Towards Dalit Ecologies

Abstract

The caste system has implications for the environmental experiences of Dalits (formerly “untouchables”). Dalits are disproportionately impacted by natural disasters and climate change because of their high dependence on natural resources and manual labor, including agriculture. Dalit viewpoints and ecological expertise nevertheless remain missing from the environmental literature and mainstream activism. Aligning with Black ecologies as a challenge to eco-racism, I use the term “Dalit ecologies” to conceptualize Dalit articulations with their environment and experiences of eco-casteism involving inequities such as their exclusions from natural resources and high vulnerability to pollution and waste. My analysis of scholarly literature finds that nature is caste-ized through the ideology of Hindu Brahminism that animates mainstream environmental activism in India. Dalit subjectivities and agency nevertheless remain evident in their literary and oral narratives and ongoing struggles for access to land, water, and other environmental resources.

The political ecology of shrimp aquaculture in Tamil Nadu: A case study from Mayiladuthurai District

“…Asymmetries in social power can cause trade-offs and distributional disparities by shaping socialecological change, favoring certain players' interests over others (Ingalls & Stedman, 2016). When the transfer of land towards non-agricultural businesses is promoted as part of India's development agenda, it causes repercussions in 'Dalit ecologies', exacerbating existing inequalities (Prasad, 2022).…”

Media and extraction: A brief research manifesto

“…Consequently, emergent environmental media studies focusing on extraction can draw inspiration from inter-and-multi disciplinary formations produced by the enmeshing of science and technology studies with imperial, decolonial, and refugee studies. It is poised to foster potential dialogues between the elemental humanities and histories of racial capitalism, indigenous, feminist, and critical caste studies (Ayyathurai 2021;Collectif Argos 2010;Estes 2019;Ghosh 2016;Green 2020;Kumar and Mishra 2022;Prasad 2022;Rawat and Satyanarayana 2016;Shah 2010;Sharma 2017;Sunder 2019;Yendge 2019;Yussof 2018).…”