Cartographies of Exile: The Theme of Displacement in Amitav Ghosh's Works

Abstract

Amitav Ghosh's literary oeuvre constitutes a sustained meditation on displacement as both a historical condition and an existential reality. This paper examines how Ghosh transforms displacement from a simple geographical movement into a multivalent literary device that interrogates colonialism, nationalism, environmental catastrophe, and identity formation. Through close textual analysis of major works including The Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, The Hungry Tide, Sea of Poppies, and Gun Island, this study argues that Ghosh deploys displacement not merely as a thematic concern but as a narrative structure that challenges linear historiography and monolithic national narratives. By examining various forms of displacement colonial, voluntary, environmental, and climate-induced this paper demonstrates how Ghosh's fiction functions as a counter-archive to official histories, recovering the voices of the displaced while simultaneously exposing the ongoing legacies of imperialism and ecological violence.