Cycle of violence, narrative control, and marginalisation: a study of postcolonial nationalism in Shehan Karunatilaka's The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida

Abstract

In current times when violence against minorities is on the rise worldwide, there is an urgent need for literary engagement with the nationalist sentiments that promote such oppression, historical distortion and systemic marginalisation of different communities. Shehan Karunatilaka’s novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida serves as an essential text in this regard, bringing the realities of state-endorsed violence and historical manipulation in postcolonial Sri Lanka to light. Although existing scholarly literature acknowledges aspects related to postcolonial nationalism, Civil War, and anti-Tamil violence in Sri Lanka, there is limited exploration of authors like Karunatilaka and their role in constructing counter-discourses that resist hegemonic nationalist frameworks. This study aims to address the gap in literary studies by examining the correlation of violence with nationalism in the postcolonial period, the role of biased interpretation of historical narratives in constructing nationalist ideals, and the systemic marginalisation resulting from nationalist discourses portrayed in the novel. Using a qualitative approach, this research implies that postcolonial nationalism in its current state relies on the preservation of colonial violence, subjective portrayal of history, and exclusion of minorities.