Colonial Exploitation and Neocolonial Developmentalism: A Postcolonial Ecocritical Study of Intizar Hussain's Basti

Abstract

Through the prism of postcolonial ecocritical theory, this research paper seeks to examine colonialism's commodification of nature, the environmental degradation at the hands of "ecological imperialism's" agenda of "developmentalism," and the environmental fallout of neocolonial militarism and wars in Intizar Hussain's critically acclaimed novel, Basti (2018). This paper combines Huggan and Tiffin's (2010) and DeLoughrey and Handley’s (2011) theoretical constructs on postcolonial ecocriticism to formulate an integrated theoretical lens for analyzing the novel. The research establishes that Basti (2007) highlights environmental degradation caused by colonial exploitation, the extinction of biodiversity, and the destruction of natural habitats. The novel articulates its ecological concerns by critically reflecting on the installation of electric poles in Rupnagar, the laying of railway lines, and the introduction of motorbikes during the colonial era. It aptly anticipates and maps out the environmental toll of developmentalism and modernization schemes, causing the destruction of natural landscapes and disruption of traditional organic lifeways. Furthermore, by foregrounding the ravages of war and the environmental toll of neocolonial militarism, the novel shows how colonial and neocolonial violence commodifies and destroys nature. It delineates landscape's transformation into a desolate wasteland as an adverse environmental impact of war. This research paves the way for groundbreaking future studies in Pakistani literature that can deepen our understanding of its ecological themes.