Re-Orientalism and Diasporic Identity in Kamila Shamsie’s Churail: Negotiating Exoticism and Rationality in South Asian Anglophone Fiction

Abstract

This study examines Kamila Shamsie’s short story Churail through the lens of Re-Orientalism, as theorised by Lisa Lau, to investigate the ways diasporic narratives represent the East. It focuses on the manner in which the story’s characters, dialogues, and symbolic elements embody and engage with orientalist tropes, particularly regarding exoticism, rationality, and diasporic identity. The study further explores the extent to which South Asian diasporic writers, while articulating their cultural specificities, interact with and respond to Western literary expectations, thereby shaping representations of the Orient for global readerships. Using close textual analysis, the research demonstrates how the short story Churail exaggerates and subverts traditional narratives, critiques both inherited cultural beliefs and Western perceptions of Eastern immigrants, and illustrates the complex construction of diasporic identity. The study is significant for advancing understanding of how contemporary South Asian Anglophone fiction operates within global literary markets while simultaneously challenging and reshaping orientalist imaginaries.