Bondage of ‘Independent’ Nations: Neo-Imperialism in Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood and Indra Sinha’s Animal’s People

Both Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood and Indra Sinha’s Animal’s People are mirrors reflecting the trajectories of neo-imperialism from the point of view of the victims suffering from the system. After independence, the colonialists are replaced by a national bourgeoisie who, without capital and economic power, become dependent on foreign investment. In both novels, the unprivileged poor are the victims of the neo-imperialist system which attracts multinational corporations to take advantage of low-cost land and cheap labour. Ngugi explores the subjectivity of African history as reflected by Westerners by the dual narration of his novel, from a subjective and a relatively objective but complementary narrative voice. Neither the previous colonial domination nor the national bourgeoisie which replaces them represents the victims of the system. The narration of the novel from the perspective of Munira, who refuses the familial capitalist wealth by escaping to live in Ilmorog, successfully reflects the contradictory concerns of the capitalists and the victims. In Animal’s People, Sinha gives voice to the subaltern victims of the system by the first-person narrative of Animal, who is one of the worst victims of the system. Sinha emphasizes the reality of his story by indicating each chapter as a tape recording and using a sharp, slangy, and witty language for Animal. Both novels give voice to the subaltern victims of the society, and they are milestones in the freeing of the unprivileged classes from the bondage of the dominating national and foreign powers.