Historiographic Meta-Writing In Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines

Abstract

Many writers have endeavored to write or create historical novels since the events of history and ultimately succeeded on this effort. Amitav Ghosh also one among them in producing historical meta-writing, because most of his novels drag this theme with his novels and strongly portray the historical themes directly which amalgamated with stories. Writing historiographic meta fiction is a task of re-visiting history once again to bring out the events in front of the eyes of readers in a proper manner. Specially, Ghosh has buried the entire historical event which he has seen, heard or studied in the everyday life. The fortunate thing is that Ghosh able to remember and recollect the events which perfectly fixed with story is successful. The utmost aim is to entrust the theme of historiographic meta-writing in Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines. The novel widely deals with its theme that dividing nations and states, particularly the Partition, the impact of imperialism which is persisted in the history. Particularly, the unavoidable historical record of the Partition, how far it has mutilated and annihilated the livelihoods of millions people around the subcontinent is clearly expressed. Ghosh has vividly pictured the incident of partition with his characters face the sufferings and fatalities. The shadow lines which is drawn between the two nations is the symbolic one, at the same time, it is not a symbiotic one that divided the lives of people. Imperialism is the cause route for white people to capture Indian subcontinent is the momentous history in the novel. Hence, there is no doubt that Amitav Ghosh is the writer of historiographic meta-fiction.