantz Fanon and Octave Mannoni to analyse the transformation of the Prospero–Caliban relationship. Outcome: The analysis reveals that The Tempest operates both as a text that historically legitimises colonial discourse and as a fertile site for its subversion. Lamming’s rewriting foregrounds Caliban as a figure of resistance, while exposing the complexities of linguistic inheritance and psychological dependency. The reversal of colonial trajectories—from colony to metropolis—highlights the persistence of imperial power in altered forms within postcolonial realities. Conclusion and Suggestions: The paper concludes that Lamming’s engagement with The Tempest extends beyond mere adaptation, offering a profound critique of colonial legacies that continue to shape cultural and intellectual identities. It suggests the need for further interdisciplinary studies that examine literary rewritings as dynamic sites of resistance and re-articulation, particularly in relation to language, memory, and postcolonial subjectivity.
Climate Catastrophes in the Age of the Anthropocene: A Critical Analysis of Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island
Aims: This paper analyses anthropogenic climate crises depicted by Amitav Ghosh in his novel Gun Island (2019. Methodology and Approaches: This study analyses Amitav Ghosh's Gun Island (2019) using the concept of the Anthropocene. Using the theoretical paradigms of eminent theorists such as Dipesh Chakrabarty, Timothy Morton, Adam Trexler and Timothy Clark, the paper tries to analyse the gravity of the anthropogenic climate crisis. Outcome: This article records the climate changes in the Sundarbans. Ghosh portrays the Bhola cyclone affected Sundarbans and the resultant influx of climate refugees. The vulnerability of coastal regions that results in devastating shifts in the marine world are highlighted in the study. Human interventions in the ocean result in the formation of “oceanic dead zones” with a very low oxygen content. Human use of fertilisers can be deciphered as a hyperobject and it results in massive fish kills. Conclusion and Suggestions: Ghosh’s Gun Island anticipates the climate crisis in the Anthropocene. By placing humans as mere members of the planet, Ghosh considers all elements of nature in equal terms. This study highlights humans' role in mitigating the climate crisis through characters such as Piya Roy, Lisa and Giacinta Schiavon.
Rewriting Childhood through Inclusivity and Innovation: A Study of Mythological Narratives for Children in the works of Sudha Murty and Devdutt Pattanaik
Aim: The aim of this paper is to explore how Indian myths are reshaped to communicate modern related concerns of inclusivity and innovation. This paper insists that Sudha Murty’s method of storytelling fosters inclusivity through the moral sensitivity and empathy through the portrayal of lesser-known figures of mythology, whereas Devdutt Pattanaik’s retellings advance interpretive openness, challenging the singular perspective of the mythological stories. Methodology and Approach: This paper is qualitative research and an interpretive methodology from the perspective of Demythologization by Rudolf Bultmann. The texts are studied as a narrative and visual concept concerning moral clarity, interpretive openness and cultural preservation through storytelling. Outcome: Through this paper, the research has found that the mythological stories, if restructured in accordance with modern context, can be understood in various ways, because there is no single perspective to look at mythology, as it is open for various interpretations, which will definitely help children to think critically and improve their decision-making skills. Conclusion and Suggestions: This study concludes that despite holding up with the contrasting approaches, both the writers equally come up with the idea of reinterpreting childhood confrontation with Indian mythology by transforming the earlier narratives as an instrument for ethical and critical development as per the modern perspective of children’s literature.
