The Struggle for Self

Identity has become a much-contested construct in the modern world marked by uneasy cultural and societal expectations. This article explores the negotiation of identity among the Indian youth, as depicted in Aravind Adiga’s Selection Day. Drawing on both the classical Indian philosophical framework of swadharma and external determinants such as familial obligations, socio-economic factors, and the pursuit of social validation, this study argues that identity is a dynamic phenomenon constantly negotiated. Through the experiences of the novel’s central characters, Manju and Radha, this study examines how youth identity manifests in the negotiation between personal aspirations and societal expectations. The article further suggests that the search for identity becomes particularly complex during youth, a period when individuals remain highly susceptible to both internal transformations and external influences, a similar phenomenon noted in both Indian and Western studies on youth identity. Against this backdrop, the study reads Adiga’s Selection Day as a reflection of the border dynamics through which Indian youth identity is negotiated amid both internal conflicts and external pressures.