His prose was militant, held no brief for elites

N literature, life, and language Kenyan legend Ngugi wa Thiong'o was always off centre, pursuing directions away from canonisation. He died this Wednesday in the US at the age of 87, but his works will ensure he lives forever.

- PARAMITA GHOSH @New Delhi

Ngugi's prose was militant. He thought the writer's job was to be in the 'Opposition'. He held no brief for elites, which emerged in his country, Kenya, after independence, because they were no less oppressive and exclusionary than the British masters they had replaced. He emerged as a bitter critic of the governments that came in the wake of Kenya's independence in the early '70s. He was perennially a Nobel Literature hopeful, but did not expect it.