International Research Journal of Education and Technology

This research paper examines the theme of diaspora and displacement in Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss, highlighting the emotional, cultural, and psychological consequences of migration in a postcolonial context. Set across India and the United States, the novel portrays individuals struggling with identity conflict, cultural alienation, and a persistent sense of unbelonging. Through the experiences of Biju, an undocumented immigrant in America, and Jemubhai Patel, a judge shaped by colonial exile, the study analyzes how migration produces rootlessness, humiliation, and emotional isolation.Drawing on diaspora studies and postcolonial theory, the paper explores how transnational movement disrupts personal identity and intensifies psychological fragmentation. Biju’s disillusionment with the American Dream and Jemubhai’s internalized colonial shame reveal the complex realities of diasporic life. The study argues that Desai presents diaspora not merely as geographical relocation but as a profound emotional condition, exposing the hidden human costs of migration, globalization, and cultural displacement.
Keywords

Diaspora, Displacement, Identity Crisis, Cultural Alienation, Migration, Postcolonialism.