Volume VI Special Issue V June 2026

Name of Author : Anju Rana, Dr. Shivali Singh

Title of the paper : Indigenous Knowledge and the Decolonization of Self in The Strange case of Billy Biswas by Arun Joshi

Abstract: The Strange case of Billy Biswas by Arun Joshi discusses the Indigenous Knowledge and the Decolonization of Self. This research paper seeks to explore the role of indigenous knowledge and the process of decolonization of self as approached by Arun Joshi in his research novel The Strange case of Billy Biswas. The novel depicts the existential crisis affecting a man of the modern educated India who renounces the artificial and materialistic lifestyle of urban civilization for their spiritual fulfilment in the tribal communities. Billy Biswass transgression from the metropolitan present to the tribal past represents a revolt against the colonialist mindset and the western social system. This study examines Arun Joshis critique of modern civilization and foregrounds indigenous wisdom and ecological harmony, spirituality and community-based living as alternatives to alienation and psychological fragmentation. The paper draws from post-colonial and de-colonial frameworks of Frantz Fanon, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong o, Walter D. Mignolo and Linda Tuhiwai Smith to sustain the contention that Billys metamorphosis is an act of reclaiming the suppressed indigenous identity and cultural consciousness. The novel finally shows that authentic liberation only comes when one reestablishes contact with nature, tradition and true selfhood. This is an indigenous knowledge, decolonization, identity crisis, tribal consciousness, post colonialism, alienation, ARUN JOSHI book.

Keywords : Indigenous knowledge, decolonization, identity crisis, tribal consciousness, post colonialism, alienation, Arun Joshi.

DOI :

Page Number : 80-86