Necropolitics and modernity: unveiling the ‘empire’s dirty work’ in heart of darkness, a passage to india and burmese days

Abstract This article examines the complex interplay between modernity, colonialism, and necropolitics as represented in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, A Passage to India by E.M. Forster, and Burmese Days by George Orwell. These modernist texts not only critique the dehumanization and systemic extermination justified by colonial ideologies but also highlight the ways in which colonial power uses necropolitical strategies to govern life and death. By integrating Achille Mbembe's concept of necropolitics with Michel Foucault's theory of biopower, this analysis elucidates the racial and sovereign dynamics that both underpin and challenge colonial regimes. The paper contextualizes the relationship between modernism and colonial history, highlighting how modernist narratives reflect a crisis in the colonial agenda and embody Enlightenment ideals that have shaped the socio-political landscape of empires. These narratives offer a critical view of the dichotomy between the colonizer and the colonized, emphasizing the fractured and uncertain epistemological underpinnings of imperial logic. The examination of Conrad, Forster, and Orwell focuses on the ethical and psychological turmoil from colonial dominance, probing how colonialism justifies violence and subjugation. The study reveals how colonial powers exert necropolitical control, deciding who lives and who dies—a control that extends beyond physical dominance to the psychological colonization of minds, perpetuating colonial hegemony. Ultimately, this paper shows how modernist texts critique colonial necropolitics and expose the racial prejudices and biopolitical strategies essential for maintaining colonial regimes. These texts provide profound insights into the lasting impacts of colonialism on contemporary understandings of race, sovereignty, and resistance.