Ecofeminism is one of the branches of the feminism and it examines and depicts the link between women and nature. In order to preserve the mother Earth, it is important to achieve the goals of sustainable development. But for this it is important to bring gender equality in our society because this goal cannot be achieved without the contribution of women. ‘Gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls’ has also been included by UN as one of the main Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its 2030 agenda. Ecofeminist mainly developed this concept of ecofeminism by developing the link between the women and the nature. This paper mainly analysis the concept of ecofeminism and sustainable development in RK Narayan’s “A tiger for Malgudi” and Munshi Premchand’s “Nirmala.” This paper has further dealt with the question of contribution of women in sustainable development and protection of the nature. It also puts light on how the women are changing and developing with the time and how they are becoming independent and contributing in almost every field. The conclusion deals with the development of the concept of ecofeminism and role of authors like RK Narayan and Munshi Premchand in it and also highlight few examples of women contribution in sustainable development.

Literature Review of RK Narayan’s “A Tiger for Malgudi”

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Iyer Narayanaswamy (RK Narayana) was a famous Indian writer, known for his collection of works and writings set in the fictional town of Malgudi in South India. He was one of the most eminent and famous writers of early Indian literature.

“A Tiger for Malgudi” is one of the famous works of Indian author R.K. Narayan. The book is written from the perspective of a tiger named Raja, who in his elderly stage recounts his life, while being in an exhibit in the Malgudi zoo.

By personifying Raja, the novel elevates the experiences and emotions of animals, which are often neglected by their captors, thereby promoting a culture of nonviolence between humans and animals. The novel tries to present the selfish nature of human with the help of the character of “captain” who tortures and exploits Raja for his benefit. Raja, the main character of the story, has seen a lot of ups and downs in his life and he recalls how the other animals in jungle were used to afraid of him. He established his dominance over them and he punishes other animals if they don’t respect him. when his supremacy was challenged by a tigress, he fought with her but on the advice of a jackal he became her mate. But the incident of killing of his family by the hunters devastated him and he developed as a beast and started attacking the villagers. Terrified by Raja, the villagers approached the authorities but Raja was then caught by “Captain” who was a circus owner and he used Raja as a source of income. Distressed by the torture of Captain he accidently killed him and escaped from his grasp. Then he reached in a city but now he was more interested in enjoying his freedom rather than killing and terrifying people. He went to a school and slept quietly in headmaster’s office then he met the person whom he called “master.” After this incident Raja’s life was completely changed. Master taught Raja a lot new things and now he has completely changed. They both travelled together and spread the message of non-violence. Finally, they reached the mountains and make their home in a cave.

As Raja has grown older it became difficult for him to hunt and survive on his own that’s why the master called a Zookeeper who promised to take care of Raja and then master asked Raja to go with him to the Zoo and make children and other people happy. At the end of the novel, they both part ways and master told him that after this life their spirits will meet again.

The novel “A Tiger for Malgudi” beautifully shows a companionship between a human and an animal and it also beautifully portrays the spiritual journey of both of them and gives a message of non-violence and freedom.

Literature Review of Munshi Prem Chand’s Novel “Nirmala”:

Munshi Premchand was one of India's independent, bold, and progressive writers. He always raised social issues and focused on the lives of common people. Through his book “Nirmala” he raised women's issues in a highly conservative society, regardless of the consequences. This novel has beautifully presented the evils such as dowry, child marriage, sexual harassment, subjugation of women etc., prevailing in our society. Premchand said it was written with the specific purpose of exposing one particular Social Evil, namely “UN EQUAL MARRIAGES” i.e. marriages between old men and girls young enough to be their daughters.[5] Munshi Perm Chand has strongly presented his opinions that women are the central pillar of Indian society and the foundation of the entire structure of Indian society. Nirmala was first published in twelve parts between November 1925 and November 1926 in Chand magazine. It was a huge success and is still studied today as one of the canonical texts of Indian literature. It is a kind of revolutionary social novel.

