Societal Pleasure, Structural Chaos, and Alienation in Nayantara Sahgal’s Rich Like Us

Abstract

People in India are categorized into groups and classes based on a variety of factors, including caste, community, economic status, religion, and more. As a result, one segment of society starts dominating the other. The dominant groups create inequity and injustice against the voiceless. As a result, they lose their identity, cultural heritage, and moral rights. The Indian Emergency of the 1970s, which caused a serious political crisis in the nation, serves as the setting for Nayantara Sahgal’s Rich Like Us.  The theme presented in the novel is the concept that consumerism has the potential to make developing countries wealthy. Sahgal reveals how materialism and the delusion of progress enable the ruling class to pursue luxury and wealth, which ultimately undermines social fairness and democratic ideals. This paper attempts to bring forth the scenarios of societal pleasure that lead to structural disorder and alienation in the novel.