English shaped Indian literature through imported genres rather than language.

Evidence

In the field of literature, English had its greatest impact not directly as a language of composition but through some specific genres which the Indian writers now encountered for the first time: the Homeric epic, the sonnet, tragedy in both its Greek and its Shakespearian variants, blank verse, the prose essay, Bunyan-like allegory, the historical romance, the many kinds of prose fiction. — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 1182

Categorization

• QUESTION: If modern Indian literatures were defined by imported genre-forms in indigenous languages, how does that complicate ‘indigenous literary tradition’ claims used in identity politics?
• XREF: connects to: English literature has shaped the very categories of modern Indian thought — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 541; English’s colonial literary impact came through genres, not composition — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 521; Decolonized writers transformed English fiction via imported-colonial language — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 288 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• English’s colonial literary impact came through genres, not composition #corroborates (0.95) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 521
• English literature has shaped the very categories of modern Indian thought #expands (0.85) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 541
• Decolonized writers transformed English fiction via imported-colonial language #expands (0.80) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 288