Imagining the Postmodern City: Urban Dystopia and Future Anxieties in Sarnath Banerjee’s All Quiet in Vikaspuri

Abstract

Sarnath Banerjee’s All Quiet in Vikaspuri (2015) presents a dystopian vision of Delhi shaped by water scarcity, ecological degradation and social fragmentation. While existing criticism has largely examined the graphic novel through the frameworks of climate fiction, environmental activism and water politics, the representation of the city as a postmodern dystopian space has received comparatively less attention. This paper explores how Banerjee constructs a futuristic urban landscape marked by uncertainty, disorder and the collapse of developmental ideals. Through a qualitative textual analysis of the graphic narrative, the study examines the intersections of urban dystopia, environmental crisis and postmodern anxieties. The paper argues that the fictional space of Vikaspuri functions as a critique of contemporary urban development, exposing the contradictions embedded within narratives of progress and modernisation. Water scarcity becomes not only an ecological problem but also a symbol of social disintegration and political failure. Banerjee’s use of visual satire, fragmented storytelling and speculative futurity enables a critical engagement with the challenges facing rapidly expanding metropolitan centres. By analysing the graphic novel within the broader contexts of postmodern urbanism and dystopian literature, the study demonstrates how All Quiet in Vikaspuri anticipates the social and environmental consequences of unchecked development. The paper contributes to emerging discussions on Indian graphic narratives and contemporary representations of urban futures.