The primary cast of characters in The Inheritance of Loss can be divided into two groups: those who have adopted Western cultural practices and those who struggle to maintain their native identity amid a changing culture. At the Gandhi Cafe, Biju and his coworkers despise the “haalf ’n’ haf” (164) Indian students attempting to impress their American friends with spicy food. Characters like Biju see westernized Indians as inauthentic and culturally treacherous, whereas the westernized tend to see themselves as worldly and sophisticated. However, they wear Western elitism without enjoying its highest privileges and tend to become spiteful of Indians occupying lower stations.

The judge makes a long series of choices designed to separate himself from the appearance, speech, and customs of his native people, preferring the ways of the English despite how they mistreat him. These choices leave him spiteful of Indians and fearful of the English, and consequently deeply isolated from others and himself. The judge recognizes Sai’s similarities with him when she arrives at Cho Oyu: “There was something familiar about her; she had the same accent and manners. She was a westernized Indian brought up by English nuns, an estranged Indian living in India” (230).