The vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 emphasizes not only economic growth but also the development of intellectually and culturally self-reliant knowledge systems. Higher education institutions play a significant role in shaping such knowledge through teaching, research, and academic discourse. Within literary studies, the process of canon formation determines which texts, themes, and perspectives become central to academic engagement. The concept of cultural hegemony developed by Antonio Gramsci provides an important framework to understand how dominant cultural and ideological structures influence literary discourse and the institutional recognition of literary works. Indian English literary studies have evolved within historical contexts shaped by colonial legacies, global literary networks, and prevailing critical traditions. These factors often influence the visibility and interpretation of particular literary texts within academic spaces. This paper examines the relationship between cultural hegemony and canon formation in Indian English literary studies and explores how these processes shape academic engagement with literature. It argues that a reflective rethinking of canon formation can encourage a more balanced and inclusive approach to literary studies, thereby strengthening culturally grounded knowledge systems and contributing to thebroader intellectual aspirations associated with Viksit Bharat 2047.
Wadatkar et al. (Tue,) studied this question.