Exploring the Impact of National Borders and Identity Trauma in Amitav Ghosh's The Shadow Lines

Abstract

Historic nationalist problems such as colonial hegemony, Diasporas, migration, refugees, and social and cultural economic issues like castes and classes have been the concerns of post-colonial writers. Amitav Ghosh, a post-modernist writer, is deeply influenced by postindependent India's political and cultural milieu. His novel, The Shadow Lines, challenges nationalistic myths in a post-colonial state. Ghosh's works consistently explore the issues of frontiers and boundaries between nations. The novel itself is highly imaginative, complex, and popular. The dominant concern in Ghosh's narrative is the absurdity of partition. This paper focuses on the theme of national boundaries and identity, examining the trauma experienced by the characters through the lens of postcolonial theories. This paper is designed to address the problem of national identity with Ghosh’s criticism.