Ecofeminist Discourse in Postcolonial India: A Critique of Capitalism, Modernity and Patriarchy

Abstract

Abstract

The term ecofeminism in India is not popular in the common parlance. But the kind of connections it has made between the lives of women and nature, between ideas of being a woman and being natural, the responsibilities of women towards their immediate environment (includes family), nature are very much present in discourses of media, NGO projects, corporate welfare schemes, academics, common perceptions, in environmental movements/activism and in writings/literature that deal not only with environment /nature but of all kinds. Therefore, the relevance of ecofeminism is not ecofeminism per se, but how the connections it makes have spread across various discourses in contemporary times in the Indian context. This paper investigates how ecofeminist influence lies in the problem that arises out of the kind of connections ecofeminism makes, the identities it talks about, its emphasis on certain kinds of connections and certain kinds of identities. The paper also intends to problematise the connections and identities that ecofeminism has produced and still produces--and therefore the relevance. And thus, instead of claiming ecofeminism to be passé, it would be more appropriate to say that it continues to enjoy various degrees and kinds of presence in discourses both academic and non-academic.