The Limits of Derivative Nationalism: Marxism, Postcolonial Theory, and the Question of Tamil Nationalism

Abstract

‘Indian’ postcolonial writings continue to have a significant impact on contemporary scholarly approaches to nationalism in the subcontinent, and have helped displace the hold of earlier left/liberal approaches to nationalism. While the impact of these recent postcolonial trends on Indian historiography more broadly has been the subject of considerable scholarly discussions and debates, less attention has been devoted to their specific impact on scholarly approaches to nationalism. Through a close and critical reading of the changing historical approaches to ‘minority’ Tamil nationalism in the subcontinent as well as through comparison of such postcolonial perspectives with that of ‘anticolonial’ national liberation theorists such as Frantz Fanon, this essay seeks to offer a historical perspective on the strengths and limitations of the currently ascendant ‘Indian’ postcolonial perspectives on nationalism.