“Munshi Premchand’s Nirmala, first published in 1928 is a touching tale of a sixteen- year- old girl whose life is bartered by the very hands of fate when she is made to marry an aged widower – a matchless match.”[6]

This novel depicts the story of many women caught in a prison of this patriarchal society. It revolves around the main female character named Nirmala. It depicts how her unfortunate fate and the patriarchal mindset of the other characters of the story led her into a forced marriage with a man who is almost double of her age. This breaks the dreams of her of having a happy romantic and peaceful married life. She was married at the age of sixteen with the person named Totaram who was around forty and had three children. Nirmala is shown as a typical woman of soft heart who accepted her fate. After this marriage she had no attraction or affection for her husband but she has been portrayed as a good mother who developed good relations with her stepsons. Totaram’s eldest son Mansaram was of her age and she used to learn English from him and enjoyed his company. They had no attraction towards each other but their bond sown the seeds of doubt in her husband’s mind so he decided to send his son to hostel. Due to his father’s groundless and distorted thinking Mansaram felt ashamed and he lost all his interest in life and eventually he died. This incident shattered his father and after this gradually he lost all his three sons two by death and one has renounced the world and became a monk. Nirmala gave birth to a girl child but Totaram blamed her for his bad condition and said:

“Get out of my sight or I won’t be answerable for what I do! All this is your doing. It’s entirely because of you that I have been reduced to this condition. Was this the state of my home six years ago? You have destroyed my well-established home, uprooted my flourishing garden... I didn’t bring you into this house to have my whole world destroyed. I wanted to make my happy existence even happier. And this is the price I am paying.”[7]

One more horrified incident took place in Nirmala’s life which shattered her, one day her friend’s husband tried to sexually exploit her but he was red handed caught by his wife Sudha and due to shame he committed suicide. At the end of the story, she died and finally get liberated from her pathetic and wretched life.

This book awfully depicts the social evils of society against the women and describes how a woman is exploited and blamed for the situation that the males are facing in the family.

Analysis of role played by women for sustainable development

Sustainable development means the moving towards the development and meet the need of present without compromising the needs of the future generation. It mainly talks about thoughtful use of natural resources available instead of its exploitation which also results in environmental degradation. Sustainable development depends on the fair distribution of natural resources for today and for the future. It cannot be achieved without gender equality. Women’s empowerment is a key factor for achieving sustainable economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability.[8] Michelle Obama once said, “no country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens”.[9] The goal of sustainable development cannot be achieved without the half of the population of the world and for that gender equality is important.

Attaining full gender equality globally can increase the world GDP by up to USD 28 trillion by 2025. Even the United Nations has included ‘gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls’ as one of the main Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its 2030 agenda.[10] Women play a central role in environmental sustainability and natural resource management. They are the primary carers and providers of food and water, women have traditional knowledge and expertise in sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation and renewable energy practices because women in rural areas spend most of their time in activities like agriculture, collecting woods for fuel, water etc. in order to effectively implement the sustainable practices and deal with the problem of climate change women’s participation in decision making is necessary.

Nature and women are way more similar to each other so women can have better understanding of the nature and natural resources and can help in decision making in order to protect the environment. Today is the time to change the age-old patriarchal mindset of the male dominated society so that both women and nature can be protected from being exploited. There are many Indian women writers who have written on the concept of ecofeminism such as “Nectar in a sieve” (1954) by Kamala Markandya, “Fire on the Mountain” (1977) by Anita Desai, “A Riversutra” (1993) by Gita Mehta, “The God of Small Things” (1997) by Arundhati Roy, “Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development” (1988), by Vandana Shiva, “Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her” (1978), by Susan Griffin, “How Women Can Save The Planet” (2021), by Anne Karpf and many more books and writers are there.

Though the characters of novels of both R.K. Narayan and Munshi Premchand have not done any rule breaking thing or have brought any significant change but still the impact of those cannot be ignored. Both has portrayed women as a traditional Indian woman full of love and motherhood, caught in the web of patriarchal society, struggling and fighting against the norms and rules of the orthodox society.

