Year.3, lssue9-10, a Page :17.23, ‘Olonialism and Its Lega ‘Fhe author ilustrates the cor British influence in india ga to bea great guif between tho, to money and power. The pr Oppressed take full control ofthe situa called uncommon but a natu the author tries to bring to the notice that the colonized both from the British and the indian bo ‘Absurd international Refereed engi Uterature! {Quarteriy Research Journal ISSN : 2919-7048 ) icy: A Study of Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss Dr Ravindra Kumar Associate Professor Department of Engish OCS University, Meerut (U.P) sequences of imperialism, Actually the birth toa society where there came out ‘colonizer and the colonized in elation Focess of decolonization begins as the ‘and itis not what can be, saction from the Nopalose. Perhaps, palese were twice fact, injustice has ‘done to these poor people and its prico must be pald. Iwill ake generations to pay for what the colonizers owe the colonized end the Oppressed. it also suggests that it will tako generations for India to bbo free from the British influenc Key-Words : Colonialism, Fundamentalism and Terrorism, Humiliation, Wester: ae Lifestyle, Cultural Differences. The inheritance of Loss is the second novel by Kiran Desai, which has been widely praised by ontcs all over the world and won the 2008 Man Booker Prize as well as the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award in the same year To some extent the book ‘seems to be impacted by her own journeys as wel 2 the journeys of Ner grandparents from east towest. Kiran Desal was bor in Chandigath and spent her ea ifn Pune and Mumbai, When she was around nine years ol, her family moved to Delhi. By the time she tumed fourteen, her family moved to England. After one year she moved to the United States with her mother and since then she has been living there. These are the very journeys which might have made her feel de-rooted from her native place and would surely bein her ‘mind while writing The Inheritance of Loss. When asked about her link to the characters of the book, Kiran stated, * The characters of my story are entirely fictional, but these journeys, ( of her grandparents) as well as my own provided insight into what it means to travel between East and west and it this what | wanted to capture. The fact that | ive this particular life is no accident. It was my inheritance,” The very questions which Desai raises in the book are simply related to the problems faced by immigrants. It tries to focus on, ‘whatit means to be an immigrant”, and ‘what happens when a westem elementis introduced into a country that is not of the west?’, and ‘what happens when you take people from a poor nation and place them in a wealthy nation like America bd Engiand?" Do! these immigrants face identity crisis? Does this imbalance change a person's feelings and thinking? These are some of the main issues Desai wanted to focus on while writing this book. Arsotires Iii’ h Literature’ Research Journal ® June-2015 (7)‘The book also deals with some international issues lke globalization mteuturalsm, economicinequaty turdementaism and erorsm Apart fom these sues, Special attention has been given to racism, coloniaism, the Gorkha Separatist Movement 4andethnety. But the aim ofthe present paper isto reveal colonialism and ts legacy tough aiferent characters especialy Jemubhai Patel Through the main characters inthe book. n Paricular Jemubhai, the autor ties to show ow discrimination duet race can influence and wound and even destroy he psyche of human beings. ‘The biter experionoes of Jemubhal in England turn the racial heme into universal subjec. The author focuses on £2 pattem of white, imperial superonty and power and shows how people trom the colonized Countries are badly treated in the westem world due to thelr skin colour and Third Word Corgin. But on the other hand, the white Europeans prove their superiorty in universal prspective and have been quite successful in gaining power and dominance all over the worl. Ths leads to poverty, humiliation ang disnminaton of people trom the Third World colonized nations, forces one to think thatthe West means thats developed, industrialized, \well advanced, secured and modem: itcan also be descrbed as a historical rater than {geographical construct, Based on this, the Orient stands for what isnot Europe but rather than the ‘Other. Thus, while ciscussing te racial issues and etn, the West ropeseet Evrope and America and to East wi represent the nent or what sot Evope and In the case of Jemubhal,Desalilustrats tho point- what happens when you take ‘people from a poor nation and pace ther in awealty naton ike America or England? For this, we need to have a close look atthe very lf of Jemubhai right rom the beginning of his chiidnood. During his school days, Jemubhai sees the peta of Queen Victoria and develops ‘an obsessive respect for the