{"id":990,"date":"2026-06-17T07:20:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/?p=990"},"modified":"2026-06-18T08:53:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T08:53:04","slug":"9788197513022-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/9788197513022-03\/","title":{"rendered":"Multilingual Metropolis: The Politics of Language and Belonging in Guwahati Through Sheelabhadra\u2019s Fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sangeeta Bhagawati <\/i><\/span><\/a> <\/i><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>
\nIndependent Researcher. <\/p>\n

\"DOI\"10.21659\/9788197513022.03<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This chapter focuses on the work of Sheelabhadra (Rebati Mohan Dutta Choudhury, 1924-2008), whose writing gives us a critical look at the politics of language and belonging in Guwahati, Assam\u2019s principal urban centre. Guwahati, like many other postcolonial Indian cities, is shaped by the merging of migration, language diversity and social hierarchy. The regional language literature of Sheelabhadra portrays these multilingual urban experiences. His Assamese fiction shows us how language becomes a marker of belonging or exclusion. Drawing on his background in Goalpara, a linguistically distinct region on Assam\u2019s western borders, Sheelabhadra brings the speech of a marginalised dialect community into his representations of urban life. His short story \u201cApon Manuh<\/em>\u201d (2007) explores how internal migrants experience Guwahati as a city structured by linguistic hierarchy. Centred on a chance meeting between two migrants from Goalpara, the story reveals how dialect and standardised language operate as registers of identity. In this chapter, I argue that the conversation between the protagonists, where they shift from standard Assamese to Goalparia dialect, reveals two important aspects. First, it allows us to see the need for linguistic conformity in the urban sphere. Second, it makes visible an alternative form of solidarity based on shared marginal speech. Sheelabhadra’s work is valuable to understanding larger debates on how urban identities are shaped through everyday acts of language use.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keywords<\/strong>:<\/em> multilingualism, belonging, Assamese literature, dialect, internal migration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Full-Text Chapter PDF<\/a> Full Text Book PDF<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

\"DOI\"10.21659\/9788197513022<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Table of Contents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Front Matter<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature: An Introduction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Neethu P Antony and Dr. Arpana Venu<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

City as Micro-Narratives of Senses and Everyday Experiences: An Analytical Study of Selected Stories from People Called Kolkata<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Olivia Joseph<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Multilingual Metropolis: The Politics of Language and Belonging in Guwahati Through Sheelabhadra\u2019s Fiction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sangeeta Bhagawati<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Spatial (re)orientations and Epic structures of the urban in Fareeda Mehta\u2019s Kali Salwaar<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Elroy Pinto<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Between Tramline and Traffic Jam: Mapping Indian City through Satyajit Ray\u2019s Mahanagar<\/em> and Anurag Basu\u2019s Life in a\u2026Metro<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Trisha Sengupta & Dr. Sanghamitra Baladhikari<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Reimagining Kolkata: Subaltern Narratives and the Colonial Urban Dystopia in Kallol Magazine\u2019s Literature<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nandini Gayen<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Walking, Writing and Resisting the City: Spatial Tactics and Postcolonial Reimaginings in Janice Pariat\u2019s Everything the Light Touches<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Parvin Sultana<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Mimesis, Montage and Mapping: A Spatial Analysis of Gangtok City Scapes in the Select Works of Satyajit Ray and Prajwal Parajuly<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Sudakshina Bhattacharya, Dr. Sulagna Mohanty, and Dr. Ankusha Bandyopadhyay<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sangeeta Bhagawati    Independent Researcher.  10.21659\/9788197513022.03 Abstract This chapter focuses on the work of Sheelabhadra (Rebati Mohan Dutta Choudhury, 1924-2008), whose writing gives us a critical look at the politics of language and belonging in Guwahati, Assam\u2019s principal urban centre. Guwahati, like many other postcolonial Indian cities, is shaped by the merging of migration, language […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,11,12],"tags":[23,22,24,25,21],"class_list":["post-990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-chapter","category-edited-volume","category-urban-imaginaries-and-indian-cities-in-literature","tag-assamese-literature","tag-belonging","tag-dialect","tag-internal-migration","tag-multilingualism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=990"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1067,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/990\/revisions\/1067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}