Secularism and the Crisis of Minority Identity in Postcolonial Literature examines how writers from religious and ethnic minority communities (Anglo-Indians, Burghers, Dalits, Muslims, and Parsis) in India and Sri Lanka engage secularism through novels, short stories, and autobiographies. Given the rise of Hindu nationalism in India and Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism in Sri Lanka, it would seem obvious that minorities would rally around secularism (the separation of church and state). However, this book argues that the relationship between minorities and secularism is extremely ambivalent. On the one hand, it shows how writers belonging to oppressed communities can deploy secularism as a mode of critique (secular criticism) to challenge the ideologies of dominant groups-the nation, upper-castes, and religious hierarchies. On the other hand, it examines how these writers reveal that other aspects of secularism (secularization and secular time) are responsible for creating essentialized identities that have not only exacerbated relationships between majorities and minorities and between minority groups, but have also created tension within minority groups themselves. Turing to aesthetics and religious faith, these writers attempt to undermine secular social and cultural structures that are responsible for this crisis of minority identity.

About the Author
Roger McNamara is assistant professor of English at Texas Tech University.

Reviews
This book makes a significant contribution to the study of how writers from minority groups such as the Burghers in Sri Lanka and the Muslims, Parsis, Anglo-Indians and Dalits in India engaged secularism. -- Maryse Jayasuriya, University of Texas at El Paso



Book Information
ISBN 9781498548939
Author Roger McNamara
Format Hardback
Page Count 198
Imprint Lexington Books
Publisher Lexington Books
Weight(grams) 476g
Dimensions(mm) 231mm * 159mm * 21mm