The Voice of Creative Research

दण्ड की पराकाष्ठा के रूप में मृत्युदण्ड : ऐतिहासिक, संवैधानिक एवं मानवाधिकार के परिप्रेक्ष्य में एक समालोचनात्मक अध्ययन

2026-01-31T00:55:49+00:00

मृत्युदण्ड आधुनिक दण्ड-व्यवस्था में सबसे कठोर, अपूरणीय और नैतिक विवादों से घिरा दण्ड है। इसका प्रयोग न केवल अपराध-नियंत्रण और सामाजिक सुरक्षा के तर्क पर आधारित माना जाता है, बल्कि यह सत्ता, वैधानिकता, नैतिकता और मानवाधिकार के जटिल प्रश्नों को भी उद्भूत करता है। यह शोध-पत्र मृत्युदण्ड की ऐतिहासिक पृष्ठभूमि, प्राचीन एवं मध्यकालीन भारतीय समाज में उसके स्वरूप, औपनिवेशिक शासन द्वारा उसके वैधीकरण, तथा स्वतंत्र भारत के संवैधानिक-संदर्भ में उसकी स्थिति का विश्लेषण प्रस्तुत करता है। “विरल से विरलतम” सिद्धांत, न्यायिक त्रुटि की संभावना, मानव-गरिमा, पुनर्वास-आधारित न्याय-दर्शन और वैश्विक उन्मूलन-प्रवृत्तियों के आलोक में यह अध्ययन इस बात की समालोचनात्मक पड़ताल करता है कि क्या मृत्युदण्ड अपराध-निवारण का प्रभावी उपाय है, या फिर यह एक अमानवीय एवं असंगत दण्ड है। अध्ययन का निष्कर्ष इस विचार को पुष्ट करता है कि आजीवन कारावास, पुनर्वास, सामाजिक-न्याय और मानवीय संवेदना पर आधारित दण्ड-मॉडल आधुनिक लोकतांत्रिक समाज के लिए अधिक न्यायोचित एवं उपयुक्त विकल्प सिद्ध होता है।

Recovering the Silenced: Postcolonial and Ecocritical Perspectives on Tribal Identity in Mahasweta Devi’s Works

2026-01-31T00:59:27+00:00

Mahasweta Devi’s literary works demonstrate the power of representing marginalised tribal communities in India to expose postcolonial socio-political structures and environmental exploitation. This paper analyses Devi’s works, specifically Chotti Munda and His Arrow (1980) and Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay, and Pirtha, (1995), through postcolonial and ecocritical perspectives to understand how tribal identities form and get suppressed and then recovered. The research examines how Devi represents tribal resistance against systemic oppression and ecological devastation to illustrate the interconnectedness of caste and class with environmental justice. The analysis employs postcolonial theories by Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak, as well as ecocritical perspectives from Rob Nixon, to demonstrate how Devi’s narratives challenge dominant discourses while advocating for subaltern community identity.

Microfinance as a Development Strategy for Rural India: A Case Study of Uttar Pradesh

2026-01-31T01:03:10+00:00

The Indian microfinance (MF) sector, delivered via SHGs, JLGs and MFIs has evolved into a key policy tool for rural development in India by providing access to savings, credit and other financial services to excluded households from formal banking. Microfinance, this article argues, is a strategy that some consider viable for development in selected settings (with the state of UP taking refuge among those who do) and it employs the evidence from Uttar Pradesh (UP); a large predominantly agrarian state with high levels of poverty, seasonal incomes and limited access to formal finance where group-based models and microcredit are particularly pertinent. Leveraging secondary data from formal bank linkages, national rural livelihood mission (NRLM) dashboards and publications of NABARD and MFIN, the analysis assessed outreach, credit linkage and portfolio trends as well as pathways through which microfinance impacts on livelihoods: consumption smoothing; risk buffering; asset formation; women’s agency and local enterprise development. We present evidence on the ability of such an institution to scale-up, with SHG-bank linkage expanding from ₹58,070.68 crore in 2020–21 to ₹2,09,285.87 crore in 2023–24 and improvement in portfolio quality (NPAs decreasing to ~2.05 percent in 2023–24). Uttar Pradesh has an enormous SHG base (more than 12 lakhs of SHGs are under NRLM eGov system), however, saving linkage to complete bank loan mapping is required to ensure enhanced absorption of credit, enterprise support and risk mitigation. The paper finds that it is credit coupled with capacity building, market ties, producer organisations and social protection that maximises microfinance impact in rural development; and when a policy focus on page volume gives way to one on income pathway and resilience outcomes.

उत्तर प्रदेश में सड़क दुर्घटनाओं के कारण और निराकरण: एक अनुभवजन्य अध्ययन

2026-01-31T01:06:51+00:00

उत्तर प्रदेश भारत का सबसे अधिक जनसंख्या वाला राज्य है जो सड़क दुर्घटनाओं की गंभीर समस्या से प्रभावित है। यह अध्ययन राज्य में सड़क दुर्घटनाओं के प्रमुख कारणों की पहचान करता है तथा उनके निराकरण हेतु व्यावहारिक सुझाव प्रस्तुत करता है। अध्ययन माध्यमिक डेटा पर आधारित है जिसमें मंत्रालय ऑफ रोड ट्रांसपोर्ट एंड हाईवेज की वार्षिक रिपोर्ट्स, पुलिस रिकॉर्ड तथा अकादमिक अध्ययन शामिल हैं। दो हजार बीस से दो हजार पच्चीस तक के आंकड़ों से स्पष्ट है कि दुर्घटनाओं में निरंतर वृद्धि हुई है। वर्ष दो हजार बाईस में चौवालीस हजार चार सौ तिरासी दुर्घटनाएं दर्ज हुईं जो दो हजार तेईस में बढ़कर छियालीस हजार पांच सौ चौंतीस हो गईं। दो हजार चौबीस में यह संख्या छियालीस हजार बावन तक पहुंची तथा दो हजार पच्चीस में जनवरी से नवंबर तक छियालीस हजार दो सौ तेईस दुर्घटनाएं दर्ज हुईं जिनमें चौबीस हजार सात सौ छिहत्तर से अधिक मौतें हुईं जो पिछले वर्ष की तुलना में काफी अधिक है। प्रमुख कारणों में अत्यधिक गति से वाहन चलाना लगभग साठ से सत्तर प्रतिशत मामलों में जिम्मेदार रहा है। इसके अतिरिक्त चालक की थकान, खराब सड़क स्थिति तथा ट्रैफिक नियमों का उल्लंघन भी महत्वपूर्ण हैं। दोपहिया वाहन तथा पैदल यात्री सबसे अधिक प्रभावित हुए हैं जहां दोपहिया वाहनों से संबंधित दुर्घटनाएं लगभग उनतालीस प्रतिशत हैं।

