The Shadow Lines as a Political Novel

Abstract

Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines, published in 1988, is a political novel that focuses mostly on nationalism, the meaninglessness of partition and the 1964 communal riots which occurred in Calcutta, Dhaka and Khulna. This paper attempts to investigate The Shadow Lines from the perspective of nationalism to reflect on the negative impact it had on peoples’ minds because of political uncertainties. This paper will also discuss the patriarchal indifference to women’s contribution in the Indian National Movement with extracts from the novel in the following chapters, “The Shadow Lines & Nationalism” and “Criticism of Nationalism in The Shadow Lines”.