The Precarious Conditions: Anthropocene and Transformed Human Nonhuman Relations

Abstract

This paper discusses the transformed human (fishermen) and nonhuman (dogs) relations; dogs being the most feared animal in past to dogs as companion species today at Manchar Lake. The Lake is one of the oldest and largest freshwater lakes of South Asia, located in Sindh Pakistan, and is degrading for last more than two decades due to a development project called Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD), which drains industrial, agricultural, and domestic affluent in the lake. In past, when lake was flourishing, fishermen had very few occasions to come on land hence very few chances of interaction with dogs; they would run back to boathouses if ever come in contact with dogs. Now, living on banks, they need dogs as their companion, to protect domesticated animals from other dogs, jackals and tomcats who roam around and runaway in eastern mountains after killing a goat, hen or domesticated waterfowls. This transformed relations shed light on how human life is entangled with other species that they need help of nonhuman Other for survival. This paper is result of ethnographic fieldwork conducted during June 2015 to March 2017 with fishermen community of Manchar Lake.