A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE STRUGGLE AGAINST COLONIAL OPPRESSION IN IRELAND AND INDIA THROUGH THE PRISM OF LIAM O’FLAHERTY AND KAMALA MARKANDAYA

Abstract

Ireland and India, even though geographically and ethnically distant countries, still possess many similarities, mostly related to the fact that they both used to be colonies of the British Empire. Before gaining independence, similarly marked by Partition in both countries, they were battlefields of colonial confrontation, depicted in many literary works. The purpose of this article is to make a comparison by analysing selected novels written by Liam O’Flaherty from Ireland and the Indian-born Kamala Markandaya, which focus on the clash between the coloniser and the colonized in these two countries. The most important point revealed by comparative analysis is that neither O’Flaherty nor Markandaya blindly accuse the coloniser alone for the misery and sufferings of the Irish/Indian people, since they also find fault with their respective governments, aware that progress in their countries can be achieved only as a result of the joint efforts of their governments and peoples.