Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel

Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel tests the theories of ecofeminism against the background of India’s often different perceptions of environmental problems, challenging the hegemony of Western culture in thinking about human problems. This book moves beyond a simple application of the concepts of ecofeminism, instead explaining the uniqueness of Indian novels as narratives of ecofeminism and how they can contribute to the development of the theory of ecofeminism. In examining a selection of novels, the author argues that Indian texts conceptualise the ecological crisis more as a human problem than as a gender problem. The book proposes that we should think of ecofeminism as ecohumanism instead, seeing human beings and nature as a part of a complex web. Novels analysed within the text include Kamala Markandaya’s Nectar in a Sieve (2009), Shivram Karanth’s Return to Earth (2002) and Na D’Souza’s Dweepa (2013). Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel will be of great interest to students and scholars of ecofeminism, ecocriticism, ecological feminism, environmental humanities, gender studies, ecological humanities, feminist studies and Indian literature. Dr Sangita Patil is an Assistant Professor at LBS Govt First Grade College, Bengaluru, India. Her research interests include ecofeminism, literary theory, cultural studies and liberal education. Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies Stranded Assets and the Environment Risk, resilience and opportunity Edited by Ben Caldecott Society, Environment and Human Security in the Arctic Barents Region Edited by Kamrul Hossain and Dorothée Cambou Environmental Performance Auditing in the Public Sector Enabling Sustainable Development Awadhesh Prasad Poetics of the Earth Natural History and Human History Augustin Berque Environmental Humanities and the Uncanny Ecoculture, Literature and Religion Rod Giblett Ethical Responses to Nature’s Call Reticent Imperatives James Magrini Environmental Education in Indonesia Creating Responsible Citizens in the Global South? Lyn Parker and Kelsie Prabawa-Sear Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel Sangita Patil For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Explorations-in-Environmental-Studies/book-series/REES Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel Sangita Patil First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Sangita Patil The right of Sangita Patil to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-367-19833-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-24354-7 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC Dedicated to my beloved and too dear husband, Shiva Contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction: ecofeminism and the Indian novel 1 Introduction 1 Ecofeminism: environmental studies and feminism 1 Ecofeminism: Indian polemical discourse 3 Indian novel 4 1 An interface between human beings and nature 11 1.1 Introduction 11 1.2 The genealogy of ecofeminism 11 1.3 Indian polemical discourse: environment and ecofeminism 18 1.4 The genealogy of the Indian novel 23 1.5 The discursive formation of the environment in Indian novel 26 1.6 Rumination on Indian environmental movements and protests 29 1.7 Conclusion: the formulation of framework 32 2 Narratives of agriculture: Nectar in a Sieve, The Upheaval, Return to Earth and Gift in Green 37 2.1 Introduction 37 2.2 Nectar in a Sieve: the impact of tannery on pastoral life 37 2.3 The Upheaval: the impact of mining on farming community 49 2.4 Shivram Karanth’s Return to Earth: the impact of modernisation on agrarian culture 62 2.5 Sarah Joseph’s Gift in Green: a toxic discourse 70 2.6 Conclusion 86 3 Dam construction and ecological crisis: The Coffer Dams and Dweepa 89 3.1 Introduction 89 3.2 The project of dam construction and ecological crisis in India 89 viii Contents 3.3 Kamala Markandaya’s The Coffer Dams: modern juggernaut 91 3.4 Na D’Souza’s Dweepa: an island of destruction 103 3.5 Conclusion 110 4 The industrial disaster: Animal’s People 112 4.1 Introduction 112 4.2 The Bhopal gas tragedy: a backdrop 113 4.3 Patriarchal developmental attitude: industrial disaster 113 4.4 Women as victims of the industrial disaster 120 4.5 Rhetorical tropes 122 4.6 The uniqueness of Animal’s People as an ecohumanist narrative 123 4.7 Conclusion 125 5 Animals as absent referents: The Man from Chinnamasta 126 5.1 Introduction 126 5.2 The mythological background 127 5.3 The ethnography of animal sacrifice 128 5.4 Patriarchy and animal sacrifice 129 5.5 Women’s concern for animals 132 5.6 The