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ATLANTIS
Jou nal o he Spanish Associa ion o Anglo-Ame ican S udies
42.2 (Decembe 2020): 214-232
e-issn 1989-6840
DOI: h p://doi.o g/10.28914/A lan is-2020-42.2.11
© The Au ho (s)
Con en is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion NonComme cial Sha eAlike 4.0 In e na ional Licence
Populism and P eca i y in Con empo a y Indian Dys opian Fic ion:
Nayan a a Sahgal’s When he Moon Shines by Day and P ayaag Akba ’s Leila
Dolo es He e o
Uni e sidad de Za agoza
dhe e o@uniza .es
Al hough dys opia has been an endu ing ope in li e a u e, i is now, howe e , ha
dys opian and apocalyp ic ic ion has become especially popula all o e he wo ld. The main
aim o his a icle is o discuss how con empo a y Indian ic ion denounces he ba ba i y o
con empo a y Indian na ionalism, in pa icula he policies en o ced by a ep essi e Indian
s a e whe e adi ion and pu i y a e alued abo e mul icul u ali y, dialogue and equali y.
In o de o do his, I ocus on wo in e na ionally acclaimed no els, namely, Nayan a a
Sahgal’s When he Moon Shines by Day (2017) and P ayaag Akba ’s Leila (2018). In di e en
bu complemen a y ways, bo h dys opias d aw a elling po ai o p eca ious imes in
con empo a y India. Bo h no els also wa n agains he dange s o he undamen alis
e sion o Hindu na ionalism and cul u al censo ship, a he same ime as hey b ing o ou
a en ion he damage ha a dominan mino i y can in lic on hose si ua ed a he bo om
o he social ladde , who a e hus condemned o li e in inhuman condi ions, as i hey we e
less han no hing.
Keywo ds: u opia; dys opia; con empo a y Indian ic ion; p eca i y; populism; en i onmen al
damage
. . .
Populismo y p eca iedad en la icción india dis ópica con empo ánea:
When he Moon Shines by Day de Nayan a a Sahgal y Leila de P ayaag Akba
Si bien la dis opía ha sido desde siemp e un ema ecu en e en la li e a u a, es aho a cuando
la icción dis ópica y apocalíp ica se ha hecho especialmen e popula a escala mundial.
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El obje i o de es e a ículo es analiza cómo la icción india con empo ánea denuncia la
ba ba ie del nacionalismo indio, en pa icula las polí icas lle adas a cabo po un es ado
ep esi o en el que la adición y la pu eza es án muy po encima de la mul icul u alidad,
el diálogo y la igualdad. Pa a ello, me cen o en dos no elas de enomb e in e nacional, a
sabe , When he Moon Shines by Day (2017), de Nayan a a Sahgal, y Leila (2018), de P ayaag
Akba . De mane a di e en e pe o complemen a ia, ambas dis opías o ecen un e a o c í ico
de la p eca iedad que impe a en la India ac ual. Ambas no elas ad ie en del pelig o del
nacionalismo undamen alis a hindú y la censu a cul u al que es e conlle a, a la ez que
llaman la a ención sob e el daño que una mino ía dominan e puede in ligi sob e los que
habi an en el escala ón más bajo de la sociedad, que son así condenados a i i en condiciones
inhumanas, como si ue an menos que nada.
Palab as cla e: u opía; dis opía; icción india con empo ánea; p eca iedad; populismo; daño
ambien al
216 DOLORES HERRERO
ATLANTIS. Jou nal o he Spanish Associa ion o Anglo-Ame ican S udies. 42.2 (Decembe 2020): 214-232 • e-issn 1989-6840
1. In oduc ion: The End o U opia and he Ad en o Dys opia
Al hough he wo d u opia can be said o ha e been coined in 1516 by Thomas Mo e,
when he used i as he i le o he book ha was o lay he ounda ions o his gen e,
he concep i sel is much olde . In ac , u opian aces can be ound in many ancien
w i ings, my hs and ai y ales, which a es s o humani y’s e e nal longing o a be e
place and a be e li e (Sa gen 2010). U opia comes om ancien G eek, in pa icula
om he combina ion o ou—nega i e a ix—and opos—“place”—so i li e ally means
“a place ha does no exis .” Wi h he passing o ime, howe e , he e m has been
unde s ood as bo h a “no place”—ou opia—and a “good place”—eu opia (Abensou
2008, 406). Mo eo e , i migh e e simul aneously o a good place and i s opposi e,
namely, a nega i e u opia o dys opia—an al e na i e nonexis en /nondesi ed eali y—
ano he endu ing ope in li e a u e since human li e has om i s e y o igins been
domina ed by ea s, ei he eal o imagined. Fu he , somebody’s u opia o en implies
and becomes somebody else’s dys opia, which in he long un makes hese wo e ms
s uc u ally insepa able (Claeys 2013, 20). U opia’s ine i able ambigui y, which has
always cha ac e ised he gen e, has also become one o i s main s eng hs (Viei a 2010).
