In “Imaginary Homelands,” Indian author; Salman Rushdie, states that Indian writers (however loosely that term may be applied) “can’t simply use the [English] language in the way the British did; that it needs remaking for our own purposes” (Rushdie 1311). 

What Rushdie means is that, for an Indian author joining the English writing tradition, the burden is placed upon them to find their own voice and a voice that sets them apart from other British authors (assuming they want to be set apart at all). To simply copy someone like Dickens, or Bowen, or Orwell is not enough. Having two cultural traditions to draw from yet not truly belonging to either, like Rushdie, the Indian author must draw from both to create their own identity if they are to truly represent any kind of unique experience within the canon of literature written in the English language. This goes for any writer of migrant decent, whether they he Indian like Rushdie or Polish like Joseph Conrad. Rushdie argues that one way to find your national voice is to build a literary family, authors who you choose to draw inspiration from. For him, this family tree is comprised of the likes of Kafka, Cervantes, and Melville. Each of these authors hail from varying national backgrounds but Rushdie chooses each one to create his own literary tradition. 

It is the burden of the Indian writer (once again, however loosely that term is applied) to find their own cultural identity within English literature. However, they are also at an advantage in that, as far as cultures go, they have two major traditions from which they can pull inspiration, build a tradition, create their own identity. This is, of course, an advantage any writer has. But from a nationalistic perspective, where authors are expected to represent entire demographics based on their own ethnic origin, the concept of using English to do this can be tricky to navigate. As Rushdie suggests, carefully selecting your inspirations as a writer can give you an edge in standing out amid the other writers who utilize the English language. Simply writing about India is not enough. E. M. Forster writes of India and even features an Indian protagonist in A Passage to India, but this does not make him an Indian author. No, to be considered an Indian author it seems that one must go beyond characters and setting, even if those characters and that setting are familiar to the author. One must focus on style, prose, and technique when writing; they must find some way to stand out from the rest of the pack if they are to be seen as true storytellers of their own national experience.