Colonial Hegemony in Nasrin's French Lover

Abstract

The present thesis tries to explore the issues of hegemony due to British colony in India, in its latent level. After an abolition of direct colony from the world, colonizers adopted a new and effective form of domination i.e. the hegemony of consent. The term hegemony was introduced by Antonio Gramsci refers to the power of the ruling class to convince other classes that their interests are the interests of all. Domination is thus exerted not only by force, not even necessarily by active persuasion, but by a more subtle and inclusive power over the economy, and over state apparatus such as education and the media, by which the ruling class's interest is presented as the common interest and thus comes to be taken for granted. The novel, French Lover, opens in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris with the arrival of Nilanjana, a newly married bride. She, initially, was presented as a firm in her Indian culture, tradition and system but gradually, unlike other Indian immigrants, she is also hegemonized and follows European way of life. Not only Nila, but also most Indians and Indian immigrants who are dwelling outside the country are convinced to think and follow European way of life and system. They couldn't be convinced on themselves and their country despite the immense potentialities. It is, according to Gramsci, not a natural phenomenon but a construction of Europeans so that they could dominate them by consent. This process has been proceeding through the cultural and educational hegemony.