Episode Overview

Podcast: New Books Network – Literary Studies
Host: Dr. Arnab Dutta Roy
Guest: Professor Sourit Bhattacharya (University of Edinburgh)
Book Discussed: Postcolonialism Now: Literature, Reading, Decolonising (Orient BlackSwan, 2024)
Release Date: February 13, 2026

This episode features a wide-ranging conversation with Professor Sourit Bhattacharya about his influential new book on postcolonialism. The discussion centers on the vitality of postcolonial theory today, the nuances between ‘postcolonial,’ ‘decolonial,’ and ‘anticolonial’ frameworks, and the importance of reading practices as both literary and political acts. With comparative insights spanning India, Africa, and the Caribbean, the episode foregrounds the enduring decolonizing impulse within postcolonial studies and offers practical guidance for students and educators.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal and Academic Journey

• Identity and Migration: Bhattacharya traces his scholarly trajectory from Alipur Duar in North Bengal to Kolkata to the UK, highlighting how migration and fractured identity have shaped both his personal life and academic interests.
  • Quote:

    "I think like, I'm very conscious of who I am and how I came to this part of the world...your identity is always fractured and there is always a tremendous desire to understand where you came from..." (A, 05:32)

• Roots and Reflection: Story of discovering his primary school’s full name, “Refugee Rehabilitation Primary School,” sparked reflection on the legacy of Partition and the hidden dimensions of identity.

2. The Book’s Major Interventions

• Reading as Political Practice: Bhattacharya advocates moving away from seeing postcolonial studies simply as abstract theory, instead emphasizing reading as an activist method that both shapes and responds to the world.
  • Quote:

    "I was very interested, very keen on thinking how we read is some way how we politicize ourselves." (A, 10:07)

• Everyday Postcolonialism: Argues that postcolonialism is not a historical artifact but a lived, daily experience, evidenced by lingering colonial markers in contemporary society (language, law, education).

3. Defining Key Terms: Postcolonial, Decolonial, Anticolonial (13:05–19:15)

• Postcolonial:
  Defined as both the historical period after formal colonialism and an ongoing condition where colonial structures persist.
  • Quote:

    "Postcolonial in that sense is a term that is a term of the past, of our colonial rule, but the term that we also live with every day. Everything from the railways to our schooling to our laws, to our constitution." (A, 15:02)

• Decolonial:
  Distinct from postcolonial; rooted in Latin American thought, emphasizing the need to delink from modernity as imposed by colonialism.
• Decolonizing (verb):
  Seen as an ongoing, active process—reading, re-educating, and acting as forms of decolonization.
• Anticolonial:
  Refers to active resistance—through social, caste, feminist, or tribal movements—against persisting colonial structures.

4. The Decolonizing Impulse (19:35–25:27)

• Interconnected Resistance:
  Anti-colonial and decolonizing activities are mutually reinforcing and continuous, transcending historical moments of Independence.
  • Quote:

    "To me, decolonization is a continuing thing and the movements that provide energy to it are anti colonial movements." (A, 20:58)

• Self-Education and Praxis:
  Reading and re-education are central to decolonizing—participation doesn’t require grand acts, but ongoing reflection and dialogue, even within the classroom.

5. Novelty and Comparative Framework (25:53–33:07)

• Comparative Reading:
  The book bridges local literature across the Global South, emphasizing comparative readings (e.g., between South African, Bangladeshi, and Caribbean texts) without erasing local peculiarities.
  • Quote:

    "Could a South African text and a Bangladeshi text be brought together and if we could, what should be the things we find as broadly resonances or similarities and...as differences?" (A, 26:46)

• Combining Aesthetics and Politics:
  Reading as a bridge between literary form and political resonance, expanding “postcolonial” beyond a national or linguistic silo.

6. Navigating Contradictory Theoretical Camps (34:05–40:10)

• Theoretical Plurality:
  Bhattacharya acknowledges influence from diverse camps—poststructuralist, Marxist, liberationist—and emphasizes a Benjaminian historical materialist approach: texts as sedimentations of history, not simply abstract objects or pure context.
• Bridging Aesthetics and History:
  Advocates for balancing close reading with contextualization—respecting both the “art for art’s sake” tradition and the demands of historicizing.

7. Social Movements and Academic Work (41:15–46:49)

• Mutual Influence:
  Social movements (BLM, Dalit Lives Matter, Roads Must Fall) both shape and are shaped by academic thinking; activism and classroom learning are separate yet connected practices.
  • Quote:

    "You can't shut down the classroom of the things that are happening outside. Especially if you are teaching ideas that are enshrined in literary texts." (A, 42:32)

• Classroom Practice:
  The classroom is not itself a site of activism but prepares students to understand and potentially participate in broader social change.

8. Practical Guidance and Warnings for Students/Educators (47:39–52:59)

• On Power Structures in Knowledge Production:
  Discusses the challenges Indian publishers face in reaching global markets, and the irony that decisions about audience and access are shaped by postcolonial power imbalances.
• Key Lessons for Readers:

  • Listen attentively to silenced and marginalized voices; postcolonialism is an ongoing effort of restoration.

  • Cultivate “self-educating” habits—recognize that all fields, including STEM, are shaped by ideas of race, nationhood, and history.

  • Understand that the legacies of colonialism are global and continue to affect even former colonial “metropoles.”

  • Quote:

    "If there is one particular thing post colonialism as a field has taught us over a period of time, that is we ought to be listening to people that have not been brought at all in some form of conversation anywhere..." (A, 49:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On fractured identity:
  "Your identity is always fractured and there is always a tremendous desire to understand where you came from is very strong, especially to people who are migrants in many senses of the term." (A, 05:32)

• On reading as activism:
  "How we read is some way how we politicize ourselves." (A, 10:07)

• On the ongoing relevance of colonial legacies:
  "We continue to live in a life...that has been given to us after 1757 onward or until 1947... But at the same time there is quite a lot of strong resistance." (A, 15:15)

• On comparative reading:
  "I was very keen on seeing could a South African text and a Bangladeshi text be brought together and if we could, what should be the things we find as broadly resonances or similarities and... as absences or differences." (A, 26:46)

• On listening to silenced voices:
  "We ought to be listening to people that have not been brought at all in some form of conversation anywhere in be it academic or non academic." (A, 49:01)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:29 – Bhattacharya’s academic & personal journey
• 07:15 – Core aims and interventions of the book
• 13:05 – Definitions: Postcolonial, Decolonial, Anticolonial
• 19:35 – The “decolonizing impulse” and its practical meaning
• 25:53 – The book’s comparative and reading-based approach
• 34:05 – Engaging multiple theoretical traditions
• 41:15 – Social movements and the role of academic work
• 47:39 – Advice for students, pitfalls, and ongoing challenges
• 52:59–54:53 – Closing reflections and appreciation

Final Advice and Reflections

• Postcolonial theory is vital for understanding the present—not just the aftermath of colonialism, but its structures persist globally.
• Engage with literature as both art and as a means to understand and potentially act on political issues.
• Always be alert to which voices are included/excluded in academic and public discourse.
• Recognize and resist power structures that shape the accessibility and production of knowledge.
• Educators and students alike must prioritize listening, re-educating, and reflecting throughout their intellectual journeys.

For educators, students, and anyone interested in postcolonial thought, this conversation is a valuable, practical, and reflective resource—reaffirming literature's unique power to navigate, question, and perhaps even heal the afterlives of colonialism.