Acco ding o G ego y Claeys, i is o en belie ed ha he heyday o u opian specula ion
began in he six een h cen u y and spanned nea ly h ee cen u ies, o be eplaced in he
la e nine een h cen u y by e e -g owing pessimis ic p edic ions on he human condi ion
(2013, 20-21).1 The nigh ma ish u u e scena io depic ed in hese la e wo ks somehow
ma e ialised in wen ie h-cen u y o ali a ianism and, soon a e wa ds, in wo ying global
issues such as he ise o populisms, ecological disas e s o unp eceden ed dimensions and
he global e ugee c isis, among o he s. None heless, i is a ac ha wha is nowadays
s ic ly unde s ood as li e a y u opia is in s eady decline, whe eas li e a y dys opias a e
undoub edly aking he uppe hand (see, among o he s, Walsh 1962; Jacoby 1999;
Bauman 2002; Mazlish 2003; Cas illo 2004). In K ishan Kuma ’s wo ds, con empo a y
w i e s “no longe u n o he u opian o m o gen e o imagining a be e o mo e
pe ec u u e […]. The ‘imagina ion o disas e ’ a es in ini ely be e , and his a leas
means ha u opia’s […] al e ego, he dys opia, con inues o lou ish” (2010, 555). The
e e -inc easing popula i y o dys opian and apocalyp ic ic ion has led many c i ics o
conclude ha we a e li ing in a dys opian/pos apocalyp ic golden age.
2. Va ie ies o Dys opia
I u opias o e models ha depic a socie y based upon equali y, enhanced iendship
and us , dys opias aliena e indi iduals om one ano he and des oy he social ab ic
by en o cing a numbe o disin eg a ing p ocesses. In dys opias, as Julia Ge ha d
poin s ou , “ he concep o indi iduali y is anishing—pe sonal li e me ges wi h he
1 Howe e , li e a y dys opia is no comple ely new, since i has i s oo s in Menippean sa i e. Fo mo e
in o ma ion on his, see Ca e Kaplan (1999, 200).
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social, human body and mind a e app op ia ed acco ding o he communal needs o
he s a e” (2012, 101) and “no only he s a e and i s police appa a us ul il he ole
o ‘disciplina y mechanisms,’ egimen ing he human body and pe mea ing all laye s
o socie y, bu o dina y people as well” (56). These common ea u es no wi hs anding,
c i ics ha e dis inguished se e al kinds o dys opia and ha e acco dingly gi en hem
di e en labels. Acco ding o Sean Seege and Daniel Da ison-Vecchione, well-known
c i ics such as K ishan Kuma (1987) and F ed ic Jameson (2005), o name bu wo,
ha e o en equa ed dys opia wi h an iu opia (2019, 52-55). Kuma , who uses an iu opia
in he place o he e m dys opia, de ines i as “a eac ion la gely o he socialis u opia o
he nine een h cen u y and ce ain socialis p ac ices in he wen ie h cen u y” (1987,
iii), ha is, as a model o socie y in which an a emp o accomplish a u opian p ojec
has been made, bu whose esul s ha e u ned ou o be disas ous in some ele an
espec s. No all dys opias, howe e , s i e o wa n abou he au ho i a ian doc inai e
a i udes ha lie a he co e o u opian schemes. Jameson, o example, a gues ha some
dys opias a e, ins ead, he ou come o “a con ic ion abou human na u e i sel , whose
co up ion and lus o powe a e ine i able, and no o be emedied by new social
measu es o p og ams” (2005, 198). E en mo e in luen ial ha e been he heo ies pu
o wa d by Tom Moylan, o whom he gen e o dys opia is an open o m ha s addles
he impulses o u opia and an iu opia: “Dys opian na a i e is la gely he p oduc
o he e o s o he wen ie h cen u y. A hund ed yea s o exploi a ion, ep ession,
s a e iolence, wa , genocide, disease, amine, ecocide, dep ession, deb and he s eady
deple ion o humani y h ough he buying and selling o e e yday li e p o ided mo e
han enough e ile g ound o his ic i e unde side o he u opian imagina ion” (2000,
xi). Inspi ed by Menippean sa i e, dys opia, o Moylan, del es in o “ he causes and
e ec s o social and ecological e il as sys emic” (xii). This being said, he none heless
dis inguishes be ween dys opias and an iu opias. He ega ds an iu opias as closed
wo lds ha disclose he nega i e inclina ions o humani y and o en end up in despai .
