Negotiating Cultural Conflicts and Diasporic Identity in A Bend in the River

Migratory practices lead to a change in the social-cultural construct of a geographical space. Because of the increase in global movement of people, most of the countries have their diasporas spread out in different parts of the world as well as these countries contain diasporas of other countries too. This has influenced the process of cultural exchange and interaction. However, in such a scenario, along with assimilation, cultural clashes and cultural conflicts are inevitable and conspicuous. To contextualize this phenomenon, the present article is an attempt to evaluate the novel A Bend in the River. The paper argues that diasporic belonging in post-colonial Africa in the novel is unstable as it is influenced by coercion, power and tension. By foregrounding the precarious lives of diasporic subjects in foreign lands, the article examines how history and power influence cultural co-existence and harmony. Further, the paper interrogates the lived realities of inhabiting an “other” land and the potential for coexistence and fraternity beyond the boundaries of ethnicity, racism, and discrimination.