queen. He feels “deeply immersed that a women so plain ‘could also have been so powerful, The more he pondered this oddity, the more his respect for her and the English grew” (The Inhertance of Loss, 58) The tuning point in his Me begins in 1939, the year when he moves to England to study for duration of fwe year. In fact, his sharp wit and cleverness at school, together with the dowry he receives in his ‘marriage, makes his foreign journey possible. During his stay in England he faces the ugly faces of racism and learns what hate is. The fst impression of England to him is cultural shock. Due to his dark skin and different cultural background and accent eis notaccepted by the English. Remember, India in 1939 was a British colony and the British were proud of their superiority over others. Nobody talks to him property and he is made to feel inferior in ‘an alien nation. This turns him into a social recluse as he withdraws from all social activites: “He retreated into a social coltude that grew in weight day-by-day. The soltude became a habit, the habit became the man, and it crushed him into a shadow.” (38) The impact of racism on him is so strong that he becomes a stranger even to himself, he notices that his. ‘own skin colour is odd, his way of speaking unpleasant and he is teribly scared ofthe very thought of being different from the white-skinned people: Eventually he felt barely human at all; he grew stranger to himself than he was to those around him, found his own skin odd-coloured, his own accent peculiar. He forgothow to laugh, could barely manage to if hs ips in a smile, and ifhe ever did, he held his hand ‘over his mouth, because he couldn't bear anyone to see his gums, his teeth. They seemed too private. In fact he could barely et any of himself peep out of his clothes for fear of giving ai English Uterature” Research Journal «June-2015eee ee - a offence. He began to wash obsessivey.To the end of his if, he would never be seen without socks and shoes and would prefer shadow tight, faded daysto sunny, fr he was Suspicious that sunight might reveal tim, nhs hdeousness, a toa ear (40) ‘this way, Jemubhat starts feng that the sisctiminaling behaviour ofthe Engh towards him is justified He fel tat Bey are be colonizers and tus have a moral right to suppress overs. Simp speaking, he tecomes a vem ofitemalzed oppression Moreover, he loses self espect and stars hating ns oan body and personaly The humiation $0 ‘Seeply rooted tat he starts using cosmetics ike pow inorder to make his ein ook Ike the very skinofthe Englsh, Ths habitbscores an obsession totum anaremaice tought ier hi eur rom England. This actafhiing his orginal persons symbotzes that he puts on a mask. the mask of whiteness behind which he ties to hide his black ‘skinned face. Itcan also be seen as an attomptofJemubhal to adopt he characterstes of tne white man, who he adores and admis. After hs return fem England, ths mask of whiteness becomes the mask of cruelty as he uses the weapon of cruel and haved against the indian people, wh hehates and considers inferior. Now. “He wa afereigner-foregner- ‘every bit of him screamed (167) He is mocked at bythe people due fo hs anglophile atte fie and for he habitof using power oni face, ahabthe developed dung his stayin England. The facts that hei notable to forget he traumatic experiance of England land wants other fo ae inthe same pein and trauma he himself feltin England. can be referred to as projection through which a man conceals rom Free hat ne has tat of which he is unconsciously ashamed and tiesto see its presence in cher. ‘Nii, Jemubnars wifes the fis oneto face the sadistic Weatent of her westernized ‘husband. n order to pacity is own toubied ming be transfers his misery tohis young wife. ‘One can feel that he is giving to her wite whathe himself received in England loneliness, frustration, humilaton and above alla Kind of mental trauma. He ges her an English name and forces her to learn English and adopt the wostotnized manners. Her refusal turns him up tothe point of insanity and he fnaly leaves her and his own family members. Thus, he behaves tke a strong white man who Uses his male domnance agaist aweak, passive and submissive woman, Nim, Not only this, he gives himself an English name- ‘James Peter Peterson. Through Jemubhai, Desai wan to revealthe fact hat discrimination in any form is an inhuman act and can come out very dangerously for those who suffer. It also shows the very behaviour of the English who take it to be a prvege to suppress the people from the Third World nations, They fee thatthe people from these Thirs World Countries are unworthy and also look upon them as intruders whe wantte benefit from ther well-developed advanced society tis the result of ths discrimination that the people The Jemubhai suffer and develop the feeing of homelessness, But unfortunatly, when Jema ‘comes back to India, he starts discriminaing