Plagiarism in the Indian Literary Context: Issues and Perspectives

Abstract

Ethics in literature can be examined from different angles: an author’s writing process and how the work is received are two of them. This paper limits itself to highlighting cases of plagiarism in literary works that could be found in Indian newspapers in the past 15-20 years. Based on this, it caters to these research questions: what plagiarism in literature is, to what extent should a “new” work differ from the “old” and how influence varies from plagiarism. In the review of literature section, the paper investigates Sanskrit scholars’ view of plagiarism, the perspectives of Indian comparative literature, Devy’s point of view on originality, legal understanding of copying, and cryptomnesia. This investigation leads to the discussion and analysis section which responds to the research questions and reviews the cases stated in the introduction. The major finding is that no critic should label a work as plagiarized without meticulous study. In addition, baseless allegations could lead to defamation. The conclusion summarizes the ideas presented so far and looks forward to a comprehensive study of how the concept of “originality and plagiarism” has evolved in India. While the purpose of the paper is to invite scholars to consider different perspectives on the concept of plagiarism, this study remains relevant because critics/readers continue to charge authors of theft and this impacts the reception of a literary work.