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DEPICTION OF INDIA IN ATLAS SHRUGGED:SITUATING OR UNSETTLING LITERARY IMAGE?

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Dr. Kedar S. Joshi
» doi: 10.31838/ecb/2023.12.s3.841

Abstract

The theme of Atlas Shrugged (1957) is the role of the mind in man’s existence as well as the demonstration of a new moral philosophy: the morality of rational self-interest. This book has always been subject to debate for different reasons. It is a dystopian allegory in which the men of action in all the spheres of civilization struggling against stifling regulations, and an over-reaching government who one by one closes down production, bringing the world economy to its knees. Rand's philosophy, which she called objectivism, is essentially the philosophy of rational individualism and drew directly on the American ideals of freedom, hard work, and individualism. The concepts, her spokesperson states, the mystics of muscle and the mystics of spirit, are the known antitheses of her philosophy. Though debatable for many years, Rand’s ideas are now taken as conventional wisdom and hence, there is a need to look at the misrepresentation of the image of India, Indian culture and Indian philosophies quite seriously. This paper is an attempt to bring this distorted image to the surface for the interpretation of the readers. Key words: Mystics Of Spirit, Mystics Of Muscle, India, Mind, Raja.

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