Cite this article:
Shah (2016). Diasporic Consciousness in Vassanji’s Novel the in-between World of Vikram Lall. Journal of Ravishankar University (Part-A: Science), 22(1), pp.49-53.
Journal
of Ravishankar University,
Part-A,Vol-22, pp.49-53, 2016 ISSN 0970 5910
Diasporic Consciousness in Vassanji’s Novel the in-between
World of Vikram Lall”
Javed K. Shah
Javed K. Shah , Department of English, Govt. Arts and Com. College, Kohka-Neora,
Dist. Raipur.
[Received: 12 October 2015; Revised Received:
08 January 2016; Accepted: 16 January 2016]
Abstract:
Moyez Vassanji is a diasporic writer who in his
fifth novel, „The In-Between World of Vikram Lall‟ focuses on the situations of
Indians in Africa and the Western countries. Like Vassanji, the
narrator-protagonist Vikram Lall, oscillates between the African and the Asian
throughout the novel. His „in-between‟ position reflects his continuously
negated sense of belonging. After independence, Paul Nderi, a corrupt
politician of Kenya, uses him as a scapegoat to legitimatize his fraudulent
money transactions. In order to avoid prosecution, Vikram escapes to a small
town by Lake Ontario in Canada, and moulds himself to live a new life. Both
Vassanji and Vikram turn to the west for stability and belongingness.
Keywords:
Diaspora, In-between position, Kenya‟s independence,
Western countries, and Belongingness.
NOTE: Full version of this manuscript is available in PDF.