the Indians, his own countrymen, Wie in England he was not accepted by the Englsh, when in india he is not ready to accept the Indians, What actually is his position vis-a-vis home? Now he belongs neither tothe East Tor to the West-he is homeless and de-roated. His character further raises a numberof questions which can bruise the minds of ‘number of wise and sensible people. Why does he remain devoted and loyal tothe English throughout his life even aftr suffering much from ther? Why does he accept the suffering in a docile manner? One should pay attention to the fact that he was a highly educated ‘man. Why does he not take the revenge of his humiliation after becoming a judge in India? ‘Most importantly, why does he not help the other Indians who suffer like him and are the ‘Absurd’ international English Literature’ Research Journal » June-2015ye SHOTIONIRED MI Te cyees and the westem Hfehave ffested nea The author also brings to tg the very soree foe sense of ass diy m te tae Tard he ond oft novel we comets know abouthe negro ree sere alos: airost unbearable tothe rte age Peay he wie te rece eae ang in the wor. The Judge Dames he coo or san teats 00K’ low poston makes hinvtesl ety wants to kill me. Let him kill me, What is. ‘The judge feels that asa master, he is pi Wvilaged to beat and humiliate the servant. One can remember the colonial period when the Indians were whipped mercilessly by the white ‘masters for no fault, the whites felt that they had a divine right to punish and insult tre dere skinned Indians. The same mentality has been presented by the Judge towards his own ‘cook with whom he has been living fora long time and who has been serving him for along time. The judge's disgust for the cook can be compared to the white men's disgust for the Indians. Here, undoubtedly, the judge represents the white, westem-oriented mentalty and Uses his power and position to oppress the poor man who symbolicaly stands for a poor man from the East. Another major issues dealt by Kiran Desal in The Inheritance of Loss are racial discrimination, muticulturalism and the after-effects of imperialism, Through the cheracters ‘of Noni and Lola, the author elaborates the issues of race, and the challenges of postcolonial ‘and multicultural society. The book presents Noni and Lola as the characters who have been able to take advantage from the Bilis influence. Even though thei economic status is not as fortunate as it was during the colonial period, they basically manage to maintain their western lifestyle. The book reveals that regularly, they take trips to England to buy clothes and keep servants, Culturally als thei ives are infuenced by the westem she and ways as they prefer Brith authors and celebrate Christmas. Naural tet Ives would have been deeply observed by the poor Gorkhas living around them. But they react 2s they are not concernedwith al his, But his the point where fee. that hey wereconcemed but said nothing as they were poor people. Their pent up anger oe When the guerila groups take contri the hii of Kalmpong, Now revenge {of each and every humiation they suffer direct orindrecty, Unt now he evened pat “ke Newt, Lel2, °121%1 Burly and Uncle Potty have been able to enjoy 2 luxurious iG — Ss ‘Absurd’ International ‘English Literature’ Research Journal * June-2015 ()‘ouners 2$ they are low-cost labour thet, The very pathetic situation of Bi iis an attack on the parents who are proud ofthe fact hat ther {hilaren ae abroad but they never fel what ther hidren fel there. Here tis noewony {and interesting to compare Biju with Father Booty, who also Ives in inca a frei nats 6 legal terms but enjoys all he priviages. In contrast othe ife of Father Booty, i ives @ secret if in humiliation and poverty It also reveals how a white man, due o his white ‘ace, class and author, is offen able to sete in a foreign land without being humiliated ‘and suppressed. Biju, on the other hand, is a ‘representative of the poor, disadvantaged oop fom the Third Wer facing oppression nen apposhing the Wea, To sum up, Desai ries to dissec the dream of empire, old and new, and lays bare the very idea of colonial modernity. I forces us to ponder over the fac, what happens to those who leave for anew beginning but find themsehes outcasts both at home and abroad. ‘Their ambition for a better ife takes them to America or England, butthey are never accepted there and are treated like aliens rather intruders, Itforces us to think about whatis home? 's ita land of our ancestors or the land where we grow up ate taking bith? In the case of Jemulbhai, we can say thathe is a homeless man. While in England, he remains unaccepted, in India, he does not accept others. Longing is perhaps the most dominant desire that ‘almost all the characters in the book possess. They long for home, love and acceptance (22) Risen rats eral English Uterature” Research Tournr Ye) SHOT ON REDMI Y3 IT ey