Anthropocene Conflict and Reconciliation: Literary Responses from India’s North east

English

Resumo

Abstract

It is usually suggested that anthropogenic impacts increased after the rapid rise in industrialization during the period of European colonization throughout the world. Following this, the introduction of colonial modernity and subsequent changes in cultural practices also contributed to the rise of the Anthropocene epoch in many ways. These impacts and effects, however, are very nuanced, evading categorization and separation through recognizable borderlines. On the contrary, these transformations remain located in grey areas where religion, tradition and modernity intersect in peculiar ways. This article analyzes such issues as represented in literary texts from India’s North east region. For this purpose, four short stories were chosen. Although these literary texts are not entirely representative of the North east Indian culture or society with which they deal, they do encapsulate the general tendency that prevails in these societies. These four short stories, Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi’s “The Forest Guard,” Arupa Patangia Kalita’s “The Conflict,” Vanneihtluanga’s “Innocence Wears Another Look” and Monalisa Chakgkija’s “The Hunter’s Story” deal with ecological issues. The article does not simply attempt to discuss the ecological issues highlighted by the authors but rather shows how cultural practices mutate over time in response to Anthropocene pressures, thereby aggravating the global environmental crisis as manifested regionally.