Ecological Vision and Environmental Justice in the Works of Mahaswetha Devi

Ecological criticism shares the fundamental premise that human culture is connected to the physical world, affecting it, and affected by it. Eco-criticism takes as its subject the interconnections between nature and culture, specifically the cultural artifacts of language and literature. Eco-criticism examines how place contributes to the identity of characters, influencing their actions, thoughts, and development. It considers how connections to specific places or disconnections from them (due to displacement, migration, or environmental degradation) affect personal and collective identities. Eco-critical perspectives in the works of Mahasweta Devi are deeply rooted in her commitment to social justice, tribal rights, and the preservation of indigenous ecology. While her writings are often classified under subaltern studies, activism, and Dalit literature, they also reveal a profound ecological consciousness, particularly through her portrayal of forests, tribal lands, rivers, and animals as living entities under siege from capitalist, colonial, and state powers. Mahasweta Devi’s works present a radical ecological vision in which land, forest, water, animals, and people are all part of an interconnected cosmos. Her eco-criticism is activist, indigenous, feminist, and subaltern-focused, making her one of India’s most important voices in environmental justice literature.