The Battered Lives of the Others and the Issue of Indian Liberal Thought: A Critical Study of Neel Mukherjee’s A State of Freedom
Aims: This article examines how A State of Freedom interrogates dignity, freedom, migration, aspiration, and the contradictions of liberalism in modern India through the fractured realities of contemporary society. Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative approach grounded in postcolonial and Subaltern Studies frameworks. Through close textual reading, it analyses representations of subaltern subjectivities and critiques of Indian liberalism concerning caste, class, gender, and neoliberal development. Outcome: The paper argues that Mukherjee’s fragmented narrative exposes the persistence of caste, class, gender, and neoliberal inequalities through marginalised figures such as Milly, Lakshman, and Ramlal, while reimagining Indian liberalism as an unfinished and contested project. Conclusion and Suggestions: This study argues that A State of Freedom exposes the contradictions of Indian liberalism by revealing the gap between its ethical promises and the lived realities of subaltern communities shaped by caste, class, and neoliberal inequality. Through fragmented narration and shifting perspectives, Neel Mukherjee critiques neoliberal India while reimagining Indian liberalism as an evolving ethical tradition rooted in indigenous thought rather than merely a Western import. The study concludes that the project of Indian liberalism remains unfinished and calls for continued engagement with questions of dignity, agency, and freedom at the margins of society.
Copyright (c) 2026 Motahar Hossain https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Technological Shift: Revolutionizing Pedagogy and Social Policy for the Next Generation
Aim: This article examines the impact of digital technology on the Indian educational system, highlighting how new tools have changed the way students learn and how teachers approach their work. Methodology and Approach: Within the framework of social policy development, the study investigates the transition from analogue to digital pedagogical paradigms and evaluates the benefits and drawbacks of each. Outcome: The research shows that marginalised populations continue to face difficulties related to digital exclusion, even though there has been significant progress in integrating technology. Educational gaps persist due to discrepancies in digital infrastructure, as shown in the UDISE+ 2023–2024 report, which indicates that just 57% of schools have working computers and 53% have internet connectivity. Conclusion and Suggestions: Fair distribution of resources and comprehensive digital accessibility regulations are emphasised in the report. It calls for stronger digital safety measures, more inclusive digital curriculum development, improved digital literacy programs, and coordinated national and international policy frameworks. In line with the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020, India can use digital technology more effectively by systematically addressing these challenges, thereby creating an educational ecosystem that is more inclusive and equitable.
Copyright (c) 2026 Warisha Shafeeq https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Emotional Roller-coaster in the Diasporic Third Space for Women: A Study of Bharati Mukherjee’s Works
Aim: This paper seeks to explore the diasporic experiences and identity struggles of women characters in the novels of Bharati Mukherjee. It highlights how these women attempt to negotiate belonging, memory, and identity in unfamiliar social and cultural settings. Methodology and Approach: The study adopts a qualitative and analytical approach based on close textual reading of Mukherjee’s selected novels. In addition to primary texts, relevant secondary sources on diaspora and postcolonial studies have been consulted to support the analysis. The research also draws on the concept of the “Third Space” articulated by Homi K. Bhabha to understand how hybrid identities emerge when individuals live between cultures. Outcome: The analysis shows that Mukherjee’s female protagonists undergo significant emotional and psychological transformations as they attempt to adapt to life in a new country. Characters such as Tara, Dimple, and Jasmine experience loneliness, cultural confusion, and a sense of being caught between two identities. At the same time, their journeys demonstrate resilience and personal growth as they gradually negotiate new ways of understanding themselves and their surroundings. Conclusion and Suggestions: The paper concludes that Bharati Mukherjee’s fiction offers a nuanced portrayal of the immigrant experience, particularly from a woman’s perspective. Her narratives illustrate how migration reshapes identity and creates hybrid cultural spaces where individuals must constantly redefine themselves. By foregrounding the voices of diasporic women, Mukherjee’s works contribute significantly to discussions on migration, gender, and cultural identity in contemporary literature.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ruchita Singh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Embodied Slow Violence in The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey
Aims: This study aims to explore Hansda Sowvendra Sekhar's The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey in relation to Jharkhand's regional political economy, a facet that has gotten relatively little attention in previous scholarship, which has mostly concentrated on gender and cultural representation. The research seeks to investigate how the narrative depicts bodily decline and social marginalisation in a society determined by long-term resource exploitation, worker out-migration, and uneven development. Methodology and Approaches: The study uses close textual analysis, which is informed by Rob Nixon's concept of slow violence and the internal colonial framework. These methods are used to examine how gradual deterioration, social withdrawal, and the lack of obvious causation shape the novel's depiction of disease and everyday life. Outcome: The analysis exhibits that Rupi Baskey's trajectory, from physical strength to extended illness and partial recovery, highlights the cumulative and often invisible effects of long-term work, economic precarity, limited healthcare access, and societal misrecognition. Conclusion and Suggestions: The novel's ending implies a type of restricted acknowledgement that restores social continuity without changing the underlying conditions of vulnerability. By situating literary representation within the historical context of regional marginalisation, the study adds to ongoing discussions in Adivasi literary studies and emphasises the need for more research on embodiment as a mode of experiencing and articulating internal colonial conditions across resource frontiers.