यह अध्ययन अनुभवजन्य दृष्टिकोण अपनाता है जिसमें आंकड़ों के पैटर्न का विश्लेषण कर निराकरण के उपाय सुझाए गए हैं। इनमें बेहतर सड़क इंजीनियरिंग, सख्त कानूनी प्रवर्तन, जन जागरूकता अभियान तथा तकनीकी हस्तक्षेप जैसे आर्टिफिशियल इंटेलिजेंस आधारित मॉनिटरिंग सिस्टम शामिल हैं। उदाहरणस्वरूप उत्तर प्रदेश पुलिस का डेटा आधारित रोड सेफ्टी मॉडल कुछ क्षेत्रों में दस से पंद्रह प्रतिशत तक कमी लाया है। अध्ययन का उद्देश्य नीति निर्माताओं को साक्ष्य आधारित सिफारिशें प्रदान करना है ताकि आर्थिक तथा सामाजिक प्रभाव कम हो सके। अनुमानित रूप से सड़क दुर्घटनाओं से राज्य को प्रतिवर्ष पचास हजार करोड़ रुपये का नुकसान होता है जिसमें चिकित्सा व्यय उत्पादकता हानि तथा परिवारों पर प्रभाव शामिल है। प्रभावी उपायों से दो हजार तीस तक पचास प्रतिशत कमी संभव है जैसा कि अन्य राज्यों के सफल मॉडलों से प्रमाणित है। यह अध्ययन सड़क सुरक्षा को बहुआयामी समस्या मानकर एकीकृत दृष्टिकोण की वकालत करता है।

नई शिक्षा नीति 2020 के संदर्भ में भारतीय उच्च शिक्षा में मनोवैज्ञानिक कल्याण: एक समीक्षात्मक अध्ययन

2026-01-31T01:11:35+00:00

भारतीय उच्च शिक्षा प्रणाली आज तेजी से बदलते सामाजिक, आर्थिक और वैश्विक परिदृश्य में महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभा रही है। हालांकि, इस प्रणाली में छात्रों को सामना करना पड़ रहा है विभिन्न चुनौतियों का, जैसे कि तीव्र प्रतिस्पर्धा, रोजगार की अनिश्चितता, शैक्षणिक दबाव और सामाजिक अलगाव। ये कारक छात्रों के मनोवैज्ञानिक कल्याण पर गहरा प्रभाव डालते हैं, जिससे अवसाद, चिंता और तनाव जैसी समस्याएं बढ़ रही हैं। विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन (WHO) की रिपोर्ट्स के अनुसार, युवा वयस्कों में मानसिक स्वास्थ्य समस्याएं वैश्विक स्तर पर एक महामारी का रूप ले चुकी हैं, और भारत में उच्च शिक्षा छात्रों में यह समस्या विशेष रूप से गंभीर है। इसी संदर्भ में, भारत सरकार ने 2020 में नई शिक्षा नीति (NEP 2020) लागू की, जो शिक्षा को केवल अकादमिक ज्ञान तक सीमित न रखकर समग्र विकास पर केंद्रित है। नीति में छात्र-केंद्रित शिक्षा, बहुविषयक दृष्टिकोण, लचीले पाठ्यक्रम, परामर्श सेवाओं और समावेशी वातावरण पर जोर दिया गया है, जो मनोवैज्ञानिक कल्याण को मजबूत करने के उद्देश्य से हैं। यह समीक्षात्मक अध्ययन NEP 2020 के प्रावधानों के आधार पर भारतीय उच्च शिक्षा में मनोवैज्ञानिक कल्याण की स्थिति का विश्लेषण करता है। अध्ययन के लिए 2010 से 2023 तक प्रकाशित 25 से अधिक राष्ट्रीय और अंतरराष्ट्रीय शोध पत्रों, नीति दस्तावेजों और सर्वेक्षण रिपोर्टों की व्यवस्थित समीक्षा की गई है। डेटा स्रोतों में Google Scholar, JSTOR, PubMed और ERIC जैसे डेटाबेस शामिल हैं। निष्कर्ष दर्शाते हैं कि NEP 2020 ने मानसिक स्वास्थ्य जागरूकता बढ़ाई है, जैसे कि काउंसलिंग सेंटरों की स्थापना और होलिस्टिक डेवलपमेंट पर फोकस। हालांकि, क्रियान्वयन की चुनौतियां जैसे संसाधनों की कमी, प्रशिक्षित स्टाफ की अनुपलब्धता और ग्रामीण-शहरी असमानता बनी हुई हैं। यह अध्ययन नीति-निर्माताओं, शिक्षकों और संस्थानों के लिए सिफारिशें प्रस्तुत करता है, जैसे कि मानसिक स्वास्थ्य प्रशिक्षण को अनिवार्य बनाना और छात्रों के लिए जीवन कौशल कार्यक्रमों को बढ़ावा देना। कुल मिलाकर, NEP 2020 एक सकारात्मक कदम है, लेकिन इसके प्रभावी अमल से ही मनोवैज्ञानिक कल्याण में वास्तविक सुधार संभव है।

Exploring the Relationship Between Critical Thinking and Learning Style Among Secondary School Students in Uttar Pradesh

2026-01-31T01:15:02+00:00

Critical thinking represents a cornerstone of educational success, enabling students to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information effectively. Learning styles, on the other hand, reflect individual preferences for absorbing and processing knowledge, such as through visual, auditory, or kinesthetic modalities. This systematic review examines the interplay between these two constructs among secondary school students in Uttar Pradesh, India, drawing on empirical studies to synthesize evidence. A comprehensive search of databases including PubMed, ERIC, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar yielded 15 relevant studies involving over 2,500 participants, primarily from Indian contexts. Key findings indicate moderate levels of critical thinking skills among students, with visual learning styles dominating (approximately 40%), followed by auditory and kinesthetic styles (30% each). A significant positive correlation emerges between visual learning styles and enhanced critical thinking abilities. The review highlights implications for educators, suggesting the integration of visual aids to foster critical thinking. Limitations include regional variability and the need for longitudinal research. This synthesis underscores the value of tailoring instruction to learning styles to optimize cognitive development.

Erased yet Enduring: Analysing the Trauma of Exonerees

2026-01-31T02:52:21+00:00

Wrongful convictions are one among the most indelible mistakes of the judicial system. It is a failure that induces unfathomable injustice, which goes far beyond the individual’s suffering during incarceration. Such individuals who are later freed or exonerated, often called ‘exonerees’ experience a distinct kind of trauma which is multidimensional, enduring, and inadequately addressed by the existing legal and social frameworks. On analysing literatures across the world, it is seen that exonerees often suffer from post‑traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, all amalgamated by disrupted family relationships, social stigma, and economic marginalisation. There still exist systemic inadequacies in giving compensations and rehabilitating the exonerees. Reviewing the Indian context, Supreme Court cases such as Rudal Shah vs. State of Bihar and S. Nambi Narayanan vs. State of Kerala, had established compensation as a constitutional remedy under Article 21. But despite these judicial proclamations, India still lacks a structured framework for rehabilitation, leaving the Indian exonerees dependent on provisional reliefs. This paper analyses the trauma undergone by the exonerees through an integrative lens, combining psychological theory, human rights discourse, and legal analysis, trying to situate their torments in the present scenario, where the judiciary has recognised wrongful conviction, but has made no strict statutory measures to reintegrate the exonerees back into the society. The study also proposes certain recommendations for reform, and argues that exonerees must be conceived not only as victims of systemic failures, but as agents of change whose narratives can apprise justice and reform.

