ABSTRACT
Postcolonial theory when applied to writings in English is predicated on the hegemonic encounter between Britain and its colonies as observed from the perspective of the former colonials or postcolonials rather than of their imperial rulers. And herein lies postcolonialism’s strength as well as its weakness. The perspective is eye-opening but at the same time blinkered. In examining complex societies simply in terms of the imperial-colonial divide, ignoring local agency, local political, social, and personal circumstances, postcolonialism tends to be exclusive rather than inclusive, to distort as much as it clarifies the experience of postcolonials. And the essays in this collection that offer postcolonial theorizing and reading of children’s literature bear out my contention, illustrating the merits as well as the limitations of this approach.