On he o he hand, dys opia looks o al e na i es and solu ions, howe e ail hese
may be. Moylan hen in oduces he concep o c i ical dys opia—also called lawed u opia
by Lyman Towe Sa gen (2003)— o signal he implici u opic o edeeming quali ies
o a dys opian ex . Fo Moylan, hen, c i ical dys opias keep a u opian pe spec i e
ha somehow s i es o coun e he wo s dys opian scena ios (190). Al hough many
o he classi ica ions ha e been pu o wa d (see, among o he s, A wood 2011; Claeys
2017; Seege and Da ison-Vecchione 2019), i is clea ha some o hem ha e hings
in common, o he poin ha hey may e en o e lap, and ha o he ca ego ies migh
also be hough o in he u u e. Wi hou doub , he mos use ul and all-encompassing
labels, and hus he ones mos used by c i ics, a e an iu opia and c i ical dys opia, as
hey can easily encompass all di e en a ie ies.
Ano he impo an issue on which mos academics ag ee is ha o he di e en
pe spec i e ha u opias and dys opias on he whole o e (Claeys 2013; Czigányik
2015; Seege and Da ison-Vecchione 2019). B oadly speaking, u opias mainly deal
218 DOLORES HERRERO
ATLANTIS. Jou nal o he Spanish Associa ion o Anglo-Ame ican S udies. 42.2 (Decembe 2020): 214-232 • e-issn 1989-6840
wi h social and poli ical s uc u es and a e he e o e less conce ned wi h indi idual
agency, whe eas dys opias p ima ily ocus on he helplessness o pe sonal subjec s
agains sup aindi idual o ces (Czigányik 2015, 20-21). Fu he mo e, u opias ollow
a gene ic con en ion whe eby hey o e he pe spec i e o a isi o o ou side , and
a ely un a el a highly o ganised plo na a i e wi h amply de eloped cha ac e s.
Mo e’s U opia ([1516] 2002), Edwa d Bellamy’s Looking Backwa d ([1888] 2009) and
William Mo is’s News om Nowhe e ([1890] 1994) could be gi en as examples. By
con as , dys opia is gene ally desc ibed om “ he poin o iew o someone li ing
unde he egime in ques ion and whose subjec i i y has been shaped by ha o m
o li e” (Seege and Da ison-Vecchione 2019, 57). Geo ge O well’s Nine een Eigh y-
Fou ([1949] 2014), Ma ga e A wood’s The Handmaid’s Tale ([1985] 1996) and Lidia
Yukna i ch’s The Book o Joan ([2017] 2018), among o he i les, migh well illus a e
his poin . This is, no doub , one o he easons why mos dys opias can ha e a a he
mo e powe ul e ec on eade s.
3. The “New” India: A Dys opian Coun y?
Na end a Modi, a membe o he Bha a iya Jana a Pa y (BJP) and he Rash iya
Swayamse ak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu na ionalis olun ee o ganisa ion, is he i s p ime
minis e no om he Indian Na ional Cong ess Pa y o ha e won wo consecu i e
e ms wi h a ull majo i y. His accession o powe in 2014, and by ex ension ha o
he BJP, has changed many hings in he coun y, o he poin ha a conside able
numbe o con empo a y Indians eel a he aliena ed om he wo kings o he na ion.
This widesp ead sensa ion o se e ance has esul ed in a eeling o helplessness ha ,
in he opinion o schola s like Ami Chaudhu i, e en exceeds ha “ el du ing he
suspension o ci il libe ies in he eme gency o 1975 o 1977 and he poli ical aumas
ha ollowed” (2019). The BJP go e nmen is paying mo e and mo e a en ion o
he wel a e o global capi al and he cons an ly inc easing implemen a ion o i s
Hindu e hnona ionalis agenda has led o much in e nal con on a ion. As P amod K.
