Understanding Naipaul’s India: Socio-Political Contexts

Abstract

V.S. Naipaul’s repertoire as a writer of non – fiction is more impressive than his fiction. It is worthwhile to see Naipaul’s non – fictional writing as a valuable interpretation of the socio – political and cultural contexts with which he is familiar : to see how history, colonialism have shaped societies and how their post – colonial milieu differs or draws from their colonial experience. Naipaul brings a freshness of insight that helps us to understand and come to terms with the tensions and conflicts between the past and the present. This paper is an attempt to focus on impressions and insights that Naipaul has formed in his extensive journeying across India. The knighted author went to Gorakhpur in 1962 and has maintained that it is the only real address he has in India. We find that with repeated visits, Naipaul’s perspective has changed and his analyses have gained credence to an extent.