Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper examines the formative and transformative role of the concept of desire in one of the foundational texts of postcolonial theory, “The Intimate Enemy” (1983) by Ashis Nandy. The paper investigates the concept of desire by emphasizing its role not in baptizing the traditional forms of postcolonial identification but in constituting a mode of transformative resistance which relies upon the becoming of identity. The paper, first, discusses the prohibitive function of desire in the psychoanalytical register. Second, it examines the homology colonial discourse constituted between psychological identification and political domination. Finally, by adopting a Deleuzian perspective, it offers a critical analysis of the book’s central theme: the psychology of resistance, using Deleuze’s concept of becoming. The originality of this paper stems primarily from engaging Deleuze’s philosophy of becoming with Nandy’s perception of the psychology of resistance.