Ecofeminist and Postcolonial Critiques of „Development‟ in Vandana Shiva‟s Staying Alive and Arundhati Roy‟s The Greater Common Good

Indian women writers critique development as a gendered, caste-inflected, and ecologically exploitative process. Their works expose the myth of neutral progress, interrogate the state's complicity in displacement and violence, and advocate for alternative, inclusive, and sustainable models of growth. These critiques are crucial in understanding how “development” functions not as a universal good but as a contested terrain, where power, gender, and resistance are in constant negotiation. Arundhati Roy, in her essay The Greater Common Good (1999), critiques the displacement caused by dam projects like the Sardar Sarovar Dam, showing how the state’s developmental ambitions devastate the lives of tribal communities. Her work interrogates the idea that development serves the "greater common good," revealing how this notion marginalizes those who bear its burden. Similarly, Vandana Shiva, in Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development (1988), critiques development as patriarchal and neo-colonial, arguing that it marginalizes both women and ecological systems. She celebrates women’s traditional ecological knowledge as central to sustainable living. This paper tries to address the intersecting themes and ecofeminist perspectives in both of their writings.