uniqueness of The Man from Chinnamasta as an ecohumanist narrative 134 5.7 Conclusion 136 6 Reconceptualising ecofeminism: from ecofeminism to ecohumanism 138 6.1 Introduction 138 6.2 An overview of the ecofeminists’ concern 138 6.3 Reconceptualising ecofeminism: from feminism to humanism 143 6.4 Conceptual framework 145 Index 149 Acknowledgements My special and indelible thanks to my teacher and mentor Professor NS Gundur, who held my hand as I made my baby steps in the journey of schol- arly reading and writing; it is not exaggeration to say that he literally taught me how to read and write by selecting a few passages from Aristotle’s Politics. He helped me realise true meaning of reading and writing. “Teaching scholarship and leading the life of the mind” (my teacher’s ideology, which is quite the enthymematic mantra) is the focal point of my research writing. This book is the legacy of his constant guidance and suggestions of conceptual and logical development of thoughts. In due course, I feel without him this book could not have been borne. These words are very scanty to express my gratitude to his remarkable contribution. Further, I am deeply indebted to my other teachers Dr Panduranga Rao V and Professor Vijaykumar Suryan for spending several hours on a draft copy of the manuscript in editing and proofreading it. Mr. Sanjay Patil, my brother, found time in his busy schedule to proofread some parts of the manuscript. I am grateful to his constant guidance and encouragement. I am also thankful to my friend Mr. Vinod for his intellectual inputs. I extend my sincere thanks to Ms. Manisha Rao, SNDT Women University, Mumbai, for sending the details of new publications in this domain. I must extend my thanks to Mr. Pavangangadhar, Professor Suverna Patil, Dr Vandana and Mr. Vasant for their support in this endeavour. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the valuable guidance of Profes- sor Narkhide, Department of Environmental Science; M U Mahavidyalaya, Udgir; Dr Girija Jayashankar, ASC Degree College; Dr Yogananda Rao, Jain University and Dr M S Chaitra, Aarohi Research Foundation, Bengaluru, for going through the manuscript and for providing fruitful suggestions to improve upon it. Special thanks to Senior Editor Claudia Alvares, Editorial Assistant Paul Lau- rence and two anonymous reviewers of my article that has appeared in Taylor Francis’ (Routledge) Cogent Social Science for their critical inputs and suggestions. The exchange of ideas with them has made me rethink my original conceptual understanding of ecofeminism. x Acknowledgements I have immensely borrowed resources from several libraries and educational institutions. I am very grateful to: NMKRV College, Bengaluru; M U Mahavidy- alaya, Udgir; The Centre for Women’s Studies, University of North Ben- gal, Darjeeling; The Central Library, University of North Bengal, Darjeeling; Dr. VKRV Rao Library, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru; The Central Library, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad among others. Finally, I would like to express deep appreciation for my family, especially, my husband, Shivkumar, who has been a constant source of inspiration and has always been with me in all my endeavours. Now, he is no more but this book is his dream project. I dedicate this book to my beloved hubby. I owe all my educational achievements to my parents, especially my mother Laxmibai. Moreover, I cannot forget the love and affection of Shashank, San- ket and Rashmi who made me free from taking care of the household chores. Thank you, the Patil fraternity. Introduction Ecofeminism and the Indian novel Introduction This book explores the ecofeminist theory in Indian context by analysing select Indian novels; the work follows a similar pattern to Foucault’s exploration of the evolution of the conceptual meaning of truth through the review of the fictional narratives of Homer and Sophocles ( Gundur 2017 ). Although it is an ecofeminist reading of the Indian novels, the study is not a simple exercise in applying the concepts of ecofeminist theory to the Indian novels. It is an attempt to engage with the theory of ecofeminism in the light of reading of the Indian novels. Application of theories, following Sheldon Pollock’s obser- vations, does not advance knowledge. Instead, we need to test the theories ( Pollock 2006 ). In this line, David Lodge’s remark is very apt, “What is essen- tial, however, is that the new theoretical self-consciousness should be earned, not borrowed, that it should be based on a study of the seminal texts that gave rise to it.

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