Ecocriticism, as a separate school of literary criticism, emerged during the 1970s to study the interconnection between literature and ecology from an interdisciplinary perspective. Deep ecology is one of the key concepts in ecocritical studies, advocated by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess, that foregrounds the promotion of ecological consciousness among the human community. The deep ecological principles also highlight the depletion of natural resources through excessive human interference and exploitative attitudes. This paper attempts to critically examine the deep ecological principles in Anuradha Roy's novel All the Lives We Never Lived (2018). Anuradha Roy is an Indian novelist, editor, and journalist, and her novels gained significance not only in India but also in several countries, making her one of the prominent voices of contemporary Indian Literature. This paper explores the need for humans to realise the inherent values of the non-human world and to promote harmonious coexistence with the environment by valuing the richness and diversity of life forms and utilising them only to satisfy their vital needs. It further examines the need for a decrease in population for non-human life to flourish and to reduce excessive human interference with the ecosystem. This paper reiterates the necessity to adhere to each deep ecological principle, accentuating the significant, transformative changes to be embraced to promote environmental responsibility for sustainable living. These aspects are elucidated through relevant instances from the chosen novel.

Keywords: Deep ecology; ecological consciousness; inherent value; harmonious coexistence; sustainable living

Attfield, R. (2018). Environmental ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Augustus, K., & Gnanadurai, C. (2023). An Explication of Anthropogenic Climate Change in Anuradha Roy’s

An Atlas of Impossible Longing. Journal of Law and Sustainable Development, 11(9), e1263. https://doi.org/10.55908/sdgs.v11i9.1263

Barry, P. (2017). Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester University Press.

Biderci Dinç, D. (2023). Anthropocentrism and Nature in an Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Social Sciences Studies Journal, 9(115), 8249-8255. http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/sssj.723

Buell, L. (2005). The Future of Environmental Criticism: Environmental Crisis and Literary Imagination. Wiley-Blackwell.

Capra, F. (1987). Deep ecology: A New Paradigm. Earth Island Journal, 2(4), 27-30. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43877003

Clark, T. (2011). The Cambridge Introduction to Literature and the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511976261

Cohen, M. P. (2004). Blues in the Green: Ecocriticism under Critique. Environmental History, 9(1), 9–36. https://doi.org/10.2307/3985943

Devall, B. (1980). The deep ecology movement. Natural Resources Journal, 20(2), 299-322. https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2860&context=nrj

Drengson, A. R. (1987). A Critique of Deep Ecology? Response to William Grey. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 4(2), 223–227. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24353669

Garrard, G. (2012). Ecocriticism. 2nd ed., Routledge.

Hay, P. (2002). A companion to environmental thought. Rawat Publications.

Heise, U. K. (2006). The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Ecocriticism. PMLA, 121(2), 503–516. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25486328

Hess, M., Glotfelty, C., & Fromm, H. (1996). The Ecocriticism Reader. South Atlantic Review, 62(1), 150. https://doi.org/10.2307/3201210

Glotfelty, C. (1996). Introduction: Literary studies in an age of environmental crisis. In C. Glotfelty & H. Fromm (Eds.), The ecocriticism reader: Landmarks in literary ecology (pp. xv-xxxvi). University of Georgia Press. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5441df7ee4b02f59465d2869/t/58f2e4eabf629a9dbf74f538/1492313328327/The+Ecocriticism+Reader+introduction.pdf

Luke, T. W. (2002). Deep ecology: Living as if nature mattered. Organisation and Environment, 15(2), 178-186. https://doi.org/10.1177/10826602015002005

Lynch, T. (1996). Deep Ecology as an Aesthetic Movement. Environmental Values, 5(2), 147–160. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30301493

Meeker, J. W. (1974). The comedy of survival: Studies in literary ecology. Scribner, New York.

Meeker, J. W. (1980). The comedy of survival: In search of an environmental ethic. Guild of Tutor Press, Los Angeles, California.

Naess, A. (2008). “The Long-range deep ecology movement.” Ecology of Wisdom: Writings by Arne Naess, edited by Alan Drengson and Bill Devall, Counterpoint Press.

Nayar, P. K. (2010). Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory: From Structuralism To Ecocriticism. Pearson Education India.

Oppermann, S. (2006). Theorizing Ecocriticism: Toward a Postmodern Ecocritical Practice. Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, 13(2), 103–128. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44070262.

Pachkawade, D. (2021). Deep Ecological Reading of Mahasweta Devi’s The Book of the Huize: An Eco Conscious Approach. IAFOR Journal of Arts & Humanities, 8(1), 73-81.

Pal, S., & Pannikot, D. (2023). Ecological crises of the Capitalocene: A study on Colleen Murphy’s The Breathing Hole. 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 29(3), 27-39. https://doi.org/10.17576/3l-2023-2903-03

Pavithran, H., & Sivakami, B. (2023). Exploring Ecosophical tenets of Posthumanism through O.V Vijayan’s The Infinity of Grace. 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 29(4), 129-141. https://doi.org/10.17576/3l-2023-2904-09

Poornima, K. (2018). Interrogating ecofeminism in the select novels of Anita Desai Namita Gokhale Kiran Desai and Anuradha Roy. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Mysore] Shodhganga. http://hdl.handle.net/10603/264051

Rabani, G., & Mishra, B. (2023). Andaman Island and the Historicity of Colonial Violence: An ecocritical study of Uzma Aslam Khan’s miraculous true history of Nomi Ali. 3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 29(2), 57-69. https://doi.org/10.17576/3l-2023-2902-05

Roy, A. (2018). All the Lives We Never Lived. Hachette UK.

Sandhya, G. (2018). Deep Ecological Perspective: Metaphysical Holism in the Novels of Amitav Ghosh. Smart Moves Journal Ijellh, 6(1), 127-144.

Sessions, G., & Devall, B. (1985). Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered. Gibbs Smith.