Vernacular Futures: Reconfiguring the Posthuman in Contemporary Assamese Speculative Fiction through Homo Minuscula

The paper investigates posthuman themes in Santanoo Tamuly's Homo Minuscula (2023), a 20th-century Assamese science fiction anthology.It contextualizes Assamese science fiction in postcolonial Indian speculative literature along with its multilingual and multicultural origins.It uses posthumanist theory to examine complex connections among humans, nonhumans (including clones), and other species as co-evolving beings negotiating technological advancement.Stories like "Homo Minuscula" by Amulya Hazarika and "Livability" by Harekrishna Deka explore dystopia, human augmentation, and repositioning within this posthuman framework."Rasayan" and "The Returnee" explore the ethical and existential issues posed by medical augmentation of humans via technology.Furthermore, stories such as "The Cave" and "The Inseparable Hearts" also challenge traditional notions of speciesism and the hierarchical categorization of beings.This research investigates several stories like this that advocate Assamese Science Fiction's (ASF) contributions to posthumanist discourse and stimulate readers to engage with its thought-provoking narratives and observations on humanity's advancement.