Two seminal books, John Bellamy Foster, Brett Clark, and Richard York’s The Ecological Rift: Capitalism’s War on the Earth and John Bellamy Foster’s The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet suggest that the rift between humanity and nature must be analysed in its intertwining with other kinds of alienation, …
The Supreme Court of India has recently issued show cause notices to Medha Patkar, leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), and writer Arundati Roy for staging a demonstration outside the apex court gate on December 13, 2000, and shouting slogans against the court's decision on the Sardar Sarovar dam …
January 17, 2001. 6 pm. The long queue at Siri Fort, New Delhi, resembled those at film festivals where people stand for hours to catch a steamy, uncensored film. Except, in this case, the profile of the people waiting was different. Students, bureaucrats, academics, and, of course, socialites
I am indeed grateful to Coromandel Fertilisers Ltd for giving me an award instituted in the name of Norman Borlaug, an eminent scientist whose work has played a key role in improving India's food security. It is particularly a great honour for me to receive the award from the hands …
on december 10 , 2000, about one million people gathered on the banks of the Narmada, near Shukalteerath in Bharuch, Gujarat, to express gratitude towards the man who changed their lives, Pandurang Shastri Athavale, or Dada (elder brother), as he is fondly called, who turned 80. Athavale founded the social …
The rashes and burns on his scaly skin are not due to his advancing years. With red patches on his limbs and torso, this aged man is literally suffering from a two-year itch. His frail body stoops, overburdened not just with age but also the agony caused by his recalcitrant …
just whom would you vote for as the greatest Gandhian in the Indian sub-continent of the post-Independence era? Our vote will unhesitatingly go to the Pakistani social scientist Akhtar Hameed Khan, in whose memory social activists from all over Pakistan met on October 12, 2000, his first death anniversary in …
Rajaram Anand Rao Bhabkar is a man of few worldly possessions. A retired school master he lives in the Gundegaon village of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra. But Bhabkar Guruji, as he is popularly known is no ordinary man. He is a human bulldozer
One small village in Maharashtra is the teaching ground for five state governments today. Anna Saheb Hazare is the benevolent teacher. He teaches common sense. Rules of simple and sustainable living that the nation has learned to forget. Practices that have made Ralegan Siddhi an example for the numerous developmental …
the Dropadi Naari Niketan Shantikunj, spread over 300 hectares near the township of Didihat in Pithoragarh district of Uttar Pradesh's Kumaon region, is a repository of 120-odd species of plants, ranging from tall trees to small shrubs. About 2,200 metres above sea level, Shantikunj is a storehouse of various floral …
It was a real pleasure to go with President K R Narayanan to Hamirpura village. People always come to the Rashtrapati Bhawan estate to receive awards from the President. The fact that the President went to the village himself to honour it is a remarkable thing in itself. It is …
it was an event the villagers of Alwar district will not forget in a hurry. Four helicopters, numerous vehicles, a posse of policemen and 30,000-odd villagers had gathered in Hamirpura village in Thanagazi block of Alwar to welcome India's first citizen. And savour the fruits of their hard labour. The …
There was a time when people from other villagers were not interested in getting their daughters married to men from Guraiya village. They had a reason. During summer, the women were forced to carry drinking water from the river Bebas, three kilometres away. Now, it is the other way round. …
A tale of two villages There are about 600,000 villages in India. And perhaps as many kinds of environmental problems they face. It is easy to accept defeat. But Bhaonta-Kolyala did not it's an unusual ritual the villages of Bhaonta-Kolyala follow. Every year, they pour water into a johad - …
"The forest was dense till the 1960s," recalls Suryabhan Khorbade of Sayagata village in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district. During the British rule, people were allowed to enter the forests at their own will. But after Independence, when the forest department stepped in, there was a ban on access to the forests. …
Obensao Kikon (63) belongs to Wokha district in Nagaland. An :rdent jungle burner' at one time, his stint as the chairperson of the Market Federation of Nagaland changed his outlook. Thereafter, there has been no looking back. His 615-ha land in Wokha is full of teak and bamboo trees. He …
It is an oft-repeated story of dense forests being reduced to shrubs and coppice. In the case of Melaghar village in Sonmara subdivision, the 1971 Bangladesh war responsible for the wanton felling of the then abundant sal, teak and bamboo forests. A large number of refugees from across the border …
At the instance of the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh has been invited to inaugurate a workshop on community-based watershed management at the Second World Water Forum to be held in The Hague in March. The invitation comes in the wake of …
" this is a vital book. It will have far-reaching influence on Indian and global thinking. I am privileged in receiving it. I congratulate the Centre for Science and Environment (cse) and its director Anil Agarwal for bringing out this book and for sensitising the Indian government and the public …
pandit Punyadhar Jha, now over 80 years of age, believes in the proverbial saying "one tree is equal to 10 sons". In keeping with this belief he has planted over 10,000 trees in 66 years. Popularly known as Bol Bam, Jha lives in the Andhra Tharhi village in Madhubani district …
It is difficult to believe that a hardcore politician, who served as the state minister of industries for a decade, could have a "green" facet too. But, Tiameren Aier is one such person. In fact, people who work closely with him will vouchsafe for it. Owner of rubber and teak …
