Regional Literature as a Tool for Environmental Justice Movements in India

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Dr Pooja Khurana

Associate Professor

Law Department

Maharaja Agrasen Himalayan Gharawal University

Uttarakhand, India

Abstract— Regional literature in India performs an indispensable function in environmental justice movements by translating local experiences of ecological injustice into compelling narratives that resonate with both affected communities and broader publics. In this study, we investigate how vernacular texts—spanning poetry, short fiction, folk drama, and essays—produced in Odia, Malayalam, and Tamil between 1990 and 2022, articulate environmental grievances; historicize patterns of dispossession; and project alternative futures grounded in indigenous knowledge and sustainable livelihoods. Drawing on a purposively selected corpus of twenty-four works and thirty semi-structured interviews with authors, activists, and community readers across three regions (Jharsuguda in Odisha, Alappuzha in Kerala, and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu), we deploy qualitative content analysis and thematic coding to identify three core functions of regional literature: (1) Voice Amplification, whereby marginalized individuals articulate concrete experiences of land loss, water contamination, and livelihood disruptions in their own linguistic idioms; (2) Historical Contextualization, which situates current conflicts within long-term trajectories of colonial resource extraction, post-independence development schemes, and caste-based exclusions; and (3) Visioning Alternative Futures, wherein imaginative narratives draw on traditional ecological practices to envision regenerative land-use, community governance, and just resource sharing. Our findings reveal that vernacular narratives achieve significant reach through multimodal dissemination—print chapbooks, public recitals, community radio, and digital platforms—thus fostering intergenerational dialogue and cross-regional solidarity. Moreover, translated selections and academic collaborations have enabled regional texts to inform policy debates, legal petitions, and media campaigns.

Keywords— Regional Literature, Environmental Justice, India, Vernacular Narratives, Grassroots Mobilization

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