Naya a gues, homogenisa ion and cul u al s anda disa ion a e p omo ed in he la ge
in e es s o he na ion, which inexo ably esul s in he ejec ion o e hnic, acial and
cul u al di e ences (2017).
Some o he many measu es aken ha ha e b ough abou his a mosphe e dese e
special men ion: he economically disas ous demone isa ion p og amme o 2016, in
heo y mean o s op co up ion and encou age he use o e-cash and i ual banking;
he implemen a ion o CCTV came a secu i y sys ems and Aadha — he wo ld’s la ges
biome ic ID sys em—whe eby ci izens mus su ende all hei pe sonal da a o he
go e nmen ; he ab oga ion o a icle 370 o he Indian cons i u ion, which g an ed
Kashmi special s a us on accoun o i s con es ed his o y; he e osion o ins i u ional
independence, which is esul ing in he p og essi e educ ion o eedoms and igh s;
he ini ia ion o he Na ional Regis e o Ci izens (NRC) in he s a e o Assam, aimed

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a expelling “ o eigne s” wi hou he equi ed documen s, namely Muslim e ugees
om Bangladesh; he passing o he Ci izenship Amendmen Ac (CAA, 2019), which
excludes Muslim e ugees om A ghanis an, Pakis an and Bangladesh, and also he
Tamils who ha e been li ing in India a e leeing he S i Lankan genocide; and he
cons uc ion o massi e de en ion camps.2 P o es s and popula demons a ions agains
hese measu es ha e been b u ally c ushed by he police o s a es uled by he BJP. The
o e all sociopoli ical pano ama pain s such a bleak pic u e ha , o ci izens like Deya
Bha acha ya, India has u ned in o a dys opian democ acy:
Achhe din aane waale hain (good days a e coming) was he campaign slogan o he uling
pa y in 2014 in India—a p omise o p ospe i y and economic g ow h, coupled wi h
secu i y, con enience, eedom om diso de . In e ospec , his s a emen o achhe din
sounds suspiciously like a u opia gone w ong: whe e a good place ul ima ely becomes bad
because like, in many dys opias, he e was hope o a be e wo ld, bu wi hou ega d o
he human and en i onmen al cos s. (2019)
When he democ a ic ideals encapsula ed by India’s mode n cons i u ion a e pi ed
agains he e i al and sp ead o Hindu undamen alis na ionalism (Bane jee 2009,
25), a se ious sociopoli ical c isis is inexo ably bound o eme ge. I , as Judi h Bu le
a i ms, he concep o p eca i y has come o name “ he poli ically induced condi ion
in which ce ain popula ions su e om ailing social and economic ne wo ks […]
becoming di e en ially exposed o inju y, iolence, and dea h” (2009, 25), i is qui e
accu a e o use his e m o desc ibe he dys opian pano ama ha Nayan a a Sahgal’s
When he Moon Shines by Day (2017) and P ayaag Akba ’s Leila (2018) a emp o
denounce by depic ing compa able bu sligh ly di e en dys opian scena ios.
4. Nayan a a Sahgal’s When he Moon Shines by Day: C i ical Dys opia as
Re o opia
Al hough Sahgal belongs o one o he mos in luen ial amilies in he coun y—
he uncle was Jawaha lal Neh u; he cousin, Indi a Gandhi; and he mo he , an
ambassado o he Uni ed S a es—she has ne e had any qualms abou un linchingly
c i icising ascending Hindu na ionalism and i s subsequen cu ailmen o ci il
libe ies. Among o he hings, his led he in 2016 o e u n he Sahi ya Akademi
Awa d as a p o es agains he e e -inc easing in ole ance in India in gene al and
2 The Ci izenship Amendmen Ac was passed wi h a iew o o e ing Indian ci izenship o illegal mig an s
belonging o Hindu, Sikh, Buddhis , Jain, Pa si and Ch is ian eligious mino i ies who had led pe secu ion in
Pakis an, Bangladesh and A ghanis an be o e Decembe 2014. Muslims om hose coun ies we e no eligible.
I was he i s ime ha eligion was o e ly used as a c i e ion o ci izenship unde Indian law. Fo mo e
in o ma ion, see Naya (2017), Deya Bha acha ya (2019), Chaudhu i (2019) and Di ya Dwi edi and Shaj
Mohan (2020). Daily epo s on he abuses ha hese measu es gene a e can also be ound on he websi es Dali s
Media Wa ch and O ganiza ion o Mino i ies o India.