Poetry and Power: Judith Wright’s Engagement with the Geopolitical Landscape of Australia

2026-01-31T01:24:16+00:00

This paper explores the geopolitical dimensions of Judith Wright’s poetry and activism, situating her as a key figure in Australia’s literary and political landscape. Through a close reading of her works, her engagement with the issues of land ownership, disposition of the indigenous population, environmental degradation and National identity is examined. Her poetic voice which is deeply connected to the Australian landscape, challenges the colonial history and the deep-rooted politics of the place. By the inclusion of Postcolonial theory and geopolitics, this paper helps in revealing the true intension of the writer which is both artistic and rebellious at the same time. Her contribution towards the Aboriginal land rights, environmental conservation that provides a solid ground which in turn helps in understanding the relationship of land, language, and power. By examining poetry like “Nigger’s leap: New England,” “Bora Ring,” “At Cooloolah,” her efforts in reminding the cruel historical past and the politics surrounding it, actively exposes the dark reality which resulted in the displacement of the indigenous population and the exploitation of the resources. It places her in the broader geopolitical discourse and efforts are made to uncover the challenges she faced while protecting the Great Barrier Reef and her struggle with the government. Her advocacy towards environmental Conservation surpasses boundaries and she became one of the pioneering figures in the field of Environmental conservation.

भारतीय ज्ञान परंपरा: विज्ञान और वेदांत का संवाद

2026-02-18T14:54:35+00:00

यह शोध पत्र भारतीय ज्ञान परंपरा के दो महत्वपूर्ण स्तंभों—आधुनिक विज्ञान और प्राचीन वेदांत—के मध्य अंतर्संबंधों का विश्लेषण करता है। जहाँ आधुनिक विज्ञान पदार्थ (Matter) और बाहरी जगत के रहस्यों को सुलझाने का प्रयास करता है, वहीं वेदांत चेतना (Consciousness) और आंतरिक सत्य की खोज करता है। यह पत्र स्पष्ट करता है कि कैसे क्वांटम भौतिकी और ब्रह्मांड विज्ञान के आधुनिक सिद्धांत, उपनिषदों और वेदांत के 'अद्वैत' दर्शन के करीब पहुंच रहे हैं। निष्कर्षतः, यह अध्ययन प्रतिपादित करता है कि विज्ञान और आध्यात्मिकता एक-दूसरे के विरोधी नहीं, बल्कि पूरक हैं।

Myths and reality: An Ethnographic study of Varanasi as a south Asian city

2026-02-18T14:58:07+00:00

This research paper explores the various cultural aspects of Varanasi that have made Varanasi, the cultural capital of India. Varanasi has always been known for its diversity and Culture plays a very crucial role in its diversiﬁcation. Varanasi also popularly known as Benaras has been popular across the world for being the ancient most city in the world. Varanasi is the city of Gods and Goddesses and thus is a sacred and a holy city in South Asia. Kashi or Varanasi is a prominent city describing the beauty of Indian culture and it’s multidimensional aspects. Varanasi which is a combination of conventional and modern culture has revived the forms of culture representing the culture of India. Even the transgenders rejoice their lives in Varanasi beleiving that they are a part of lord Shiva and goddess Durga. Men, women and transgenders all have adapted the culture of Varanasi and have together proved it to be the cultural capital of India. Varanasi depicts the deﬁnition of culture and ways to practise it. Varanasi though a small city is a prominent city and stands different from other cities in the world. Varanasi deﬁnes culture and culture deﬁnes Varanasi. Banaras in India represents the uniﬁcation of Indian traditional and western culture both practised in their pure forms and together. This research emphasizes the ethnicity and cultural diversity of Varanasi. Varanasi is a South Asian City which has been frequently used in literature in many languages like Hindi, Bangla, Tamil, English, Sanskrit and other languages. Kashi is directly connected with Culture and it’s several aspects and is highly marked for its signiﬁcance in literature

The Silent Paradox: Loneliness in Metropolitan Life

2026-02-18T15:01:29+00:00

Urbanization and rapid economic growth have transformed metropolitan cities into centers of opportunity, diversity, and innovation. However, alongside these advantages, city life has increasingly produced feelings of isolation and emotional disconnection among individuals. Factors such as fast-paced lifestyles, migration away from family, competitive work environments, digital communication replacing face-to-face interaction, and weakening community bonds contribute significantly to this condition. The study highlights how metropolitan loneliness affects mental health, leading to stress, anxiety, and depression. It also explores the vulnerability of groups such as migrants, elderly citizens, and young professionals who often struggle to build meaningful relationships in unfamiliar environments. Despite the density of population, social support systems remain fragile. Metropolitan areas, with their towering skylines, bustling streets, and endless opportunities, often promise a vibrant and connected existence. Yet, beneath the veneer of urban dynamism, a silent paradox often thrives: profound loneliness. In cities teeming with millions, individuals can feel more isolated than ever, highlighting a poignant disconnect between physical proximity and genuine human connection. This paper examines the paradox of being surrounded by millions of people yet experiencing profound loneliness.

Language and Literature: Exploring their Interdependence

2026-02-18T15:04:15+00:00

Language and literature share a deeply symbiotic relationship that shapes human communication, cultural identity, and intellectual development. This paper examines how language functions as the essential medium for literary expression while literature, in turn, enriches, extends, and preserves language across generations. By analyzing the structural nature of language, the artistic role of literature, and their cultural embeddedness, the study highlights their mutual dependence in shaping meaning, imagination, and societal values. The paper also explores how literature influences linguistic evolution through stylistic innovation, new vocabulary, and creative expression, while language provides the foundational system enabling literary creation. Additionally, the pedagogical significance of integrating literature into language learning is emphasized. The findings affirm that language and literature are inseparable, dynamic forces that evolve together and collectively contribute to the enrichment of human experience.

Opportunities, Risks and Ethics in Rising AI-Powered Hiring

2026-02-23T14:53:52+00:00

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the way hiring works by automating tasks such as parsing résumés, ranking candidates, and scheduling interviews to screen applicants more accurately and efficiently. Although it carries the potential benefits of efficiency and cost savings, it also brings risks with respect to algorithmic opacity, historical data bias and privacy damage. This article provides a PRISMA guidelined review of the AI-driven hiring research between 2020 and 2025, by analyzing data from 103 peer-reviewed studies in order to uncover opportunities, limitations, risks and ethical concerns. The results indicate that AI is a means for improving the speed of screening, optimizing job descriptions, scheduling and workforce analytics. Different kinds of challenges such as algorithmic bias, deepfake fraud, and barriers to accessibility have also been highlighted. Ethical issues revolve around openness, privacy, responsibility and justice. The article finds that AI hiring systems require the oversight of humans, systematic audits, inclusive design and strong data governance to generate maximum benefits for businesses while minimizing the risk of harm.

