Democratising Indigenous identity in Pakistani Anglophone Speculative Fiction

Abstract

In the post-colonial world, humanities has been a pertinent forum for anti-colonial resistance and

assertion. The emancipative strategies do not go beyond polarization and deconstruction. This

study will identify the significance of the revival of indigenization in literature and humanities to

democratize the discipline in ideological spheres. Fostering a more democratic outlook this study complies with Edward Said’s idea he has established in his work Humanism and Democratic Criticism (2006). Said defies essentialist ideology associated with humanism and propounds that the humanist is a maker in the sense of perpetual canonization and self-critique. In appreciation of Auerbach’sMemises (1946) Said identifies the significance of the reclamation of one’s tradition to gain assertion and recognition in the world, which is marked with diverse and dynamic epistemologies. The study will identify the relevant reflections in Pakistani speculative fiction where indigenous trends of Urdu Science Fiction have been introduced to refigure the genre of science fiction with local trends in arts and humanities. In this process of indigenization, this study projects Pakistani anglophone writers as active participants in a global scenario for introducing indigenous forms of knowledge and alternate narratives of resistance.Other than polarization and deconstruction they have endeavored to establish a new form of counter-critique.