From Venice to the Sundarbans: Ecological Displacement and Climate Refugees in the Fictional World of Amitav Ghosh

Abstract

Environmental calamities have increased in frequency and severity due to climate change over the past few decades. One of the most alarming consequences of this escalating crisis is the loss of habitat for both humans and non-human species. For humans, this gradual yet relentless threat has affected livelihood, health, and well-being, leading to an ever-growing number of climate refugees in search of new homes. While the privileged nations of the Global North strive to safeguard their own interests, the Global South – with its socio-economic vulnerabilities and limited adaptive capacities – faces the most devastating impacts. In light of these ecological, geopolitical, and socio-economic realities, this paper examines Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (2004) and Gun Island (2019) as narratives that interrogate the global crisis of climate-induced displacement, which affects both human and non-human species. Through the interplay of myth, history, ecology, and a touch of surrealism, Ghosh constructs a fictional world that mirrors the moral and existential crises of the Anthropocene, urging readers to rethink the ethics of coexistence and survival in a rapidly changing world. Employing the critical frameworks of Ecocriticism, Postcolonial Studies, and Cultural Studies, the paper argues that Ghosh’s novels expose the asymmetrical politics of environmental vulnerability and foreground the interconnected suffering of humans and other species.