History, Identity, Hybridity, Nationhood, and the Chutnification of English: A Postcolonial Reflection on Deepa Mehta’s 'Midnight’s Children' (2012 - Film)

This blog is written as a task assigned by the head of the Department of English (MKBU), Prof. and Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. Here is the link to the professor's article for background reading: Click here.

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1. Pre-viewing Activities

Q. Who narrates history the victors or the marginalized?

How does this relate to personal identity?

Prevailing view: History is typically told from the perspective of the victors, allowing those in power to craft the “official” version in ways that legitimize their actions and worldview.

Postcolonial perspective: Thinkers such as Gayatri Spivak (Can the Subaltern Speak?) contend that the voices of the marginalized—particularly the colonized and oppressed—are often excluded or distorted in mainstream historical accounts.

Connection to personal identity: When a community’s past is erased or misrepresented, its members may come to accept the dominant account, which can lead to identity confusion, feelings of inferiority, or disconnection from their heritage. In contrast, reclaiming forgotten or suppressed histories can help restore dignity, pride, and a stronger sense of self.

Illustration: In the Indian context, colonial narratives frequently downplayed local resistance movements; bringing these stories to light transforms how modern Indians view their own identity.

Q. What makes a nation? Is it geography, governance, culture, or memory?

A nation is rarely made of just one thing — it’s more like a woven fabric where geography, governance, culture, and memory are the threads, each essential, but none sufficient alone.

Geography – Physical territory gives a nation its boundaries, resources, and sometimes its strategic advantage. But territory alone can’t make a nation — plenty of regions share a map but not a national identity.

Governance – Laws, institutions, and political systems hold the framework together. A functioning state can enforce unity, but governance without shared values can feel imposed rather than embraced.

Culture – Language, traditions, art, and shared social practices create a sense of belonging. Culture is often what people cling to when borders shift or governments change.

Memory – Collective remembrance of history — victories, tragedies, myths, and struggles — shapes identity. Even imagined or selectively remembered histories can forge powerful national bonds (Benedict Anderson called nations “imagined communities” for this reason).

In short: geography gives a nation space, governance gives it structure, culture gives it soul, and memory gives it meaning. Remove one, and the fabric starts to fray.

Q. Can language be colonized or decolonized? Think about English in India.

Yes — language can be both colonized and decolonized, and English in India is one of the clearest examples.

1. Colonizing a language

When the British introduced English in India, it wasn’t just a neutral communication tool. It was a political project:

Power & control – English became the language of law, administration, and education, giving access to jobs and privilege only to those who mastered it.

Cultural hierarchy – Indigenous languages were treated as “vernacular” (less prestigious), while English was framed as modern, rational, and superior.

Shaping thought – Colonial education used English literature and history to project British values and worldviews, subtly aligning the colonized mind with the colonizer’s narrative .

2. Decolonizing a language

After independence, India didn’t discard English — instead, it began to indigenize it:

Appropriation – Writers like R.K. Narayan, Arundhati Roy, Salman Rushdie, and Kamala Das infused English with Indian idioms, rhythms, and cultural references, making it carry Indian realities.

Political reclamation – English became a link language across India’s diverse linguistic regions, no longer tied to British rule but to Indian identity.

Subversion – Postcolonial literature often uses English to critique colonialism itself, turning the colonizer’s tool into a weapon of resistance.

3. The paradox

English in India is now both a colonial inheritance and a postcolonial asset. It carries the scars of domination but also the power of global connection and local creativity.

So, yes — a language can be colonized when it is imposed and shaped by power structures, and it can be decolonized when speakers reshape it to express their own realities, histories, and voices.