Conflict and resistance in Greta Rana's Guests in this country ; A deveolpment Fantasy

Abstract

This study examines conflict and resistance in Greta Rana's allegorical novel Guests in This Country: A Development Fantasy from the perspective of Anti- Orientalist Studies and Subaltern Studies. This study sheds light on the socio- economic crisis, cultural degeneration, and neo-colonial hegemony inflicted on the subalterns. Such discrimination and exploitation make subalterns fight against the dominant elites and continue resisting. Since social and economic status sets the notion of hierarchy within the society, this qualitative study interrogates the dichotomy of theory and practice prevalent even in democratic countries. Surprisingly, the international aid agencies, as guests in Global South, are widening differences between rich and poor rather than enduring its eradication, and thereby, they play a proxy role in neo-colonization under the guise of development. They support the native elites from within the countries. This thesis points out Greta's presumption on the categorization and domination of people pervading caste, and class. In addition to this, the conflicts portrayed in the novel can be observed as resistance to elite domination. Deriving insights from Subaltern Studies and Edward Said's Orientalism, the study explains the resistance of marginalized communities to ruling elites. Keywords: Conflicts, Subalternity, Resistance, Caste discrimination, Untouchability, Hegemony, Resistance