1) Scope: What counts as “Indian Writing in English” (IWE)?
Indian Writing in English refers to literary and critical works written originally in English by Indian authors (in India and diaspora contexts, depending on syllabus framing). CUET questions often test:
- major authors and landmark works,
- phases of IWE (pre-independence, post-independence, post-1980s boom),
- themes: nation, identity, caste, gender, diaspora, modernity, environment,
- language politics: English as colonial inheritance vs Indian resource,
- awards and global reception (Booker etc., also overlaps “current trends/awards”).
2) Phase-wise map of IWE major authors (high-yield)
A) Early / pre-independence foundations (late 19th–mid 20th c.)
These authors establish English as an Indian literary medium:
- Toru Dutt: early Indian English poetry; cosmopolitan influence; translation and adaptation.
- Sri Aurobindo: philosophical prose and epic ambition; debates about poetic style.
- Rabindranath Tagore: though primarily Bengali, his English translations and bilingual presence shape global reception; in CUET, he can appear both under IWE and translation-related frames.
- Sarojini Naidu: lyric poetry; nationalist era; “Nightingale of India” (popular label).
- Raja Rao: Kanthapura; “We cannot write like the English” argument; Indianised English idiom.
- Mulk Raj Anand: social realism; caste/class critique; Untouchable.
- R.K. Narayan: Malgudi; everyday life; irony and simplicity.
The “foundation trio” often tested: Anand–Narayan–Raja Rao.
B) Post-independence consolidation (1950s–1970s)
- Kamala Das: confessional voice; gender, desire; also Malayalam/English bilingual dynamics.
- Nissim Ezekiel: urban modernity; irony; Indian English voice.
- A.K. Ramanujan: poetry + translation + criticism; “three-hundred Ramayanas” debates (often via essays, though politically contested).
C) Post-1980s “boom” and globalisation
The Indian English novel becomes globally visible:
- Salman Rushdie: Midnight’s Children; language hybridity; historiographic metafiction.
- Amitav Ghosh: history, migration, ecology; later eco-critical relevance.
- Arundhati Roy: The God of Small Things; caste/class, Kerala, narrative experimentation.
- Vikram Seth: A Suitable Boy; realist sweep.
- Rohinton Mistry: diaspora/India links; ethics and realism.
- Kiran Desai, Aravind Adiga: global prizes; class critique; neoliberal India questions.