It’s not that you can write a Booker-worthy novel simply because you decided to “compete” in that category. But for all the argument that mere representation is not enough, there is a powerful effect to seeing someone who looks like you, speaks like you, has the same broad cultural context as you, succeed in areas that seemed closed to you.
The Indian publishing boom, which in some ways has run counter to a decline in publishing or reading in many markets around the world, bears testimony to this, just as the presence of the glamourous Indian woman on world platforms does to the explosive effect of Sushmita and Aishwarya.
