Speciesism In The Hungry Tide, By Amitav Ghosh

As technology advances and our harmful effects on the planet are becoming obvious, humans are increasingly more self-aware than before. In order to combat the realization, we have rapidly developed conservation efforts and methods to protect endangered species. Unfortunately, our universal adaptation to “save” Earth’s species resulted in several devastating effects. The largest of which influences humans. This scenario is best observed in the Sundarbans, as expressed in The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. Speciesism, which is defined as the assumption of human superiority leading to animal exploitation, is practiced in the Western hemisphere, yet abandoned by Western scientists conserving Eastern species. Amitav Ghosh uses the novel as a medium to convey Western hypocrisy and comment on the situation. Amitav Ghosh presents us with Piya, a cultural anomaly. She is an anomaly because she appears to be …show more content…
In fact, its commentary is located within the title: the land is so dangerous and harsh, it consumes everything-- human and nonhuman alike. The Sundarbans does not care whether its next meal is human or nonhuman, for it does not practice speciesism. The environment’s stance is proven in “The Wave” as the hurricane takes Fokir’s life, as well as the lives of several nonhuman inhabitants. The Western hemisphere tends to practice human speciesism but fails to do so when an appealing animal is endangered in a remote, expendable location. Kanai expresses this in the quote: “‘Because it was people like you...who made a push to protect the wildlife here, without regard for the human costs...Indians of my class...have chosen to hide these costs...to curry favor with their Western patrons” (248-249). With this being stated, the book declares the people of the Sundarbans are viewed as expendable by Western