220 DOLORES HERRERO
ATLANTIS. Jou nal o he Spanish Associa ion o Anglo-Ame ican S udies. 42.2 (Decembe 2020): 214-232 • e-issn 1989-6840
he Akademi’s indi e ence o a acks agains a ionalis hinke s in pa icula . As
U mi Bha ache yya explains, Sahgal has o en denounced he o ien a ion o he BJP
and Modi o being an i-Indian, eminen ly ascis and no allowing any space o
dissen (2017). When he Moon Shines by Day, in Sahgal’s own wo ds, “desc ibes wha
is happening in India unde ou p esen poli ical en i onmen , which is alien o
Indian alues” (quo ed in Bha ache yya 2017). Se in wha seems o be con empo a y
India, he no el depic s a coun y unde a majo i a ian egime ha , ha ing los
i s democ a ic alues and aken up eligion as i s one and only banne , iolen ly
en o ces seg ega ion and disc imina ion, hus condemning mos o he popula ion
o u e ly p eca ious li ing condi ions. As is s a ed in he no el, “ eligion joined
o na ion is a ma iage made in hell” (Saghal 2017, 20). Rehana, he main emale
cha ac e , is well awa e o his. Tha is why she, in spi e o he iends’ wa nings,
emains commi ed o wo king wi h he Asians Agains To u e NGO. To make
ma e s wo se, she sadly acknowledges how he a he ’s books on medie al his o y
a e “gone om shop shel es, s uck o cu iculums and d opped om his publishe ’s
lis ” (30), and how copies o Unholy Lo e, he no el w i en by Zami , he ebellious
Muslim iend and subsequen lo e , a e bu n (146). Rehana e en bea s wi ness o
a bomb explosion a he iend Cy us Ba li ala’s galle y on he opening day o an
a show by a g oundb eaking a is acquain ance o hei s. A and knowledge a e
unde he con ol o uppe cas e Hindu ule s, who wan o impose hei monoli hic
discou se as he coun y’s i e u able no m. Censo ship is ampan , as only “holy
a , heal hy a , na ional a ” (113-14) is allowed; books ha da e o say hings
con a y o he o icial line a e simply made o disappea “unde he law agains
dange ous hough s” (69); and a exhibi ions by Muslim a is s a e andalised. A
go e nmen al depa men called Di ec o a e o Cul u al T ans o ma ion (DCT) ules
wi h an i on is he ghe os in which mino i y non-Hindu communi ies a e o ced o
li e. Abdul, Rehana’s young Muslim domes ic se an , changes his name o Mo a i
Lal o p o ec himsel and his amily’s business in he bazaa (35). Muslims, now seen
as ou side s, mus wea a badge and li e in a -o se lemen s ha , like Zami ’s, a e
e e y now and hen subjec o b u al massac es wi h absolu e impuni y, as he police
o ces i s commi all so s o a oci ies and hen do wha e e i akes o blame he
inhabi an s o he ghe o (149-50). Su aj, Abdul’s Dali iend, su e s a much wo se
a e when a g oup o igilan es sa agely bea him o dea h on he s ee .3 Ano he
cha ac e , Kamlesh, a diploma and w i e , is o icially deg aded and pe secu ed on
accoun o his paci is iews. As his edi o explains o him, “being an i-wa has
always been dange ous. Bu now […] i ’s blasphemous. You in es iga o says wa
has he sanc ion o ou sc ip u e” (127).
3 Be o e independence, Un ouchable was he e m mos commonly used o e e o a membe o he lowes
cas e in India. This is no longe he case hese days, especially among he membe s o his dep essed communi y,
who wan o be called Dali ins ead. In he a icle, Dali is gene ally used, wi h Un ouchable being ese ed o
p eindependence con ex s only.
