Introduction

While preparing a list of Modern Classics in the English language, the Sahitya Akademi at New Delhi found it impossible to ignore Raja Rao’s writing despite severe competition from the post-1980 writers. This might come as a surprise to the new generation of readers that Raja Rao continues to be celebrated despite being identified as a writer belonging to the 20th century when every literary anthology could begin by invoking his name. Partha Chatterjee’s view that nationalism in postcolonial countries is characterised by its variance from the existing ideology or ‘modular’ form of the national society, which underlines the historical experience of nationalism in western Europe, is evinced in virtually all of Raja Rao’s body of work. His novels are evidence of a lifelong investment in Indian history, colonialism, and decolonisation within which the writer is as much a participant as he is a resisting subject. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.