The Portrayal of Socio- Cultural Issues in Akhil Sharma’s an Obedient Father

Abstract

Purpose of the Study: The aim of this paper is to explore the portrayal of socio-cultural issues in Akhil Sharma’s novel, An Obedient Father and the issues of cultural identity tormenting situations and incidents in a family and in their relationship with one another.
 Methodology: The research paper proposes to make use of the writings of Akhil Sharma’s novel, An Obedient Father through ground study with references drawn from a cultural perspective. The secondary data included related articles and web sources related to diaspora and cultural studies. The secondary data obtained help the researcher arrive at important inference and conclusion. The present paper analyses the cultural issues and problems faced by the characters and concentrates on the specific techniques and styles used by the novelist.
 Main Findings: The finding of the study is that Sharma integrates conventional Indian ideologies born out of a colonial past with an unknown future, depicting the cultural trauma and the problems of survival It also brings out socio-cultural issues through the major characters particularly the protagonist Ram Karan reflects the contemporary modern man’s corrupted personality. It also focuses on how the modern man breaks away from the age-old Indian tradition and culture and how Indian politics failed to maintain the traditional socio-cultural values.
 Applications of the Study: When analyzing the cultural issues in An Obedient Father, the readers can understand that Sharma is a diaspora novelist and his characters face the problems of expatriation, immigration, dislocation, disorientation, and displacement. This study is very useful to the researchers in the field of Indian Literature, Diaspora Literature, and Cultural studies.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: This paper highlights a realistic picture of contemporary India is portrayed by recording the changing Indian social and political scene with carefully creating the fictional characters for creative purposes. Sharma draws an acid-etched picture of modern Indian society, in which the corrupt political system victimizes all citizens.