Representing Nature and Environmental Crisis in Contemporary Pakistani English Novels: An Eco-Critical Analysis

Abstract

Contemporary Pakistani English fiction has increasingly engaged with ecological concerns, reflecting the intensification of environmental crises in South Asia. This article explores representations of nature, environmental degradation, and climate-related anxieties in selected Pakistani English novels through an eco-critical framework. It argues that nature in these narratives is not merely a symbolic or aesthetic construct but a site of socio-political contestation, ecological vulnerability, and historical injustice. Drawing upon eco-criticism, postcolonial ecocriticism, and Rob Nixon’s concept of “slow violence,” the study examines how environmental degradation is narrated in relation to urbanization, industrial expansion, climate instability, and socio-economic inequality. The analysis demonstrates that Pakistani English novels construct environmental crisis as both material and representational, where ecological breakdown is inseparable from issues of governance, class, and development. The study contributes to environmental humanities by situating Pakistani fiction within global eco-critical discourse.