Representation and Identity: A Postcolonial Comparative Study of Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah

2026-02-22T05:28:27+00:00

This article is concerned with the representation and construction of identity in Caryl Phillips’ Crossing the River (1993) and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013) from a postcolonial perspective. It contends that a sense of identity for African diasporic individuals is still historically determined by the experience of slavery as well as current racial hierarchies. There are the psycho-traumas associated with forced migration, loss and cultural dismemberment that Phillips’ work explores; but there are also twenty-first century migration, trans-national mobility and racial self-consciousness explored by Adichie. Both narratives are analyzed in this research through Edward Said’s Orientalism, Frantz Fanon on racial psychology, Homi Bhabha on hybridity, Paul Gilroy and his Black Atlantic transnationalism and Gayatri Spivack with her perspective on subaltern agency. This comparative reading illustrates how identity is formed over time through colonial memory, cultural adaptation, border crossing, language acquisition, gender expressions and the politics of self-representation.

Sexuality as Performance: Theatricality and Queer Expression

2026-02-22T05:31:40+00:00

This paper explores Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters through the lens of queer aesthetics, focusing on sexuality as performance and the role of theatricality in expressing queer identity. Set in the vibrant world of Victorian music halls, the novel presents gender and sexuality not as fixed categories but as fluid performances shaped by costume, gesture, and public spectacle. Nancy Astley’s transformation from an oyster girl to a male impersonator illustrates how desire and identity are enacted through theatrical roles. Cross-dressing, stage performance, and erotic display become tools through which queer characters negotiate visibility, pleasure, and resistance within a restrictive social order. By foregrounding performance as a mode of self-expression, Waters challenges Victorian norms of femininity and heterosexuality while celebrating queer desire as creative and empowering. The novel thus reveals how theatrical spaces function as sites of both personal liberation and political subversion, where marginalized identities find voice through aesthetic expression.

Mapping Colonial Aftermath: Identity Crisis, Homelessness, Desolation, Spatial Alienation, and Psychological Trauma in M. Mukundan’s God’s Mischief

2026-02-24T13:07:34+00:00

Colonialism, as a profoundly cataclysmic historical phenomenon, has been examined through multiple disciplinary lenses, including history, sociology, psychology, and cultural studies. Its enduring repercussions continue to shape contemporary societies, making it a central theme in post-colonial scholarship. Among the many avenues through which the colonial experience has been critiqued and re-imagined, literature occupies a particularly significant place. Literary narratives emerging from formerly colonised regions often illuminate the subtle, persistent, and deeply personal effects of colonial rule, offering insights that extend beyond conventional academic analysis. This paper seeks to conceptualise colonialism through the interconnected themes of homelessness, desolation, and psychological trauma, with a specific focus on Indo-French families represented in M. Mukundan’s acclaimed novel Daivathinte Vikruthikal (God’s Mischief). Set against the backdrop of Mahé, a former French enclave in Kerala, Mukundan’s narrative explores the emotional and cultural dislocation experienced by communities grappling with the withdrawal of colonial power. The novel apprehends the anxieties, ruptures, and identity crises that emerge in the marginal space between colonial domination and post-colonial reconstruction. By analysing the novel’s portrayal of displacement and fractured belonging, this study highlights how literary imagination contributes to a more delicate understanding of colonial afterlives. It argues that Mukundan’s work not only reflects the socio-political complexities of the Indo-French encounter but also foregrounds the psychological scars that persist long after formal decolonisation. Through this lens, the paper demonstrates the vital role of literature in interpreting, challenging, and reframing the legacy of colonialism in the post-colonial world.

The Thermodynamics of Inscape: Scientific Premonition and Ecological Lament in Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Binsey Poplars”

2026-02-24T13:10:58+00:00

This paper offers an ecocritical re-evaluation of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ 1879 lyric “Binsey Poplars,” positioning it as a pivotal synthesis of Victorian scientific anxiety and theological ecology. Beyond a mere aesthetic lament for the felled aspens of Oxford, the poem serves as a sophisticated indictment of the ontological blindness facilitating environmental destruction. By interrogating the text’s engagement with the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the biochemical principles of photosynthesis, this study demonstrates how Hopkins frames ecological “havoc” as both a physical entropic loss and a spiritual catastrophe. Utilizing Hopkins’ idiosyncratic framework of inscape and instress, the analysis reveals how the “unselving” of the landscape critiques the industrial commodification and subsequent objectification of nature. Hopkins’ Scotian-influenced perception of the “Logos” within the particular challenges the burgeoning alienation of humanity from the natural world. Ultimately, this article argues that “Binsey Poplars” provides a prophetic environmental ethic, suggesting that the “materialist worldview” of the nineteenth century—symbolized by the locomotive expansion—represents a fundamental failure to perceive the intrinsic divinity and energetic interconnectedness of the ecosystem.

Urban Botany: Plant Diversity and Adaptation Strategies in Urban Environments

2026-02-24T13:13:46+00:00

Urban ecosystems experience notable shifts in species composition and functional diversity due to human disturbances. Understanding urban plant biodiversity and its drivers is crucial for predicting future changes and promoting resilient systems that provide essential services and mitigate climate impacts. Urbanization modifies plant communities by favoring species ill-suited to new environments, influenced by city-specific factors such as habitat availability and land use. Disturbance patterns and life-history strategies also affect species establishment, offering insights into ecological processes. For many people, urban flora is the only nature they encounter, yet the ability of urbanized areas to preserve biodiversity while delivering services remains unclear. The introduction of exotic species complicates the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem services, necessitating careful assessment to align with societal goals. Understanding species replacement and coexistence can enhance the development of urban infrastructure that addresses aesthetic and conservation needs. Major cities are expected to face significant climate pressures, including extreme weather, erratic conditions, and prolonged droughts within dense urban areas. These changes impact food chains relying on urban plants for connectivity, influencing species movement and exotic species spread—some of which may provide services like water extraction during droughts but could also harm local vegetation and create pathways for invasive species.

