Traditional land, postcolonial development, and indigenous ecocriticism in Esther Syiem’s poems

Abstract

ABSTRACT Traditional land is the source of subsistence and location of culture for the Khasi indigenous community of Meghalaya, India. During the post-Independence period, this community has been losing traditional land to development activities that are primarily infrastructural, such as road construction. The inconsiderate imposition of development without consultation with the community has resulted in the dispossession of traditional land and resources and the deprivation of traditional means of sustenance. Esther Syiem, a prominent Khasi poet, is concerned about the development initiatives that have put her culture in crisis. She questions such a development ideology that shows no concern for her community and exploits the physical environment of the Khasi Hills. This article analyses Syiem’s poems through the critical lens of indigenous ecocriticism. In doing so, it applies the key analytics of development aggression, unimagined community, and diffuse wars to unravel her representations of the indiscriminate imposition of infrastructural development on Khasis.