Abstract

Characterized by the indelible imprint of human domination, forced migrations have had a deleterious effect on both humans and the environment. The Partition of the Indian subcontinent which caused mass scale migration, led to the displaced being rehabilitated in camps set by the government, which were later turned into enclaves and colonies by the refugees themselves. This paper indulges in an engagement of the relationship between the refugees displaced from the present-day Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and their environment through an analysis of the text Eye Witness to the Degradation of Environment (2018) by Anmol Singh. The microspaces inhabited by the local events contribute to a global precarity as the constructed boundaries between the two begin to blur. The refugees’ negotiation with the pervasive precarity is examined through an emphasis on the enduring ramifications of localized phenomenon, establishing the exigency for a collective response.  

Keywords climate change, colonies, partition, precarity, refugee camps, slow violence