e- Sahitya , or the contested emergence of the electronic within the literary in India

This article examines the existence(s) of Electronic Literature (e-lit) within the larger ambit of English Literary Studies in India. Despite it being a nascent field, there has been considerable engagement that shows two patterns. One shows a distinct collaboration/acknowledgement with the scholarship and artistic practices of the Electronic Literature Organization (ELO) community. On the other side, Sahitya Akademi’s engagement with e-lit remains dominated by the paradigms of print. The article takes stock of the engagement around e-lit in India and then conducts a study of the scholars affiliated with Sahitya Akademi and the panels they have organised. The study consists of conversations and interviews with stakeholders and a visit to the main office in New Delhi to understand the collections in the Library. These understandings, taken together, form a basis of what Sahitya Akademi might understand as e-lit and why it does the way it does. It has been put into historical context within the rise of English Literary Studies in India and the establishment of the Sahitya Akademi after Indian independence to ground the argument contextually. The article concludes with a call for investment in the study of electronic literature.