Full Stomach Environmentalism - Speaking with Nature

Renowned historian and public intellectual Ramachandra Guha has captivated readers with his diverse body of work, ranging from cricket to modern Indian history. His acclaimed books, such as “A Corner of a Foreign Field”, delve into the social history of cricket in India, while “India After Gandhi” offers a comprehensive narrative of India's post-independence journey. Guha's latest work, “Speaking with Nature”, explores the contribution of ten eminent environmentalists, reflecting his enduring commitment to environmental issues and his ability to weave compelling narratives across various subjects. This book not only showcases his scholarly depth but also emphasizes the critical intersection of nature and society in contemporary discourse. Sudhirendar Sharma, who reviews this book for our readers, himself is a scholar in environmental sciences and holds a PhD from Jawaharlal University (JNU).

Full Stomach Environmentalism

Sudhirendar Sharma

Ramachandra Guha may not have done justice to the Indian Environmentalism in his recently published book 'Speaking with Nature'. For those (largely rural) who traditionally viewed 'nature' as a giver of services (natural), only expected saved/protected nature could extend uninterrupted supply of those services. While the Chipko that was borne out of the realization that 'trees' contributed to sustaining those services, its southern version (called the Appiko) serving the same purpose got excluded from the ecological history. Why the variety of response and tenacity of the (eco) service is not appreciated?

It was in the mid-1980s that the Appiko, a momentous event in the ecological history of the country, had reminded people about the virtues of protecting nature to keep the 'gateway to the monsoons' thriving with natural processes. Not only did this spontaneous social action led to a moratorium on green felling across the Sahyadri range of mountains, but the movement has also been the vanguard of ecological conservation ever since: from opposing a seventh dam on the Kali River in Karnataka to saving the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, from taking on the controversial ‘Nylon 66’ project in Goa, and to supporting the Chalakudy river conservation in Kerala. For Guha, it was 'full-stomach environmentalism' (led by the elite) much prevalent during late-70s and post-1980.

Though the legacy of most of the 10 eminent eco-historians (profiled in the book) remain lost in time, the issue of protecting the ecosystem that generates/protects livelihoods remain alive or at least remained so till the end-of-the-millennium. These individuals demonstrated a combination of love and caring attitude towards nature. Has such love and caring not been essential part of cultural-religious practices in the country for ages? Did the eco-historians ever rebuild those practices by strengthening the environment messages contained therein? As I write this, I do see Chhath festival (traditionally celebrated in Bihar) being celebrated in polluted rivers or stagnant muddies all across. The ritualistic value of such mass-based cultural events is socially accepted in most religious festivals, but the essential ecological messages remained lost.

While there has been an economic turnround in recent times, a shift toward 'full-stomach environmentalism' of the affluent seems apparent. With economy having taken a turnover, only the abject poor expect nature to give them the livelihood services. Rapid urbanization has transformed the country's demography. Environmentalism of the present needs a serious rethinking, as the past-environmentalism seems to have been outdated.

Guha himself acknowledges that air pollution is relentlessly increasing; most of our rivers are biologically dead; and the chemical contamination of soils remains extremely high. There is a gross political disregard to these issues because legacy of past-environmentalism hasn't contributed anything significant in this regard. Most rivers are in bad shape, and nobody seems concerned even if it flows next door as bottled water is easily available. Did environment consciousness ever address such transformations? Are there any footmarks of the past left for the others to step in?    

Even though climate change is not our creation, India finds itself in an environmental disaster zone. Guha raises it and questions the failure of the environment thinkers to forewarn it. The book offers the thoughts of eminent environmentalists to fertilize our minds, but the profiled minds in this volume have literally fell short of doing so. Not sure why historian E.P. Thompson had remarked "There is not a thought that is being thought in the West or East which is not active in some Indian mind."

Speaking with Nature

by Ramachandra Guha

Fourth Estate/HarperCollins, New Delhi

Extent: 406 pages, Price: Rs 799.

*Ten environmentalists profiled in the book are as follows : 1. Rabindranath Tagore 2. Radhakamal Mukerjee 3. J.C. Kumarappa 4. Patrick Geddes 5. Albert Howard 6. Gabrielle Howard 7. Madeleine/Mira 8. Verrier Elwin 9. K.M. Munshi 10. M. Krishnan

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*Sudhirendar Sharma is an independent writer, researcher and academic. He holds Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences.