A movement in the making? Resistant perspectives from the Indian Himalayas

Abstract

Using the example of a recent youth environmental mobilization in the Western Indian Himalayas, this paper aims to contribute to the broader discourse on resistance, its forms, and prospects in South Asia today. The creative use of cultural repertoires, art forms, and (social) media through which these youth express their concerns challenges conventional framings of socioecological mobilization, such as ‘peasant’, ‘eco-feminist’, or ‘tribal’ resistance. While such conceptualizations remain compelling and necessary with respect to (post)colonial legacies and social justice claims, contemporary movements generate articulations and means of protest that probe the boundaries of such categorizations and ultimately, the scope of resistance itself. By negotiating their yet-to-be-written futures in ways that empower them to regain control over their lives, the youth discussed in this paper claim agency for change.