Roots, Routes, and Self-Reliance: Identity, Caste, and Migration in Indian Literature through IKS and the Ethos of Atmanirbhar Bharat

2026-02-26T15:22:52+00:00

This study examines how cultural identity is negotiated in Indian literature across contexts of migration, social inequality, and cultural conflict, both within India and in the diaspora. Focusing on Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger (2008), Bapsi Sidhwa’s Water (2006), Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss (2006), and Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine (1989), the research explores how characters experience displacement, alienation, caste hierarchies, class disparities, and transnational mobility while continually seeking belonging and selfhood across shifting social and geographical spaces. These narratives depict diverse cultural settings—from the Bengali diaspora in the United States to identities shaped by caste, community ethics, and power structures within Indian society. Interpreted through the lens of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), the study analyses how ideas such as dharma, kinship, cultural memory, and community values shape individuals’ understanding of self and society. It also examines the tensions that arise when indigenous worldviews encounter global modernity, revealing how identity is negotiated between inherited traditions and transnational experiences. In this framework, “home” emerges not merely as a physical location but as a philosophical and civilizational idea that sustains resilience, meaning, and continuity. In alignment with the ethos of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the study further highlights forms of cultural self-reliance that emerge from IKS-based values. The characters’ journeys illustrate how self-making in conditions of mobility draws strength from indigenous ethics and memory, reflecting India’s broader aspiration to balance global engagement with civilizational rootedness.

Resurrection of the Feminine self: A Study of Structural and Thematic Analysis of the Cycle of Trauma and Rebirth in Kamala Das’ “Like a Phoenix I Rose from the Ashes of my Past”

2026-02-26T15:26:20+00:00

Through the essay “Like a Phoenix I Rose from the Ashes of my Past” taken from Kamala Das’ popular work My Story, the writer presents an autobiographical narrative of her failed marriage. The poetic introduction at the beginning of the essay depicts her inner conflict which blends well with the thematic elements of the essay. The paper involves a close analysis of the essay analyzing the fight-flight- freeze mode regarded as a trauma response and defense mechanism which she adopts to cope up with difficult situations in her married life. Kamala Das identifies herself with the ‘Phoenix’ from the title of the essay; as from being sick like a ‘moulting bird’, she still rises from the ashes. The writer goes through the cycle of flight, moulting (Shedding feathers) and resurrection which resembles the life cycle of the Phoenix. Finally, her prayers and intense devotion to Lord Krishna add a mystical note to the essay.

Sustaining the Forest Fringe: An Analysis of Livelihood Strategies and Socio-Ecological Resilience in Tribal Chhattisgarh

2026-02-26T15:30:58+00:00

Chhattisgarh, often referred to as the "Green Heart of India," possesses a unique socio-economic landscape where nearly 44% of its geographical area is under forest cover. This paper examines the complex interplay between forest-dependent communities and their livelihood strategies, focusing on the transition from traditional subsistence to market-integrated economies. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach involving qualitative field observations and quantitative secondary data analysis, the study explores how rural households in districts like Bastar and Surguja balance Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) collection, subsistence agriculture, and seasonal migration. The research highlights that while the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006 has provided a legal scaffold for sustainability, challenges such as climate variability, middleman exploitation, and depleting forest density remain significant hurdles. The findings suggest that livelihood sustainability in Chhattisgarh is currently "vulnerable" rather than “robust,” necessitating a shift toward community-led value addition and decentralized forest management. The paper concludes with policy recommendations aimed at bridging the gap between ecological conservation and economic security.

Freedom or Fantasy? Rethinking Choice and Pleasure in Postfeminist Narratives in Normal People and Othappu

2026-02-26T15:33:36+00:00

This paper examines postfeminist ideas of choice and pleasure in Normal People by Sally Rooney and Othappu by Sarah Joseph. Drawing on Rosalind Gill, Angela McRobbie, and Catherine Rottenberg, it explores how contemporary narratives frame empowerment as personal autonomy while remaining embedded in neoliberal and patriarchal structures. Marianne’s romantic self-fashioning and Margalitha’s moral departure from the convent reveal agency as negotiated rather than absolute. The paper argues that these texts portray empowerment as emotionally meaningful yet structurally limited, where freedom and regulation coexist within late capitalist and religious contexts, complicating simplistic celebrations of postfeminist choice and pleasure.

Effect of Bio-active Metabolites Secreted by Penicillium crustosum on the Germination and Early Seedling Growth of Parthenium hysterophorus

2026-02-26T15:36:20+00:00

Parthenium hysterophorus, commonly known as Congress grass or Gajar Ghas, is an invasive weed that poses a significant threat to agricultural productivity, livestock health, and native biodiversity. The present study evaluates the herbicidal potential of secondary metabolites secreted by the fungus Penicillium crustosum. The research utilized various concentrations (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of the cell-free culture filtrate (CF) of P. crustosum to observe its impact on the seed germination and early seedling growth of Parthenium. Results indicated a dose-dependent inhibitory effect, where 100% concentration of the filtrate resulted in complete (100%) germination failure. Furthermore, lower concentrations significantly reduced radical and plumule length and induced chlorosis in emerging seedlings. Biochemical analysis suggests that mycotoxins such as Penitrem-A and Roquefortine C, along with various organic acids, are the primary agents responsible for this phytotoxicity. This study concludes that the secretions of P. crustosum hold substantial promise as a natural, bio-based alternative to synthetic herbicides for managing Parthenium infestations.

Silence and Poetic Sensibility: A Mode of Transformation in the Poetry of Kamala Das and Momila Joshi

2026-03-03T06:35:15+00:00

Silence is in itself a very profound, psychological and grave characteristic that a writer transfers to his or her characters in order to protest the intolerable atmosphere of the social condition and its disturbing issues that creates predicament in the inner and outer development of the portrayed character. It is unsaid emotion, absence of voice that keep repressed in the unconscious mind but when it explodes brings about tremendous transformation in the self or the social construction. This paper is an attempt to focus the becoming of an icon in field of poetic world of different nations- India and Nepal. Kamala Das and Mormile Joshi employed this style in their poetry, but the former seems stronger than latter in use of it. Silence can be a powerful and rebellious. It is a form of resistance, oppression, and a mental attitude to consider someone as other that draws many critical perspectives. Simon de Beauvoir, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Michael Foucault and other critics as well opined on various ways a woman is subjugated and how this silence is manipulated in the patriarchal framework. Language is the most essential tool for communication and an inseparable organ of literature but the silence that results from want of words and language creates a sense of estrangement in the characters. The poet or writer resorts various poetic devices or say literary devices: pause, ellipsis, gaps, to expose unexpressed emotions and unuttered fluttering voice that a character as a human yearns for sharing.

The Politics of Intimacy: An Intersectional Analysis of Social Hierarchy in Geeli Puchhi and The Mirror

2026-03-08T02:08:14+00:00

This paper examines the politics of intimacy and how intimate relationships operate through social hierarchies of caste, class, gender, and sexuality in Neeraj Ghaywan’s Geeli Pucchi (2021) and Konkana Sen Sharma’s The Mirror (2023). Intimacy is often understood as a private discourse, insulated from political and social structures. Feminist scholarship has challenged this public/private dichotomy, arguing that the personal is always political. This paper examines how intimacy functions for characters who occupy the intersections of caste, class, gender, and sexuality and how those intersectional hierarchies control and regulate the terms and conditions of their intimacies. Drawing on Kimberle Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, Sharmila Rege’s framework of caste and gender as co-constitutive in the Indian context, and Sara Ahmed’s theory of the cultural politics of emotion, the paper argues that intimacy in both films is not a space outside social hierarchy but one of its primary sites of operation, where the reproduction of inequality is always structural.

