A STUDY OF SLOW VIOLENCE IN FERYAL ALI GAUHAR’S NO SPACE FOR FURTHER BURIALS

Abstract

The present research explores No Space for Further Burials by Feryal Ali Gauhar through the lens of Slow Violence developed by Rob Nixon. Slow violence refers to that kind of harm that is slow and may be hidden. The research focuses on two key aspects of the theory which are gradual and accumulative destruction and environmental violence as structural and invisible. The current research uses a qualitative research method and close textual reading. It argues that the novel does not presents war as immediate physical aggression but also as a continuing ecological crisis. Bloodshed in the story is not only gunshots or explosions. It also remains in broken ground, ductile burial, food insecurity and poor living conditions. The fact that there are more graves indicates the destruction that accumulates. The soil is drained and overused through the weight of constant death and exile. The environment is also depicted as a mute victim rather than merely a background. Meanwhile, there is environmental destruction that is associated with political and military systems that make people and land expendable. This damage is perceived as normal and it is usually unnoticed. The novel challenges this assumption that violence is something that occurs in spontaneous situations by highlighting how individuals and animals are becoming weaker over time. It also demonstrates the war as a process which is long and slow, transforming the communities and places through the residual decay.