This study argues that Pakistani Anglophone Rewritings and adaptations of Jane Austen’s fiction strategically incorporate features that are marketable and appealing to transnational Jane Austen fans (Janeites) and cosmopolitan readers of postcolonial literature. The phenomenon of marketability related to professional fanfiction has been underscored in Anette Svensson’s, Henry Jenkins’ and Nicole Peters’ exploration of the characteristics and capitalistic end of the commodities fashioned for fandoms like Janeites. An examination of the marketability of postcolonial literature is facilitated by drawing upon Graham Huggan’s concept of the “postcolonial exotic” and Saadia Toor and Sandra Ponzanesi’s notion of “Indo-chic” to explore the dynamics of reimagining Austen’s stories within the Pakistani cultural context. This paper further explores the role of various “agents of legitimation” - publishers, critics, readers and authors - in shaping these rewritings by employing hybrid identity, Indian aesthetics and commodified culture within the parenthesis of “Indo-chic”. The detailed analysis of these theoretical strands, embedded in Soniah Kamal’s novel Unmarriageable (S. Kamal, 2019) and Austenistan (2017), an anthology edited by Laaleen Sukhera, demonstrates that the strategic commodification of South Asian culture and the union of Anglophone South Asian narratives within an Austenian sheath produce market-driven texts that cater to Global Janeites and international cosmopolitan readership. Such strategic commodification raises critical questions about the broader implications of these texts, as they run the risk of turning rich and diverse cultures of Pakistan into a monolithic cultural identity, while their Western-friendly narratives push local cultures to an inferior rank and particularly prioritise British culture to appease Global Janeites. This study contends that market-driven cultural commodification in Pakistani Austen Rewritings not only compromises authentic representation of Pakistan but also reinforces the postcolonial hierarchies even as the texts claim to challenge them. 

Keywords:Postcolonial Publishing Industry; Postcolonial Exotic; Global Janeites; Culture Theory; Adaptation Theory

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