Decoding Culture Through Panels: A Visual Semiotic Analysis Of Society And Identity In Indian English Graphic Novels

Abstract

Indian English graphic novels have emerged as significant cultural artifacts, offering a unique platform for engaging with themes of society, identity, and mythology through a visual medium. This paper explores how visual semiotics—the study of signs and symbols—operates within select Indian graphic novels to construct, decode, and critique representations of cultural identity. By analysing Sauptik: Blood and Flowers by Amruta Patil, Krishna: A Journey Within by Abhishek Singh, and Ramayan 3392 AD, the study investigates how these texts utilize panel composition, colour symbolism, character design, and visual metaphors to reflect contemporary Indian socio-cultural dynamics.

Drawing on Roland Barthes’ theory of semiotics and Stuart Hall’s theory of cultural representation, the research applies a qualitative visual semiotic methodology to examine how meaning is encoded in visual narratives. The paper argues that these graphic novels reimagine mythology not only as a form of artistic retelling but also as a mode of socio-political commentary. Through layered visual storytelling, the texts explore issues such as gender, caste, urban alienation, spiritual hybridity, and the politics of memory.

Each novel reveals a distinct aesthetic and ideological framework that both aligns with and resists dominant narratives. Sauptik foregrounds feminine agency and cosmic cyclicality, Krishna presents a transcendental interpretation of identity through abstract visuals, and Ramayan 3392 AD reconfigures traditional epic into a dystopian narrative embedded with cyber-political allegory. Together, these works demonstrate how the panel becomes a dynamic site of cultural negotiation.

By decoding these visual strategies, the study contributes to broader discourses on Indian visual culture, literature, and identity politics. The paper positions Indian graphic novels as vital cultural texts that reflect and shape contemporary social consciousness through the language of images.