Published Paper Details:

"The seeds of colonisation have sprouted so deep in the bright soul, And the intensity of glow has blinded humanity as whole". The emergence of postcolonial literature has contributed a critical role in redesigning literary landscapes and outlooks. "Centering Margins: A Postcolonial Study" explores into the intricacies of this literary genre, targeting to shed light on the voices that have long been marginalized and overshadowed. The colonial period, spanning centuries, has left permanent imprints on customs, cultures, the social orders, and literatures across the world. The dominance of colonial powers give rise to the suppression and subjugation of colonized peoples, leading to cultural erasure and loss of identity. Postcolonial literature emerged as a response to dominant imperial experiences and its aftermaths, seeking to retrieve narratives and voices that have been overshadowed. This paper presents a critical examination of marginality and its centrality in the selected works of Amitav Ghosh's novels "Sea of Poppies," "River of Smoke," and "The Glass Palace." In these Novels Gosh has employed intricate narratives that weave together the personal and the historical experiences, often shedding light on the lives of those on the edges of the grand accounts of imperial powers. Through a comprehensive examination of these three novels, this research paper explores how Ghosh fetches marginalized perspectives to the forefront, challenging central historical discourses and offering substitute ideas. "Sea of Poppies," the first novel in the Ibis trilogy, is set against the milieu of the 19th-century opium trade between India and China. "River of Smoke," the second Novel, describes the aftermath of the opium suppression in Canton and the lives exaggerated by these events. "The Glass Palace" covers over a century and touches the colonial and post-colonial histories of Burma, India, and Malaysia through various characters who experience the shifting regimes of power, identity, and belonging. In these novels, Ghosh employs a varied cast of characters--sailors, slaves, traders, soldiers, and orphans--whose stories are often put aside in official historical descriptions. The paper highlights how Ghosh's narrative approaches, such as polyphony, multilingualism, and a focus on the socio-cultural aspects of marginalization, serve to center these marginal figures. The characters' voyages across seas and borders symbolize their search for individuality and place in a fast-shifting world. The paper contends that Ghosh's work is crucial in understanding the intricacies of diaspora, displacement, cross culture and intermixing. By centering the margins, Ghosh not only gives voice to the voiceless but also renovates an additional comprehensive and subtle historical account that admits the interrelation of human experiences across time and space. The study concludes that Ghosh's novels offer a noteworthy contribution to postcolonial literature by redefining the relationship between center and margin and by emphasizing the resilience and agency of those who inhabit the gaps of history and culture.