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In his su oca ing scena io, Rehana and he h ee iends, Nandini, A una and Lily,
mee once a week o discuss a book hey choose indi idually and by u ns. This book
club becomes hei ha en o peace and ci ilisa ion in he mids o hell and, e en mo e
impo an ly, allows hem o hink o be e and a he mo e empowe ing al e na i e
scena ios. Li ing in a coun y in which “women udge behind men […], hey ge
killed be o e hey a e bo n, hey a e di o ced a he d op o a ha ” (55) and whe e being
a pa io ic Hindu implies ha ing i e o mo e p egnancies (51), a coun y in which
Dali s a e unwa e ingly dep i ed o a li e o digni y, hese iends enjoy eading he
impossible s o ies abou a woman who has mul iple lo e s and o gasms (54-55) and a
young Dali man who wins he lo e o a goddess, who pu i ies and libe a es him om
he bu den o un ouchabili y (107-108). Rehana’s Ge man iend, F anz Rohne , has
come o India o launch his new book. Haun ed by his coun y’s Nazi pas —he and
his wi e we e bo n in eugenic Lebensbo n clinics—he wa ns hem all o he da k u u e
ha awai s hem. All e olu ions, he claims, ollow he same pa h—“once in powe
hey a e all he same” (23); hey pe pe a e pu ges and massac es, e en agains hei
ellow coun ymen and women, in o de o e ase “ he dange o hinking di e en ly”
(158). Con a y o wha many people may hink, he goes on o a gue, “ o u e comes
na u ally o he human species and i begins a home” (25), and i seems ha India,
a coun y in which many ha e o a long ime “g own up in eedom” (128), will
be no excep ion. Howe e , a inal ac o Dali e enge—Dali s lea e dead cows o
o on he lawn su ounding he building whe e he opening o a cul u al week is o
be held— oge he wi h Rehana’s de e mina ion o keep on igh ing o he igh s o
ou cas es and asylum seeke s in spi e o all ad e si ies, allow he no el o end on a ai ly
hope ul no e. In his nigh ma ish scena io, he e is s ill a small g oup o s ong-willed
indi iduals who e use o su ende .
I is my con en ion ha Sahgal’s no el is a good example o c i ical dys opia, in
pa icula o he kind ha Zygmun Bauman labelled as e o opia. In his seminal book
o he same i le, Bauman analyses he s a us o u opia a he beginning o he wen y-
i s cen u y, and in e es ingly shows how he longing o u opia has ecen ly, and
pa adoxically, come o be di ec ed backwa ds, ha is, owa ds he pas , and hus away
om he u u e ha was i s main a ge decades be o e (2017, 1-12). Acco ding o
his c i ic, he u opian impulse has in no way diminished o disappea ed, bu has been
shockingly and de imen ally ein es ed in e sions o an idealised pas , including ha
o a uni ied, cohe en , homogenous and sel -con ained na ion s a e ha , i goes wi hou
saying, ne e ac ually exis ed (2017, 60-85).
When he Moon Shines by Day clea ly denounces he sup emacy and e e -inc easing
s eng h ha Hindu na ionalism—o “Hindu a,” as he Sangh Pa i a o coali ion o
Hindu na ionalis pa ies in India p e e s o call i —is cu en ly acqui ing in India. As
Runa Das a gues, in o de o build up and p o ec he iden i y o Hindu India, i was
quin essen ial o concei e o a Hindu na ion ha excludes he O he , ha is, he non-
Hindu (2006, 374-75). In o he wo ds, only Hindus belong o he Indian adi ion,
222 DOLORES HERRERO
ATLANTIS. Jou nal o he Spanish Associa ion o Anglo-Ame ican S udies. 42.2 (Decembe 2020): 214-232 • e-issn 1989-6840
which makes hem he only legi ima e inhabi an s o Indian soil. This ideology is chie ly
aimed a excluding Muslims bu also o he ai hs—Jews, Ch is ians and Buddhis s,
among o he s— ha came om ou side India, who a e hus ega ded as in ude s who
mus be neu alised and ul ima ely expelled o elimina ed. This a gumen is echoed
by he Di ec o o Cul u al T ans o ma ion in he no el: “We canno o ge he pain o
in asions, […] he Tu ks, Mongols, Mughals, o eigne s who in e up ed ou Hindu
his o y. You may say we a e now engaged in wiping ou ha pain ul memo y and
e u ning ou na ion by all possible means o i s acial and eligious pu i y. Is ha no
plain jus ice? Tha is he cul u al ans o ma ion we a e b inging abou ” (Sahgal 2017,
