"The Story of North America Turned Inside Out":Bharati Mukherjee’s The Holder of the World

In my chapter on Bharati Mukherjee’s The Holder of the World, I explore how the novel challenges dominant historical narratives and uncovers hidden histories in India and the United States. I argue that Mukherjee’s work presents an alternative America, one that is intertwined with Asia through long-established historical and cultural connections. Countering views of modern Indian immigrants as alien to the US, Mukherjee reveals seventeenth-century trading links between the two regions, emphasizing India’s lasting impact on America. My contribution to criticism on The Holder of the World lies in unravelling the intertextuality within the novel. While existing scholarship predominantly examines allusions to Western texts, I will focus on intriguing allusions to Kautilya’s Arthasastra, an ancient work of Indian political philosophy. By juxtaposing Kautilya’s influence with the ubiquitous Niccolò Machiavelli, Mukherjee highlights the sophistication of Indian philosophy despite British colonizers’ dismissal of South Asian knowledge systems. Additionally, the chapter suggests the possibility of Machiavelli being influenced by the Arthasastra, establishing another connection between India and America. Notably, Machiavelli’s theories on city-states shaped the foundation of the American republic. Mukherjee implies that her protagonist, Hannah, acquires republican ideals from Raja Jadav Singh, carrying them back to America during the Independence struggle. Furthermore, the Arthasastra serves as a significant intertext for Mukherjee’s feminist rewriting of the captivity narrative genre in The Holder of the World. While retaining the practicality of the Arthasastra, the novel celebrates sensual pleasures, contrary to Kautilya’s dismissal of them.