COLONIAL HISTORIES AND SILENCED VOICES: A SUBALTERN READING OF AMITAV GHOSH'S THE CALCUTTA CHROMOSOME

Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome offers a compelling narrative that subverts traditional scientific historiography by centring marginalised voices and challenging Eurocentric constructions of knowledge. This paper examines how Ghosh reimagines the history of science, specifically the discovery of the malaria parasite, through a postcolonial lens, highlighting the silenced roles of Indian subaltern figures in scientific advancement. By fictionalizing the life and work of Sir Ronald Ross, a British scientist credited with the discovery of the malaria transmission cycle, Ghosh questions the validity of colonial records and foregrounds the possibility of alternative epistemologies rooted in indigenous mysticism and experiential knowledge. The novel intricately weaves multiple timelines and characters, creating a counter-narrative that reclaims the agency of marginalized individuals like Mangala and Laakhan, who are portrayed as the true innovators behind Ross’s celebrated findings. In doing so, Ghosh destabilizes the imperial logic that historically excluded colonized subjects from intellectual and scientific discourse. The text’s genre-blending-mixing science fiction, detective thriller, and historical fiction further reinforces its resistance to dominant linear narratives. This study utilizes postcolonial theory, particularly the concepts of subaltern agency and counter-historiography, to explore how The Calcutta Chromosome critiques colonial authority and offers a revisionist history that honors the suppressed contributions of non-Western actors. Ultimately, Ghosh’s novel becomes an act of narrative decolonization, revealing how history and science are not neutral but are deeply embedded in structures of power, voice, and erasure.