Informed by a European perspective, this essay is designed to approach the key issue of how we can possibly understand Asia (and South Asia or India in particular) through the English language and through literature in English. Starting from a working definition of “understanding” based on the ambiguous character of linguistic signs as the instruments of cultural perception and mediation, I briefly conceptualize the potential of language and literature in the process of “deep understanding,” with special emphasis on the specific role of creative wiriting (such as poetry or fiction) in this process.

The major part of my contribution is reserved to reviewing the ongoing debate of understanding and mediating South Asia through English writing (both by Western and Indian authors) on three historical levels: Colonial (c. 1820–1940), Post-Independence (1947–1960), The New Millennium (since 1990). This review correlates theoretical and programmatic statements with outstanding literary experiments.