“Nominally independent” countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are still susceptible to neocolonial coercion of “Rich /Powerful” countries such as America and China. In the guise of peace, financial aid and international laws, these rich countries intervene in the socio-political sites of these postcolonial countries. Through this intervention, they attempt to exercise power over the bodies of these postcolonial populations: they subjugate these bodies and attempt to regulate these populations in a subtle and remote manner.
Organ trafficking is just one instance for exercising power over bodies: a recent advertisement reads ” DONATE A KIDNEY , BUY THE NEW iPod” . Seduction and technology as weapons? Surrogate mothers are mushrooming from India for the “conveniences ” of some westerners. Financial aid?
Postcolonial theatre explores these issues metaphorically on the stage, and my attempt as a PhD student is to research how postcolonial drama addresses such powers in terms of postcolonial concepts and theatrical contexts.
About Chitra Jayathilake
Very good to read your first post, Chitra. Hopefully you’ll keep sharing your experiences doing your research. Sounds very interesting.
Thanks for helping me to get rid of the “phobia” of networking and social media.