Colonization of the Western Himalayas and the cultivation of Pine: A Literary Perspective

Abstract

Blessed with a plethora of flora and fauna including a diversity of geographical ranges, the western Himalayas have acquired a special space in the cultural landscape of the country. However, of late, there has been a negative impact of ‘modernisation’ on the sensitive ecosystem of these mountains with far-reaching consequences affecting the life of humans. The paper intends to identify certain changes in the cultural behaviour of the people thus affected by the process of colonization. The worldview affected by an extreme form of utilitarianism supported by a cultural imperialism with its ideological basis in the notion, that the “entire universe is thy territory”, is largely responsible for the cultural and environmental chaos in the region. By way of calculating the impact of colonization on geographical landscape of the Himalayas, we have examined the role of pine cultivation in the said region. The paper also highlights the importance of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in healing the wounds thus inflicted by “modernity”.