Negotiating for tomorrow: Co-creating the future in the Indian Himalayas

Abstract (English)

Environmental conflict takes place within frames of reference and expression. The narratives and imaginaries used by those involved do not emerge from nowhere, but build on existing legacies and socio-cultural registers. At the same time, they are constantly in flux, depending on who is mobilizing and from what societal, political, regional, or generational positionality, to name just a few intersecting referential dimensions. Using the example of a recent youth environmental mobilization in the western Indian Himalayas, this paper examines the ‘horizon work’ (Petryna 2022) of these youth in the face of an existential ecological threat and a perceived identity crisis. The mobilization, which takes place in no small part in the digital realm, gains currency and transhistorical legacy through its participants’ creative play with different cultural repertoires and art forms, opening up new spaces for protest and its reception, and challenging one-dimensional readings of cultural identity and belonging. Unlike a definite vision of the future, ‘horizoning’ involves constant negotiation and potential reconsideration. As a continuous learning process, horizoning proves to be an ethical practice in itself, as it does not essentialize political positions and ideologies, but remains open to reflection, trial, and error. Reception – and the learning experience that reception triggers - plays a key role here, as dialogic interaction on the ground and in social media constantly elicits responses that can change situationally and contribute to adjustments within the mobilization itself. In an increasingly stifling political environment, such a practice could be read as a strategy beyond purpose, a tactic without fixed rules, an urgency without compulsion - and a way of negotiating a common future that is not yet final.