Shaping India: Cartographic Anxiety and Phantasmagoria in Indian Law and Literature
Time: 1pm to 2pm
Venue: Room 824, 8/F Cheng Yu Tung Tower, The University of Hong Kong
This paper explores the concept of ‘cartographic anxiety’ in the Indian nation-state, positing it as a foundational element with significant implications. It discusses how this anxiety, identified by Sankaran Krishna in 1994, is linked to Lacanian psychoanalysis and the fragmentation of the body. The paper argues that this anxiety influences constitutional doctrines of unity and integrity in India, shaped by historical anticolonial perspectives and debates in the Constituent Assembly. It emphasizes the ongoing role of this anxiety in Indian law, stemming from the trauma of partition. Additionally, the paper examines how fictional literature on the partition reflects the complexities of these emotional and legal dynamics. By integrating cartographic studies, psychoanalytic criticism, constitutional law, history, and partition literature, the paper asserts that Indian constitutional principles are deeply influenced by a foundational cartographic anxiety, exemplified in fictional narratives of the partition. The study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between cartography, psychoanalysis, law, and literature in shaping the Indian national identity and legal framework.
Dr. Sabarish Suresh is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. He researches on law and humanities, legal history, constitutional law, and criminal law, and teaches Criminal Law at NUS. He completed his JSD from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York, where he wrote a thesis on the partition of India and its affect on the making of the Indian Constitution. At NUS Law, he is working on British colonial cartography and its relationship to the development and expansion of the English Common Law in the Indian subcontinent.
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