Ecocritical Representation of Karen Identity in the Andaman Islands in Shubhangi Swarup's Latitudes of Longing.

This research paper is an inquiry into the inclination of the two principal characters in Shubhangi Swarup's debut novel Latitudes of Longing to relate their own lives with the components of their respective ecological environment(s) that they come into contact with in the narrative. The plight of immigrants from India and Burma in the colonial Andaman Islands that the novelist implicitly and explicitly touches upon has prompted this research to be carried out through the perspective of postcolonial ecocriticism. Given that the Karen1 are a relatively recent population to be recognized as a separate community, another aim of this paper is to bring to light the sort of representation found by the Karen in contemporary novels, with respect to their treatment and perception of nature through the years of resettlement, rebellion and seeking an identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]