The Glass Palace: Colonialism and Personal Grit

Abstract

The present paper sweeps historical chronicles that the fall of the Konbaung Dynasty in Burma and spans a century of profound socio-political transformation across Burma, Malaya, and India. It also touches some of the historical rooted events of Indian sepoys in colonialism and brutal greed of the people. Rajkumar Raha, the protagonist of the novel is Indian background alongwith generations of two families in Burmese, India and Malaysia. His three generations lives are reflecting his own, his children, and his grandchildren. The story starts with the British assaults of Burma in 1885 and captures on a journey through history until the Second World War, when democracy and peace and order were restored. The narrative explores how the relentless machinery of British colonialism reshapes Southeast Asia, while highlighting the personal grit and resilience of ordinary individuals caught in the gears of empire.