In “The Dark Room” R.K Narayan has portrayed two contrasting female characters Savitri, a traditional Indian house wife and Shanta Bai, a woman with modern values and thoughts. Savitri took stand against her husband’s behaviour and she left the home, this shows her way or revolting against the orthodox patriarchy prevailing in Indian society. The character Rosie in R.K Narayan’s “The Guide” is quite like Savitri but unlike Savitri Rosie is a woman with strong will and thought after facing the deception from the love of her life Raju she decided to lead her own life and not to be a mere puppet at the hands of her husband. Daise in “The Painter of Signs” is very different from the female characters of R.K Narayan in other novels. Unlike others who are engaged in their own struggle against the societal taboos and restrictions, she is an example of modern women who believes in making her own decisions and lives her life for herself.

Munshi Premchand was one of the eminent writers in Hindi Literature. His female characters are more related to the traditional Indian woman who is humble, polite, has quality of acceptance and sacrifice etc. Gangi in “Thakur ka Kaun” is one of the most famous characters of his novels. She is a Dalit woman who breaks the exploiting norms of untouchability prevailed in Indian society and get water for her ill husband from the well. She is a courageous woman. Suman in “Sevasadan” follows her path and choose a profession by her choice even after the societal pressure. Dhania from “Godan” who is wife of Hari is portrayed as a strong character. She fights against the injustice in the society, goes against the wish of her husband and help the needy. She is a bold woman having determination to fight against the evil.

Thus, bot the writers have portrayed woman as a strong character in their own way. Women are eligible to play any role and they can handle any responsibility cast on them. With their ability to have balance between the personal and professional life and feeling of empathy they can make better decisions. Therefore, women can play a major role in environment protection and sustainable development.

Ecofeminism has developed as a new branch of feminism and many writes have contributed in its development through their writings. RK Narayan has portrayed the subjugation of animals by the human beings and it is somewhere related to the condition of women in patriarchal society. In Munshi Premchand’s novel he has shown the societal evils against women. But now a days the scenario has changed to some extent and women are becoming aware about their rights and taking their own decisions. Many women have contributed in the protection and preservation of the environment one of the biggest examples are the women of Tehiri Garhwal who played an important role not only as participants but also as the leaders and strategist in the Chipko movement and one another example is  Saalumarada Thimmakka, also known as “Mata Thimmakka” or “Mother of Trees,” she has planted more than eight thousand trees and continues the tree plantation campaign at the age of 112 years. She has been awarded with Padma Shiri for her contribution. There many more examples of women’s contribution for preservation of the nature.

1. Chanda Priyanka. “Ecofeminism in Indian English Fiction.” International Journal of Educational Research and Technology. https://soeagra.com/ijert/ijertmarch2014/8.pdf

2. Sharnappa, Patil Sangita. “Reconstructing ecofeminism: A study of Kamala Markandaya’s nectar in a sieve.” Claudia Alvares (Reviewing Editor) (2016), Cogent Social Sciences, 2:1, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2016.1243772

3. Mannan, A.K.M. Masudul. “A Critical Study of The Man-Eater of Malgudi from Ecofeminist Perspectives.” British Journal of Arts and Humanities. ISSN: 2663-7782 (Online) & 2663-7774 (Print) https://doi.org/10.34104/bjah.0210970102

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5. Dr. Selvi.L.Thillai. “Socialism Depicted In Munshi Premchand’s Novel Nirmala.” https://www.academia.edu/34483911/SOCIALISM_DEPICTED_IN_MUNSHI_PREMCHANDS_NOVEL_NIRMALA

6. Ahmed Farooq. “Munshi Premchand’s Nirmala as a Symbol of Female Predicament.” [VOLUME 5 I ISSUE 3 I JULY – SEPT 2018] e ISSN 2348 –1269, Print ISSN 2349-5138. http://ijrar.com/ Cosmos Impact Factor 4.236

7. (Nirmala, p 181) Premchand, Munshi. (1999). Nirmala. Translated, and with an Afterword, by Alok Rai (Oxford University Press

8. Kumar Arvind. Women and sustainable development - Women’s empowerment is a key factor for achieving sustainable economic growth. 13 May 2012. https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/women-and- sustainable-development-womens-empowerment-key-factor-achieving-sustainable

9. Anand Priyanka. “Role of women is integral to a sustainable future.” Times of India. March 9, 2022. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/role-of-women-is-integral-to-a-sustainable-future/

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