Author: Shiwani Phougat, Dr Manisha Luthra

Abstract: Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland tells the story of how the murder of Udayan during the Naxalite uprising-the one act of political violence-pulled the family into the psychological trauma world that shook the generations and the places. The book states that the political upheaval emotional stuff does not stay with the historical moment but it moves through silence, emotional detachment, and broken family bonds. This article claims the trauma rooted in the homeland is the main factor behind immigrant identity even after the physical relocation. It uses trauma theory to support its argument, for example, Cathy Caruth’s assertion that trauma is an experience that “returns belatedly” in new forms (4), and Marianne Hirsch’s idea of “postmemory” like the heritage of the later generations (5). The argument shows that in Lahiri's work, personal loss is set against a broader public history. Relying on qualitative textual analysis and diaspora studies, the paper finds that Gauri’s withdrawal, Subhash’s overcompensation in parenting, and Bela’s rebellious activism exemplify the emotional heritage passed down from one generation to another. The authors identify silence, exile, and emotional absence as the main instruments through which the trauma gets to be inherited. Results indicate that The Lowland serves as a literary reservoir of political memory, depicting the way violent incidents deeply ingrained in national history become recurrences in the diasporic family structures. By uncovering the mental side of the political break, Lahiri's novel, in effect, broadens our conception of how literature serves as a record, a medium, and a means of transmission for the collective trauma's legacy across the different times and spaces.

Keywords: Immigrant identity, intergenerational trauma, Jhumpa Lahiri, memory, Naxalite movement, psychological inheritance, The Lowland.

Article Info: Received: 22 Feb 2026; Received in revised form: 19 Mar 2026; Accepted: 23 Mar 2026; Available online: 26 Mar 2026

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.112.39