Borders, Belonging, and Displacement in the Novels of Amitav Ghosh and Salman Rushdie

Abstract

Postcolonial literature has consistently engaged with the themes of borders, belonging, and displacement, particularly in societies shaped by colonialism, migration, and partition. Among contemporary Indian English novelists, Amitav Ghosh and Salman Rushdie have emerged as significant voices who interrogate the complexities of identity and nationhood through narratives of movement and cultural encounter. Their fiction reflects the enduring impact of colonial boundaries and explores the psychological, cultural, and political consequences of displacement. This article examines how Ghosh and Rushdie represent borders not merely as geographical demarcations but as fluid sites of negotiation where identities are constructed, contested, and transformed. Through a comparative analysis of selected novels including The Shadow Lines, The Glass Palace, Midnight’s Children, and Shame, the study investigates the relationship between migration, memory, and belonging in postcolonial contexts. Drawing upon postcolonial theories of hybridity, diaspora, and nationalism, the article argues that both writers challenge rigid notions of national identity and foreground alternative forms of belonging that transcend territorial boundaries. While Rushdie emphasizes hybridity and fragmentation through magical realism and metafiction, Ghosh highlights interconnected histories and transnational solidarities through historical realism. Together, their works reveal the instability of borders and the resilience of human connections in an increasingly globalized world.

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