Nectar In A Sieve Imperialism

For hundreds of years, white European men have claimed the top level of the social hierarchy, demeaning anyone else not like them. This self-proclaimed white superiority is apparent in the novel Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya, a story that revolves around the life of Rukmani, a poor Indian farmer woman whose life is forever changed by British imperialists, as well as during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when European countries imperialized places such as India, The Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Blatant disrespect for imperialized people, a forced economic divide, as well as the merciless snatching of resources, explicitly reflect imperialism as a system of dominance rather than one of global progress.

White men often exercised

In Nectar in a Sieve, the British in Rukmani’s town exist primarily in relation to the tannery that takes root there. When Rukmani and her husband Nathan first discuss the influence the tannery has had on the town, Rukmani observes how, “They lay their hands upon us and we are all turned from tilling to barter, and hoard our silver since we cannot spend it, and we see our children go without the food that their children gorge” (28). Rukmani is describing how the tannery has come into their village and forced their attention from tending to their crops to having to negotiate with merchants to get the food they need to supply for their family. She also describes how they have to save their money up because even when “hoard” their money it is not enough to buy anything, and how the Indian families do not have enough food to get by while the British families “gorge” on food. Rukmani speaks with a very irritated tone that notes her dislike of the British, and she uses diction that denotes an excess. However, the “hoard” of silver that the Indians have is only a tiny sliver of the amount that the British are gorging themselves on. This shows imperialistic power and influence because the British have the ability to take away the food and other resources that are a necessity and keep it all for themselves, all while forcing the Indians to continue working harder than ever. This was also seen when the British actually imperialized India in the nineteenth century. The East India Company had complete control of India at the time, and they used their power to force Indian farmers into growing cash crops instead of the food they needed to survive. Using the money earned from growing the cash crops, the British could supply for their own families easily, while the Indians had nothing to sell to make money so that