219. The World of Indian Science Fiction

From being the preserve of a handful of American and British authors in the late-20th century, science fiction (SF) today is a global phenomenon. From Afrofuturism to the popular Chinese Science Fiction of Cixxin Liu, Hao Jingfeng and others, writers, editors, and readers around the world are turning to the genre to make sense of our world and our futures. The global character of contemporary SF is matched by the profusion of sub-genres that have come to inhabit it: climate fiction (or “cli-fi”) and “hopepunk” are just two of the many approaches to science fiction that respond to our present-day conditions.

Where and how does English-language Indian SF fit into this world? A look at some of recent works suggests that climate change, political extremism, the legacies of colonialism, and the overwhelming role of technology are some of the themes that have exercised the imagination of Indian SF writers. Do these themes run together to create something that is identifiably Indian SF? Should there be? And how are Indian SF writers and readers engaging with contemporary global SF? These are some of the questions this panel of authors and science fiction enthusiasts, Gautam Bhatia, Lavanya Lakshminarayan, TG Shenoy and Shrabonti Bagchi discusses.

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