Copyright (c) 2026 Vikash Das https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Dalit Awakening and Fostering Collective Solidarity
Aim: The paper focuses on the Dalit awekening in the Telugu-speaking region taking into account social, political and literary aspects. The mainstream Indian history often misses out on Dalit resistance or the Dalit cosmos in general. Becoming conscious of their social status and economic hardships, the Dalits of the Telugu-speaking region displayed an early spirit of organization that developed alongside the Indian independence movement.Thus, to recover the lost history and to give a new understanding to the history of the marginalised is still an unfinished project. Therefore, the paper addresses this lacuna and constructs the history of Dalit awakening in Telugu speaking region. Methodology and Approach: The paper follows Dalit historiographical approach as it takes into consideration the primary and secondary texts of Dalit writers, anthologies, and research papers. The paper base itself on qualitative textual analysis. Outcome: The mainstream history and narratives often overlooks socio-political history and the literary history of Dalits and the marginalised in general. This paper throws light on the forgotten history of Dalits in Telugu speaking region as it is instrumental in fostering narratives on counter-history. Conclusion and Suggestions: History plays a vital role in construction of identities and counter-identities. Particularly, marginalised communities such as Dalits who have been struggling to recover their histories should rely on the oral and autobiographical narratives of the community. These writings from the periphery not only enriched the Telugu Dalit literature but they extended their imagination to narrate the stories of the ostracised of the ostracised.
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohankumar B. S. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Colonial Violence and Cultural Memory in Half of a Yellow Sun
Aims: This study investigates the representation of colonial violence and cultural memory in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun (2006). It aims to demonstrate how the novel reconfigures the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70) as the historical afterlife of British colonial cartography, ethnic stratification and epistemic domination. Methodology and Approaches: The research adopts a qualitative textual analysis grounded in postcolonial theory, trauma studies and memory studies. The study engages theoretical frameworks proposed by Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, Cathy Caruth, Marianne Hirsch, Paul Ricoeur, Pierre Nora and Jan Assmann. Through close reading, the paper analyses narrative structure, characterisation, temporality and symbolic motifs to explore how colonial legacies shape post-independence violence and mnemonic reconstruction. Outcome: The analysis reveals that the novel situates the Biafran War within a continuum of colonial structural violence. Adichie employs fragmented chronology, polyphonic narration and embedded testimony to depict trauma’s disruption of linear history. The narrative reclaims subaltern voices, particularly women and marginalised civilians and challenges official historiography that suppresses Biafran memory. Conclusion and Suggestions: The study concludes that Half of a Yellow Sun (2006) functions as a counter-archival text that transforms personal trauma into collective cultural memory. It suggests further comparative research on African post-memory narratives and interdisciplinary studies integrating literary trauma with archival historiography to deepen understanding of postcolonial remembrance.
