English-language novels are the best counter-example, I agree. A large part of that is the product of writers of Indian/sub-continental extraction. A Fine Balance, for example, is extremely good, Midnight’s Children too (and of course there are many). I think I over-stated my case on that one—thank you. But, given the number of people involved nowadays—the whole literate population of India + the Commonwealth + the US, we surely have to accept that per capita output, even for novels, is way down on what it was.
English-language novels are the best counter-example, I agree. A large part of that is the product of writers of Indian/sub-continental extraction. A Fine Balance, for example, is extremely good, Midnight’s Children too (and of course there are many). I think I over-stated my case on that one—thank you. But, given the number of people involved nowadays—the whole literate population of India + the Commonwealth + the US, we surely have to accept that per capita output, even for novels, is way down on what it was.