Queering the Spiral: Ecological Disruptions and Fluid Identities in Junji Ito’s Uzumaki

2026-03-08T02:12:06+00:00

Queer ecology challenges heteronormative and anthropocentric constructions of the natural world by questioning fixed binaries and rethinking the idea of the “natural.” This paper applies queer ecological theory to Uzumaki, the horror manga by Junji Ito, set in Kurouzu-cho, where a spiral curse consumes residents through grotesque bodily transformations and environmental decay. The spiral functions as a disruptive force that collapses distinctions between human and non-human, male and female, natural and unnatural. Episodes such as the snail transformations, mushroom-linked infants, and entwined lovers illustrate the fluidity of identity within ecological systems. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s analysis of sexuality and power, Catriona Sandilands’ articulation of queer ecology, and Rachel Stein’s environmental justice perspective, this study argues that the spiral operates as a queer ecological agent, destabilizing compulsory heteronormativity and anthropocentric dominance while reimagining nature as a space of fluid coexistence.

Structure of Conjuncture: Synthesis of Art and Literature in Viswajyoti Ghosh’s Delhi Calm

2026-03-08T02:15:32+00:00

The paper examines how the structures of visual art combine with the discourses of history and literature to recreate the Emergency, particularly its impact on the urban landscape of Delhi, as presented in Delhi Calm by Vishwajyoti Ghosh. Graphic techniques incorporated in the novel have a seminal function in effectuating the designated meaning. The study places art in tandem with literature to critique society and individuals. Graphic narratives, through their meticulous depiction of scenes, highlight implied meanings and subtle nuances. The article highlights how graphic literature, unlike verbal literature, provides a close-up understanding of political figures in India, journalists, and the capital city of Delhi. Graphic novels offer rich possibilities for social criticism through their symbolic modes and patterns.

Across Languages, Across Struggles: The Disruptive Dynamics of Mahasweta Devi in Translation

2026-02-23T14:54:41+00:00

The world’s engagement with Mahasweta Devi’s (1926-2016) scholarship has, for the most part, been made possible through translation. A vast and varied body of articles, reviews, essays, memoirs, interviews, and critical writings on Devi’s works has emerged, enabled by the availability of her texts to readers worldwide through translation. For instance, scholars such as Gabrielle Collu, Jennifer Wenzel, Minoli Salgado, Tabish Khair, Lawrence Buell, and Rob Nixon have developed their critical perspectives on Devi solely through her works translated into English from Bengali. It is imperative, therefore, to delve into the chequered experiences of the translators themselves to get a full view of what Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak deems as the “usual ‘translator’s problems’” in her foreword in Breast Stories. During Devi’s lifetime, and even after her passing, numerous translators have produced versions of her works in both the regional languages of the subcontinent and in English. Whether for the readers’ convenience or their safety, they have frequently opted to place useful information in footnotes or endnotes. It is striking that nearly all translators of Devi have remarked on the distinctive linguistic plurality of her writing—a textured collage that blends, in Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s words, “literary Bengali, bureaucratic Bengali, tribal Bengali, and the languages of the tribals.” There is a natural celerity to Devi’s prose, with each dialectal leap and jolt sharpening the sense of relentless momentum. As no standard translation method can reproduce this momentum, Radha Chakravarty terms it the “dynamic disruptiveness” of Devi’s writing. This paper investigates how translators—focusing particularly on the translations of Devi’s works—navigate these disruptive dynamics and attempt to address Lawrence Venuti’s enduring question: “Can a translation ever communicate to its readers the understanding of the foreign text that foreign readers have?” (The Translation Studies Reader 473).

Carrying Life Through Loss: Pregnancy, Widowhood, and Maternal Vulnerability

2026-02-23T14:54:41+00:00

This paper attempts to explore the challenges of pregnancy and childbirth experienced by a widow, by analysing Alissa Torres’s graphic memoir, American Widow, published in 2008. Each woman navigates the challenges of widowhood distinctively, shaped through the dynamic interplay of physical, psychological, and socio- cultural factors. As a woman in third trimester of pregnancy, Alissa faced heightened vulnerability upon entering widowhood. As Andrea O’ Reilly argues, “the category of mother is distinct from the category of woman and that many of the problems mothers face- social, economic, political, cultural, psychological, and so forth- are specific to women’s role and identity as mothers” (42). This paper draws on feminist perspectives on motherhood to explore the diverse experiences of a pregnant widow.

The Feeling Child: A Study of Precarity in Pinto’s Em and the Big Hoom

2026-02-23T14:54:40+00:00

The paper examines childhood precarity in the novel Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto. It maps the vulnerable shades of childhood in a precarious family setting as portrayed in this domestic novel. The presence of the mother who is affected by manic depression in the family makes children susceptible to myriad feelings like insecurity, guilt and torment. The stigma, shame and silence in the domestic and public space render them vulnerable and emotionally fragile. The paper argues that the children in the narrative have a central role in balancing the unstable environment of their familial space. They assume the roles and responsibilities akin to that of an adult. They often act as the caregiver in the physical absence of the father figure for the mother who is mentally ill, the metaphorically absent mother. Em’s manic episodes and suicidal tendencies are skillfully handled by her son and daughter even when they are grappling to keep their emotions at bay. Her mood swings wound the children with deep and incisive bruises that become indelible scars for a lifetime. The children in their teens are perennially on the watch for Em and her suicidal tendencies, hence they tutor themselves to anticipate crisis. This hyper vigilance ruins the insouciant and carefree nature of adolescence. They are quick to don the cloak of adulthood as the direness of the precarious situation demands it. Their precarious lives are marked by a perennial watch on their mother and the unsafe space she inhabits. Thus the boundary between childhood and adulthood is eroded to a great extent.

Women as Ecological Subjects: Care and Political Ecology of War in Kristin Hannah’s The Women

2026-02-23T14:54:39+00:00

Through a close reading of The Women (2024), using the framework of feminist political ecology, this paper examines how women nurses, as ecological subjects in militaristic landscapes, come under institutional neglect, and how this neglect of their embodied experiences in war zones further renders their lives more vulnerable and precarious. It also studies how the emotional and ecological labour, care and maintenance offered by the women combat nurses is undervalued and masculine spectacular violence at war is privileged. It also analyses how women and men engaged in combat were perceived differently at their homes as well.