Copyright (c) 2026 Nishant Kumar Dubey https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Breaking the Frame: Challenging Beauty Norms and Redefining Resilience in the Film Double XL
Aim: The film Double XL, challenges traditional beauty ideals by promoting body positivity and inclusivity. In this paper, feminist literary theory, particularly postfeminism, will be used to analyse how the film reshapes identity narratives and fosters self-confidence. By examining character development, themes, and cinematography, the paper will highlight the impact of film on representation, empowerment, and body image, depicting its role in changing cultural attitudes toward inclusivity and body positivity. Methodology and Approach: The authors, while writing the paper, have consulted the primary sources, such as the film Double XL and secondary sources in this paper as part of their research. The researchers have applied the feminist approach to cinema to examine gendered beauty standards and societal expectations. Outcome: Through their study, the researchers have found that body standards play an important role in Indian society. However, the director, instead of giving in to fixed standards, takes a transformative stance by making the heroines believe in themselves and love themselves as they are. Conclusion and Suggestions: The paper examines societal prejudices towards larger body sizes through the experiences of female protagonists Sazia Khanna and Rajshree Trivedi, emphasising resilience and self-acceptance as essential components of empowerment. The movie tells people to be confident in themselves beyond how they look by rejecting narrow beauty standards.
Copyright (c) 2026 Nikky Kumari, Guriya Kumari, Tanima Kumari https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Mythic Paths to Self-Realisation: A Comparative Study of Hermann Hesse and Arun Joshi
Aims: The aim of this study is to examine how Hermann Hesse and Arun Joshi employ mythic symbolism to depict the journey toward self-realisation in their selected novels. Drawing a comparative approach, the study aims to identify shared mythic motifs addressing alienation, moral awakening, and the search for wholeness, and to demonstrate the universality of the quest for integrated selfhood in the context of modern existential crises. Methodology and Approaches: The study employs close reading of primary text, articles, research papers, critical books, and web sources. It also utilises critical and comparative methods for analysing different dimensions and paradigms. Outcome: The outcome of this research validates the central argument that mythic paths to self-realisation in Hesse and Joshi converge toward an integrated vision of human existence, where inner harmony, ethical responsibility, and spiritual awareness form the foundation of authentic life. Conclusion: The study concludes that self-realisation transcends cultural boundaries, even as it is shaped by cultural philosophies. Hesse’s synthesis of Eastern mysticism and Western psychology and Joshi’s fusion of existentialism with Hindu thought affirm that the struggle for wholeness, moral awakening, and meaning is universally human. Their works collectively suggest that mythic paradigms remain profoundly relevant in addressing the psychological, spiritual, and ethical crises of modern life.
Copyright (c) 2026 Bhanu Bhasker Prajapati https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Postcolonial Discourse of Resistance and Violence in the Short Movie Jibaro (2022)
Aim: Postcolonialism examines how narratives of the colonizing culture distort the experiences of the colonized, who strive to articulate identity and reclaim their past in the face of imposed otherness. The ‘other’ is portrayed as lacking identity and legitimacy. Resistance remains central to postcolonial discourse and often appears as subversion, opposition or mimicry. The short movie Jibaro (2022), directed by Alberto Mielgo for Love, Death and Robots season 3 on Netflix, presents a haunting relationship between colonizer and colonized marked by violence, resistance and destruction. This paper studies these issues in the narrative of Jibaro (2022). Methodology and Approach: The paper examines postcolonial concerns in Jibaro (2022) from a theoretical perspective. It evaluates the role of violence and resistance within a postcolonial framework and is analytical and descriptive in nature. Outcome: Jibaro (2022) employs the figures of a conquistador and a deadly siren to depict themes of conquest, inversion of power and tragic mutual loss, making it a postcolonial parable. The narrative highlights how colonial expansion shaped cultural domains and projected dominance as natural. It suggests that power between colonizer and colonized is reversible and destructive. Conclusion and Suggestions: The film explores colonialism, greed and toxic relationships, with the siren symbolizing the native inhabitant. The paper emphasizes the destructive nature of colonial ambition, where both colonizer and colonized become trapped in a cycle of violence, desire and mutual ruin.
Copyright (c) 2026 Himakshi Kalita https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0