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Amitav Ghosh

アミタヴ・ゴーシュ

Amitav Ghosh

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1956-07-11 （Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, India）
Nationality
Indian
Languages
English, Bengali
Residence History
India (early life & education) → Bangladesh (lived during childhood) → Sri Lanka (lived during childhood) → New York (resident)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Essayist, Critic
Active Years
1986-
Affiliations
The Indian Express (former), Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), Ford Foundation (Art of Change Fellow)
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
Influenced By
Influenced

Education

The Doon School
Period: 〜1970年代（中等教育）
Country: India
Attended as a pupil at an all-boys boarding school
St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi
English (and related studies)
Degree: BA, MA
Period: 1970年代（学部・大学院）
Country: India
Studied at University of Delhi (St. Stephen's College and Delhi School of Economics)
St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
Social anthropology
Degree: D.Phil. (PhD)
Period: 1979–1982（博士課程）
Year of Graduation: 1982
Country: United Kingdom
Completed D.Phil. on an Inlaks Foundation scholarship under Peter Lienhardt

Awards

Jnanpith Award
2018
Organization: Jnanpith Selection Committee
Result: 受賞
Padma Shri
2007
Organization: Government of India
Result: 受賞
Dan David Prize
2010
Organization: Dan David Foundation
Result: 共同受賞
Arthur C. Clarke Award
1997
Work: The Calcutta Chromosome
Organization: Arthur C. Clarke Award
Result: 受賞
Erasmus Prize
2024
Organization: Praemium Erasmianum Foundation
Result: 受賞
Park Kyong-ni Prize
2025
Organization: Park Kyong-ni Foundation
Result: 受賞
Prix Médicis étranger
Work: The Circle of Reason
Organization: Prix Médicis
Result: 受賞
Sahitya Akademi Award
Work: The Shadow Lines
Organization: Sahitya Akademi
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Circle of Reason

1986 Novel / Historical fiction

Ghosh's debut novel exploring ties between India and wider historical/global contexts through a sprawling narrative.

MigrationTradeCross-cultural exchange

The Shadow Lines

1988 Novel / Postcolonial

Examines national and personal identity, memory and communal violence across generations and geographies.

MemoryNational identityViolence

The Calcutta Chromosome

1995 Novel / Science fiction

A speculative novel blending history of science with mystery, intertwining fact and fiction.

History of scienceConspiracyControl of knowledge

The Glass Palace

2000 Novel / Historical fiction

An epic spanning Burma (Myanmar), India and Southeast Asia, tracing personal and political histories.

EmpireMigrationHistorical memory

The Hungry Tide

2004 Novel / Environmental fiction

Set in the Sundarbans, the novel explores human–nature relations, environmental issues and local communities.

EnvironmentEcosystemsHuman-nature relations

Sea of Poppies (Ibis trilogy)

2008 Novel / Historical fiction

First volume of the Ibis trilogy, set in the 1830s and tracing trade and lives around the Indian Ocean before the Opium War.

TradeImperialismMigration and servitude

River of Smoke (Ibis trilogy)

2011 Novel / Historical fiction

Second volume of the Ibis trilogy, linking personal histories with international events in a broad historical canvas.

TradeImperialismOpium trade

Flood of Fire (Ibis trilogy)

2015 Novel / Historical fiction

Final volume of the Ibis trilogy, depicting the build-up to the First Opium War.

WarImperialismTrade

Gun Island

2019 Novel / Environmental fiction

Deals with climate change and human migration, blending myth and contemporary concerns.

Climate changeMigrationFolklore

Jungle Nama

2021 Verse / Reworking of oral legend

A poetic retelling of the Bon Bibi legend from the Sundarbans.

FolkloreNatureRegional culture

In an Antique Land

1992 Non-fiction / Travel and ethnography

Combines fieldwork in Egypt with historical inquiry and personal narrative.

EthnographyHistoryEncounters

The Great Derangement

2016 Non-fiction / Criticism

A critical work arguing that modern literature and art have failed to adequately address climate change.

Climate changeLiterary criticismImagination

Smoke and Ashes

2023 Non-fiction / History

Discusses the history of opium, its colonial legacy and links to modern corporate practices.

Opium historyColonialismCorporate-social links

Bibliography

  • The Circle of Reason — 1986
  • The Shadow Lines — 1988
  • In an Antique Land — 1992
  • The Calcutta Chromosome — 1995
  • The Glass Palace — 2000
  • The Hungry Tide — 2004
  • Sea of Poppies — 2008
  • River of Smoke — 2011
  • Flood of Fire — 2015
  • The Great Derangement — 2016
  • Gun Island — 2019
  • Jungle Nama — 2021
  • The Nutmeg's Curse — 2021
  • Smoke and Ashes — 2023
  • Wild Fictions — 2025

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Multi-layered historical narrativesEthnographic realism informed by field researchElements of magical realismArgumentative and persuasive non-fictional prose
Recurring Motifs
Sea and tradeMigration and bordersLegacies of colonialismClimate and the natural environment

Legacy

Amitav Ghosh is an internationally recognised Indian English writer known for his historical imagination and sharp insights into environmental issues. Recipient of major honours including the Jnanpith Award and Padma Shri, he has influenced contemporary climate writing and postcolonial studies.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)

Quotes

  • It was not intentional, but sometimes things are intentional without being intentional. Though it was never part of a planned venture and did not begin as a conscious project, I realise in hindsight that this is really what always interested me most: the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the connections and the cross-connections between these regions.
    Source: Interview with Mahmood Kooria (excerpt) (2012)

Trivia

  • One of the first Indian English-language writers to receive the Jnanpith Award (54th, 2018).
  • Withdrew The Glass Palace from consideration for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in protest at its language rules.
  • The Ibis trilogy is set on the eve of the First Opium War and explores the Indian Ocean world.
  • The Great Derangement has been influential in debates about how literature addresses the climate crisis.