POST-COLONIAL INTRUDER IN M. MUKUNDAN’S RADHA RADHA MATHRAM: AN ANALYSIS

Using the term ‘Post Colonialism' in the complex and increasingly convoluted world of today is a tricky affair. Its elements have so seamlessly infiltrated into the very being of everyday existence that tracing them back to its roots is hardly a clear-cut path. While the colonialist narrative has been dominated by the theory of binary oppositions, the post-colonial phase obliterated these boundaries through an overlapping of the realms of dominance. The resulting arbitrariness and re-articulation of identity against the hierarchy of imperialism has become a defining feature of post-colonial discourse. This subjective derogation of culture over time and the denial of all attributes of humanity have created a deep-seated identity crisis in the colonized people. Even if inducted into the colonizer's world, entitled with a similar education and given the same privileges, these people will continue to see themselves and be treated as outsiders. The impact of such a self-legitimising conditioning of the oppressed by the oppressors has far-reaching consequences. The world becomes based on a reality as interpreted by the rule makers. In the process, the marginalized lose their identity. Through this paper, I intend to present a case study of Radha, the protagonist in the M Mukundan's novel Radha Radha Mathram; and through her, an attempt has been made to explore the nuanced ways in which our sense of identity is inextricably linked to post-colonial behavior.