Decolonizing the Mind: Cultural Conflicts in Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence

Abstract

The discourse on decolonization has primarily centred on land and territorial struggles, often reducing the concept to a political or geographical framework. As a result, the profound and pervasive dimension of mental colonisation is frequently overlooked. Unlike physical colonisation, which may be reversed through political independence, colonisation of the mind is more insidious and enduring, as it infiltrates the very structures of thought, identity, and self-perception. Cultural hybridity, patriarchal dominance, dysfunctional familial structures, and ingrained social hierarchies all serve as mechanisms through which the mind is subjected to control and regulation. From an early age, individuals are subtly colonised within the domestic sphere—through language, cultural practices, behavioural expectations, and hierarchical norms imposed as superior values. This paper explores the psychological dimensions of such internalised colonisation in Shashi Deshpande’s That Long Silence, situating the analysis within the framework of trauma theory. The central focus is on Jaya, the protagonist, whose subjectivity is fractured by the conflicting cultural imperatives of her natal home and her marital household. Her struggle illuminates how the colonised mind negotiates trauma within the intersecting domains of gender, family, and culture.