The Politics of Eurocentrism: A Pragmatic Implicature Analysis of the Novel ‘‘Freedom at Midnight’’

Abstract

Literature has some implicit meanings that extend beyond the explicit definitions found in glossaries used in it. The true instinct of an author is to uncover the hidden attributes of society and culture while encrypting a text. This research investigates the politics of Eurocentrism through a pragmatic implicature analysis of the book Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. The study, specifically, analyzes the implied meaning within the text containing conversational implicatures that highlights Eurocentric narrative in the novel, based on Grice’s theory on implicatures. The purpose of the study is to analyze the text according to Western lens, examining how British colonial authorities asserted their power over Indian local leaders during partition.  A descriptive qualitative method for in-depth textual analysis of the novel has been employed through reading and note-taking techniques. The data has been

collected from key passages in the novel including dialogues, monologues, and narrative sections that clearly exhibit Eurocentric beliefs. The findings tell us about how language choices in Freedom at Midnight construct Eurocentric narratives where British colonial figures are portrayed as benevolent, while Indian leaders are continuously marginalized. This representation influences the portrayal of Indian History by shaping historical memory. The study concludes that textual implicatures in the book support Eurocentric discourses in Indian history and also highlights the need of non-Eurocentric texts to confront such dominant narratives.