Subverting Narratives of Nationalism: A Cross-National Study of Borges and Muktibodh

Abstract

The mid-twentieth century Argentina and India witnessed a discursive construction and circulation of national identity closely entwined with literary production. This caused a surge in nationalistic sentiments, often culminating in socially discriminatory consequences. This paper shall analyse the role Jorge Luis Borges and Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh played in subverting nationalism, as members on the ideological margins of their respective countries. The study involves two interconnected inquiries in the authors’ works. First, a study of reasons behind their rejection of nationalistic writing— their personal lives as affected by it, their discontent with literary movements they were part of, literary censorships, and loss of jobs on account of their ideological differences. Second, a study of the alternatives the two writers offered against nationalism— literary forms, styles, and techniques. Placing the two inquiries together, the paper will study their works as writings of resistance that surface through a fusion of political opinion and social critique. It will further argue how resistance through writing conditions guides their existence.