Climate Literacy in Education

Shadows of Progress:

Hydrofeminism and Environmental Injustice in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger

Golam Rabbani

Assistant Professor

Keywords: hydrofeminism, environmental degradation, feminist ecology, water justice, climate literature

Abstract

This essay explores environmental injustice in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger (2008) through the lens of hydrofeminism, a framework developed by Astrida Neimanis that connects water politics to feminist ethics and ecological critique. While Adiga’s novel is well-known for its criticism on class and corruption in modern India, it also highlights how ecological degradation intensifies gender-based inequalities under urbanization, caste oppression, and capitalist development. However, focusing on the rivers: Ganga and Yamuna, the polluted city and rural spaces, and the silent suffering of female characters like Balram’s mother, Kusum, and Pinky Madam, this paper argues how water becomes a medium for expressing structural inequality. Additionally, by situating this analysis within a pedagogical framework, it offers strategies for teaching climate justice and gender sensitivity through literature.