Tradition and Modernity in Indian Literature

Abstract

Tradition and modernity have continued to be an important focus of Indian literature as the socio-cultural environment has changed in India. This study explored the way in which Indian authors have portrayed the relationship between traditions that have been inherited from the past and modern values without considering the two as diametrically opposed ideas. The two main perspectives that were discussed in this study include cultural identity and negotiation of tradition and gender, caste, and individual agency. The analysis was based on the portrayal of the colonial experience, cultural change, social change, globalization, and the continuing significance of myths, customs, and collective memory. In addition, literary portrayals of women, Dalits, and other marginalized individuals have been considered within the context of their criticism of traditional hierarchies. From this research, one can infer that Indian literature has represented modernity as a gradual and dynamic process in which there has been a preservation of traditional values and a questioning and reinterpretation of the same based on new realities. The research concluded that Indian literary modernity has come about due to constant negotiation of cultural continuity and social change, making literature a vital site for identity, equality, freedom, and change in Indian society.