66-67). He d eams o ha ing a Hindu na ion because “ he ime is good and ipe o
i ” (112). I is he ou side h ea posed by “ o eigne s” ha Hindu a adis like him
exploi o ein o ce hei own ideology inside he coun y. Howe e , as Bhim ao Ramji
(aka Babasaheb) Ambedka clea ly s a ed in his polemical 1936 speech Annihila ion o
Cas e, “Hindu socie y as such does no exis . I is only a collec ion o cas es” ([1936]
2014, 242). In ac , he e m Hindu had only been used be o e by he Mughals and he
B i ish, since he people who now desc ibed hemsel es as Hindus had always p e e ed
o o eg ound hei cas e iden i y. The p e e ence o his e m only came abou in he
yea s p io o independence, when Hindu e o me s s a ed using i o wo k he mi acle
o making people who belonged o an impossibly di e se ange o e hnici ies, cas es,
ibes and eligions pa o a cohesi e mode n na ion. Al hough con e sion was by no
means new, he h ea o eligious con e sion was some hing Hindu e o me s could no
a o d a ha ime. A la ge-scale exodus o Un ouchables om he Hindu old would
ha e been ca as ophic o he Hindu majo i y. Tha is why Hindu e o me s s o e
o sa e Hinduism by winning he hea s and minds o Un ouchables h ough hei
inclusion wi hin he all-emb acing ca ego y o Hindu (Roy 2014, 17-141). Howe e ,
his ne e mean any eal imp o emen in hei li es and wo king condi ions—once an
Un ouchable, always an Un ouchable. Likewise, in Sahgal’s no el he a e o Dali s is no
be e . Like he boy who, ha ing da ed o ake somebody else’s bicycle jus o a joy ide,
is iolen ly bea en and aped as a esul (Sahgal 2017, 101), and Su aj’s b u al killing
on accoun o ca ying an old lea he sui case (138-39), Dali s can be andomly lynched
by ang y mobs, who ha e no qualms abou pu ing an end o hei li es wi h g a ui ous
iolence. I is making hem su e be o e hey a e killed ha ma e s: “Ali e one minu e,
dead he nex , was no he pu pose. I was he in e al in be ween ha punished” (141).
As Gi ha Ha iha an concluded when e iewing Sahgal’s no el, “i is no possible
o li e in he pas [bu ] i is equally impossible o li e in he p esen i he pas does
no ell us whe e we ha e come om and who we a e” (2017). When he Moon Shines
by Day becomes, o use Rehana’s wo ds, “a lie ha makes us ealise he u h” (109),
because as Cy us, he owne o he andalised a galle y, a i ms, “a is wha kicks
whe e i hu s” (61) and no hing can hu mo e han acknowledging he end o he
d eam o he long-ago new independen na ion—“an India ha was an idea, ideal
and eali y […] buil on i s di e si y […] [and] oo ed in democ acy (Ha iha an
229
CONTEMPORARY INDIAN DYSTOPIAN FICTION
ATLANTIS. Jou nal o he Spanish Associa ion o Anglo-Ame ican S udies. 42.2 (Decembe 2020): 214-232 • e-issn 1989-6840
change, bu is ne e inal; i p omp s us o mo e in he igh di ec ion, bu gua an ees
no speci ic des ina ion. I is bo h impe a i e and unce ain. To use Michael H iid
Jacobsen’s wo ds by way o conclusion, “in imes o unce ain y, as he p esen , u opia
may be he i s casual y, bu i may also be ou las hope” (2006, 339). Al hough i is
a ac ha he cu en sociopoli ical si ua ion in India, a p esen u he agg a a ed by
he global COVID-19 pandemic, does no gi e many Indian in ellec uals any g ounds
o being sanguine abou he u u e, hese wo no els seem o ea i m he need o
claim ha he con empo a y (in)human e sion o Indian eali y is no he only one
possible, and ha i is up o each indi idual o imagine and make an e o o b ing
in o exis ence al e na i es o he populis , p eca ious p esen .4
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A agón and he FSE 2020-2022 p og amme (code H03_20R) o ou esea ch g oup “Con empo a y Na a i e in
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Recei ed 5 Ma ch 2020 Re ised e sion accep ed 19 Ap il 2020
Dolo es He e o is Full P o esso o English Li e a u e in he Depa men o English and Ge man
Philology a he Uni e si y o Za agoza, Spain. He main in e es s a e pos colonial li e a u e and
cinema, on which she has published ex ensi ely. She was he edi o o Miscelánea: A Jou nal o English
and Ame ican S udies om 1998 un il 2006 and Sec e a y o EASA (Eu opean Associa ion o S udies
on Aus alia) om 2011 un il 2015.