Exploring the Orient from Within: Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke

Abstract

This article discerns the explicit linking of imperialistic politics and self-serving humanist discourses which resulted in subjugation at various levels. It also undercuts the specious philosophy of the imperialists which inculcated the rhetoric of free trade and the internationalization of commerce as an ideological smokescreen to shroud their mercenary motives. Furthermore, it analyzes how the narrative re-invents the rich multicultural world created by the diverse business communities in Canton. Amitav Ghosh’s concern for subjectivities that have been subjugated and marginalized, are a case in point for a turn to ethics that is both evident and credible.