The Postsecular, the Secular, and the Religious in the Golden Legend: Way Out For Postcolonial Nation-States

Abstract

The article discusses Nadeem Aslam’s novel for its portrayal of the pitfalls of religious nationalism and secularism. With the help of close reading and basic ideas of secularism and postsecularism from Gil Anidjar and Manav Ratti, the paper argues that Aslam’s novel presents characters navigating the horrors of religious nationalism and secularism, reaching a possible yet precarious space of postsecularism. The novel utilizes several major symbols and metaphors to achieve its end. The two major metaphors are a utopian island, nestled between a river on all sides, and a book that binds all humanity in one thread. The two symbols embody a burgeoning space of solidarity with their emphasis on oneness, connection, and love across religious, temporal, and spatial boundaries. The paper concludes that Aslam’s novel successfully represents the quagmire the postcolonial nation-states of South Asia are stuck in and suggests a postsecular direction for a peaceful future of coexistence.