Of Dreamers and the Damned: A Posthuman Reading on Two Divergent Cinematic Journeys

2026-02-23T14:54:38+00:00

Posthumanism rejects the traditional concept of (hu)man, especially its anthropocentric view. Posthumanism as a movement in critical theory analyses the future as open or at least subject to human influence rather than accepting time as a cyclical or predetermined variable with a fixed endpoint. Through a comparative analysis of the movies, Interview with the Vampire (1994) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), this paper explores how posthumanism is represented in the cinematic universe from two disparate aspects. The research employs a close textual analysis to deconstruct each film’s narrative to construct a distinct vision of post humanism as it juxtaposes a feel-good drama and a gothic horror which represents two entirely different visions of dystopian and utopian futures respectively. The protagonist of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Walter Mitty is not being transposed of his human abilities or uniqueness but he undergoes a fundamental ontological redefinition. At the same time, the protagonist Louis from Interview with the Vampire, experiences alienation and existential loneliness in a highly humanistic world. While both works deal with the transcendence of human body and consciousness, Walter Mitty’s journey shows cognitive enhancement whereas Louis’s story reveals the dystopian outcome of self-annihilation. This paper examines posthumanism’s hope and horror through the comparative study of the movies and explores how the concept need not be necessarily optimistic or pessimistic, rather a mix of how the humans experience it, similar to life in a highly humanistic world.

‘The Yet Unknowing World’: The Many Worlds Unveiled by Hiroko Tanaka in Kamila Shamsie's Burnt Shadows

2026-02-23T14:54:37+00:00

This paper explores how Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows (2009) unravels the interwoven legacies of colonialism, environmental degradation, and transnational trauma through the life of its protagonist, Hiroko Tanaka. By tracing the intersections of war ecology, nuclear colonialism, and postcolonial violence, this study argues that environmental destruction constitutes a form of enduring imperial aggression. Shamsie’s narrative, spanning Japan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the United States, reveals how landscapes of war and displacement shape collective memory and ecological consciousness. The novel situates personal and planetary suffering within a shared moral framework, ultimately calling for a cosmopolitan ethics that unites environmental, social, and postcolonial justice.

Between Rescue and Rule: Anandan’s Identity Crisis in Anandabhadram

2026-02-23T14:54:35+00:00

This paper examines the character Anandan in the Malayalam film Anandabhadram as a figure caught in an acute identity crisis, functioning simultaneously as a savior and a colonizer within a postcolonial cultural landscape. While Anandan is narratively positioned as a reformist hero who rescues the oppressed and restores moral order, this study argues that his savior role is inseparable from the internalization of colonial power structures. His authority is derived not merely from compassion but from rationalism, education and epistemic superiority traits historically aligned with colonial dominance. This paper is trying to analyse the character “Anandan” in Anandabhadram who is having a hybrid identity and he is in an unconscious search for his single identity. According to Homi K Bhabha, if an individual is living in between two cultures, it is the result of hybridity and ambivalence. It can happen to both colonizer and colonized. In this film, the manifestation of both orient and occident culture culminates in an single individual which make him a victim of hybridity and ambivalence. The protagonist of this film fluctuates between two different worlds and this victimizes him. Frantz Fanon, a Postcolonial critic in his work Black Skin and White Mask says that, “In the world in which I travel, I am endlessely creating myself, and what left for an individual is his fragmented self”. The same thing happens in the life of Anandan, and what remains is his fragmented self. Anandan is a migrant, who is in an unconscious search for his identity. He is brought up as a hybrid person in foreign land. At the beginning of the film Gayatri Devi, Anandan’s mother is telling stories about her homeland to Anandan.

#ProudRa**i Digital Campaign: Gendered Slurs, Cultural Misogyny, and the Politics of Reappropriation

2026-02-23T14:54:34+00:00

The latter part of 2025 witnessed an intense discourse on India's social media around a campaign dubbed #ProudRandi, which rapidly swept across platforms, drawing significant attention to the politics of appropriation and the effectiveness of reclamation. This movement, started by a female psychologist, influencer and content creator, Divija Bhasin, stirred an intense debate around gendered slurs and reignited the discourse on the deep-rooted cultural misogyny ingrained in the Indian popular cultural psyche. The campaign made a valiant attempt to reappropriate one of the deeply misogynistic Hindi slurs, Randi, literally meaning prostitute, a derogatory term historically used to shame prostitutes, often casually used to sexualise, and insult women in general, and those who are nonconforming in particular. The campaign once again exposed the usual tension between women's empowerment narratives and the resistance they face from multifarious quarters, historically conditioned and often emboldened by the dominant narratives of the times. It also became a site of conflict between digital feminist narratives and the opposition they face from the old-age and new-age self-proclaimed custodians of morality and culture, reinforcing the idea that online spaces provide platforms for both challenging and fortifying gendered power dynamics, albeit with varying degrees of overall impact. Not surprisingly, the engagement it drew from the underage female community, who overwhelmingly expressed solidarity with the campaign, led to the filing of cases against the instigator under various sections, including POCSO. Ironically, this campaign was even accused of reinforcing the very misogynistic structures that it intended to challenge and dismantle. Combining the approaches of critical discourse analysis, social media content analysis, and public sentiment mapping, this research investigates how the aforementioned hashtag circulated, negotiated its connotations, and navigated backlashes. It examines why this movement generated significant support and how certain undercurrents in neo-liberal times propel such 'mini-revolutions'. The study maps this campaign onto broader debates on linguistic reclamation to understand how online gender politics, digital activism, and the reappropriation of gendered slurs play out in the current socio-political landscape. It presents a critical interpretation of the new-age dynamics of feminist politics in contemporary India, which is constrained by the structural and narratological paradigms of social media-driven discourse.

Adapting Popular Culture in Chetan Bhagat’s Half Girlfriend

2026-02-23T14:54:34+00:00

This paper analyses the representation of popular culture in Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat through the lenses of cultural hegemony and the culture industry. Set against the backdrop of globalized India, the novel reflects the aspirations, anxieties, and identity struggles of Indian youth, particularly in relation to class, language, and social mobility. Drawing on the theories of Theodor Adorno and Antonio Gramsci, the paper argues that the dominance of English-speaking elite culture in the novel represents a hegemonic structure that shapes individual consciousness and reinforces social hierarchies. Through the character of Madhav Jha, Bhagat portrays the internal conflict between regional identity and metropolitan sophistication. Madhav’s insecurity about his English fluency exposes how linguistic capital becomes a marker of superiority in contemporary India. At the same time, the novel itself operates within popular culture, using accessible language and relatable themes to engage mass readership. Ultimately, Half Girlfriend both reflects and critiques the cultural forces that shape modern Indian identity in a globalized world.

Who Owns The City? Spatial Violence and Migrant Precarity in Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light

2026-02-23T14:54:33+00:00

This research paper examines Payal Kapadia’s film All We Imagine as Light to reveal the spatial violence that characterizes capitalist urbanism. The study employs the theoretical lens of Henri Lefebvre’s concepts of the spatial triad, production of space, and the right to the city to reveal how the city of Mumbai is produced, controlled, and contested. Furthermore, the paper employs David Harvey’s formulation of “accumulation by dispossession” to reveal how urban development perpetuates exclusion and spatial violence. The research also interrogates the contradictions between the symbolic ideals of urban life and the material conditions of the marginalized. By doing so, the paper exposes the myth of Mumbai as the “city of dreams” and reveals the systemic inequalities embedded in the city. It also sheds light on the precarious existence of the migrants. The interdisciplinary approach, combining film analysis and urban studies, highlights the urgent need to rethink spatial rights in the rapidly transforming urban landscape of the Global South.

Grids of Hegemonic Control: The Coloniality of Power and Ecological Extraction in Contemporary Malayalam Cinema: A Study of Eko

2026-02-23T14:54:32+00:00

This study explores the intersections of postcolonial power dynamics, human subjugation, and environmental degradation as portrayed in the contemporary Malayalam film Eko by Dinjith Ayyathan. It sets the film within broader discourses of coloniality of power, describing how colonial hierarchies persist in postcolonial societies and postcolonial ecocriticism, which explores how power works on both human and non-human nature. The analysis focuses on three primary levels: the systemic marginalization of indigenous or rural subjects by a hegemonic elite, the psychological internalized coloniality within the protagonists, and the objectification of nature as a resource-rich "other" ripe for extraction. Analysing plot, character arcs, setting, and symbolic elements, this study proposes that Eko foregrounds the interplay of domination and resistance at interpersonal, social, and ecological levels. It reveals how relationships of control, whether between human characters or between humans and animals, reflect structural continuities from colonial domination into contemporary new world power structures. The film’s engagement with ecology, especially its use of the hill landscape and dogs, serves as a metaphor for resistance to hierarchical domination and offers insight into how contemporary Malayalam cinema negotiates postcolonial themes of authority, subjugation, and ecological ethics.

Environmental Crisis and Forced Mobility: Human and Non-Human Displacement in Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island

2026-02-23T14:54:31+00:00

This paper examines Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island (2019) as a captivating literary intervention into contemporary discourse on environmental crisis and forced mobility. Though the existing scholarship on climate-induced migration has largely focused on human displacement, the novel largely expands this framework by foregrounding the forced movement and habitat loss of non-human species. The paper argues that Ghosh challenges anthropocentric narratives of migration by situating human refugeehood within a broader multispecies ecology of displacement. Through myth, folklore, and contemporary realism, the novel expose how environmental crises destabilise traditional livelihoods, disrupt migratory routes of animals, and blur the boundaries between natural and political causes of mobility. By reading human and non-human displacements as intertwined, the study highlights Ghosh’s vision of planetary environmentalism, which calls for an ethical rethinking of responsibility, coexistence, and survival in the Anthropocene.

Fashioning Petrotopia: Environmental Crime in Oil Extractive Zones

2026-02-23T14:54:29+00:00

This paper examines the construction of “petrotopia” in global oil extractive zones through Linda Hogan’s Mean Spirit, Abdelrahman Munif’s Cities of Salt, and Helon Habila’s Oil on Water. Drawing on energy humanities and Rob Nixon’s concept of slow violence, it argues that petrofiction exposes oil territories as sacrifice zones shaped by environmental crime, racial injustice, and forced displacement. While the novels depict spectacular forms of petro-violence—murders, military repression, and militant resistance—they also foreground less visible ecological devastation such as poisoned water systems, habitat destruction, climate alteration, and psychological trauma. Across Oklahoma, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Niger Delta, oil capitalism transforms peripheral communities into disposable landscapes in the service of imperial and corporate power. The promise of oil wealth produces an illusion of prosperity, yet results in displacement, “displacement without moving,” and environmental desolation. By expanding the meaning of crime beyond individual acts to systemic ecological destruction, the paper contends that petrotopia represents not utopia but a dystopian order structured by extraction and sacrifice. Petrofiction thus makes visible the hidden violences of fossil-fuel modernity.

Cinematic Interventions: John Sayles’ Films as Critical Commentaries on Power and Social Inequality

2026-02-23T14:54:29+00:00

The study examines how the discourse of an era relates to wider systems of power and how it is intersected through the narrative genre of film. The key concern of the paper is the examination of forces within and through which people conduct and participate in the construction of power relations. American film maker John Sayles explores the intricate web of power dynamics in his films, revealing how social, economic, and cultural factors construct individual and collective experiences. This paper attempts to read how the institutional power structures such as corporations, governments, and the military, maintain control and exploit marginalized communities in the select films. The study also looks into how the characters are portrayed, navigating hierarchies, challenging dominant narratives, and resisting oppressive systems.

Skin to Fibre: Material Transformation and its Impact on Performance Practice in South Indian Percussion Instruments

2026-02-23T14:53:51+00:00

This paper investigates the shift from traditional animal skins and wood to synthetic alternatives in South Indian percussion instruments. Drawing from practitioner’s insights from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, the study analyzes how scarcity of traditional materials – due to competing industrial demand, conservation laws, and religious-political tensions- force artisans and performers to experiment with new materials. The research also highlights the intersectional nature of sonic identity, ritual purity, performance aesthetics, caste identity, and artisanal livelihood. While Tapetta Gullu performers have embraced louder materials to maintain spectator appeal, others like traditional Chenda performance in Kerala resist such changes, citing sonic inferiority and ritual contamination. Finally, this paper argues that the percussion instruments are not just for music and entertainment, rather they embody and reflect the surrounding social relations, and that their transformation reveals complex connections between cultural authenticity, religious practice, and the survival of marginalized artisanal communities in contemporary India.

An Analytical Approach to Nomenclature in NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names

2026-02-23T14:53:50+00:00

This paper studies the names used in NoViolet Bulawayo’s novel We Need New Names through textual analysis and literary onomastics. It also examines the significance of names and tries to understand how naming is used as a technique for narrating the story and analyses the absence of proper names for addressing the protagonist’s language and the country. Names are indisputably essential elements in the formation of a person’s identity, especially the given name and the place name. Names have the primary function of distinguishing one from other. Therefore, human beings give prime importance to naming as we can see in many naming ceremonies across the world, making it a universal process. The role names perceive in literature is studied by many like Iraida Gerus-Tarnawecky, Martyna Gibka, Esther Igwenyi, Kyallo Wadi Wamitila, et al. Many have also shown their interest in studying the meanings of names and the different types of meanings like David Blair, Livingstone Makondo, and Staffan Nyström. This paper reveals the role perceived by names and their meaning in the novel We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo.

Tales of Migration: Biopolitics and Human Geography in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s By The Sea

2026-02-23T14:53:49+00:00

This paper analyzes the biopolitical and human geography through the immigrant novel. There are lot of various sufferings of the central character and confusions in the country, that he faced in their own country and in the new land he arrived. This paper also discusses the sufferings by migration and it also seeks to find the behavior, law, politics, government and culture of the country he migrated to. Thus, in short biopolitics and human geography, the postcolonial theories will be studied in the light of displacement/migration.