Green Pioneers

IN THE SPRING semester of 2020, I taught a foundation course for undergraduate students, titled ‘Environment, Politics, Society,’ aimed at introducing to them the key environmental ideas of our time. The syllabus featured prominent figures like Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, John Muir and Wendell Berry. One day, after class, a student approached me to discuss the syllabus and asked, “Who were the promi­nent Indian environmental thinkers in our past? ”

Although this wasn’t the student’s primary concern, it high­lighted an issue that had occasionally troubled me. Over the next few years, I sought to address this by incorporating the works of Indian thinkers such as Mahatma Gandhi, Madhav Gadgil, Anil Agarwal, and Vandana Shiva. Even though the environmental movement—if we consider the Chipko movement as a reference point—was over 50 years old, many environmental studies courses remained dominated by American and European thinkers.

This posed a significant gap. If the purpose of environmen­tal studies is to equip people to understand pressing environ­mental challenges in our own country, we were overlooking an essential part of the dialogue: the contributions of Indian thinkers, who, both under British rule and in an independent India, grappled with the complexities of human-nature relations in profound and multifaceted ways.

Ramachandra Guha’s book Speaking with Nature: The Origins of Indian Environmentalism offers an insightful response to a longstanding issue. It reflects his extensive academic journey as a historian and environmental writer, as he uncovers overlooked materials and revisits well-known sources from an environmen­tal perspective to craft new narratives of Indian environmental thought. The 10 thinkers featured in the book—Rabindranath Tagore, Radhakamal Mukerjee, JC Kumarappa, Patrick Geddes, Albert and Gabrielle Howard, Mira, Verrier Elwin, KM Munshi, and M Krishnan—were not hidden figures, yet it took someone like Guha to interpret their work through a fresh lens.

These individuals had much to say about nature, though not in the same manner as Henry David Thoreau or John Muir. They didn’t romanti­cise beauty or wilderness; instead, they focused on land, agriculture, villages, livelihoods, and urban landscapes, motivated by different concerns than their Euro-American counterparts. Their writings are filled with discussions on equity, social justice, peoples’ livelihood and the destructive impacts of development and industrialisation, often overshadowing their views on humanity’s connection to the natural world. Indeed, much of what they say about India and its destiny in the world makes sense only against a background of claims about society’s proper relationship to the natural world. For example, Tagore’s famous work Nationalism, which offers a sharp political critique of xenophobia and nationalist narrow-mindedness, can only be fully understood in light of his powerful ecological critique of industrialism and imperialism.

Speaking with Nature, from the introduction to the epilogue and throughout its nine chapters on various thinkers, is enriched by Guha’s thoughtful and at times critical reflections, inspiring in us a deeper appreciation for India’s contributions to global conversations about the natural world. His writing is so lucid and engaging that, as a brief reviewer, I am tempted to offer readers glimpses of a few in the hope that it will be widely read: the introduction, ‘Shades of Green’, profiles 10 thinkers spanning over a century of Indian history. Along with provid­ing a brief biography and tracing their intellectual journeys, the author places particular emphasis on their environmental ideas. These are thoughtfully woven alongside the environ­mental thinking of the Euro-American context of the time, of­fering a compelling contrast and comparison between the two.

These individuals didn’t romanticise beauty or wilderness; instead, they focused on land, agriculture, villages, livelihoods, and urban landscapes, motivated by different concerns than their Euro-American counterparts. Their writings are filled with discussions on equity and social justice

Share this on

In ‘The Myriad-Minded Environmentalist’, Tagore, described as “an unacknowledged founder of the modern In­dian environmental movement,” is portrayed as a deep lover of nature’s aesthetics, a critic of the destructive impact of modern machinery, technology, industry, and cities on both nature and humanity, and an environmental practitioner in the daily life of the two institutions he founded. The works of Radhakamal Mukerjee, recognised as both an ecological soci­ologist and ecological economist, highlight his understanding of the significance of the then relatively new science of ecology for the field of economics, as well as the importance of common property resources for the sustenance of the peasant economy. JC Kumarappa, Gandhi’s economist, was deeply concerned about the environmental excesses of industrial society. He was commit­ted to rebuilding India by revitalising village life, focusing on an “ecological program” that emphasised “soil maintenance, water conserva­tion, recycling, village forest rights, and the pro­tection of artisans”. Patrick Geddes, the Scottish internationalist, had much to say about Indian cities and ecology during his time in India. He advocated for sustainable town planning, emphasising the importance of water management, trees, resource conservation to reduce dependence on the hinterland, and recycling. Equally important, he championed ‘democracy’ in town planning, call­ing for public participation, opposing destruction and coercion, and advocating for the preservation of tradition and heritage.

Madeleine/Mira (titled ‘Gandhi’s Englishwoman’) was primarily focused on the rehabilitation of village economies. She raised concerns about large irrigation projects and artifi­cial fertilisers, stressing the vital role that trees and forests play in rural India. Additionally, she was one of the earliest voices to highlight critical issues related to development strategies in the Himalayas. KM Munshi, referred to as the first Hindutva environmentalist, is noteworthy for how Hindutva environ­mental politics—using sectarian Hindu religious narratives to promote nature con­servation—found early concrete expression in the 1950s. This took shape through the government-sponsored Vana Mahotsava initiative, even during the secular Prime Ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Guha’s Epilogue is a must-read, as he reflects on his choice of thinkers and their relevance in contemporary times, which are marked by immense environmental and cli­mate challenges. He asks whether his work as a historian is susceptible to ‘patriotism,’ ‘partisanship,’ ‘prescription,’ or a ‘search for the indigenous,’ and he answers by identify­ing ‘three key lessons’ we can draw from this lineage of Indian environmentalism: the pursuit of sustainable lifestyles, the connec­tion between the deepening of democracy and environmental sustainability, and greater attention to questions of social justice—“whether justice within nations, between nations, or across generations.”

This book undoubtedly enriches the intel­lectual history of environmental thought, making it both deeper and more geographi­cally inclusive. While rooted in its Indian context, it is not shaped by the dichotomy of Indian vs foreign origins, and thus can be seen as a valuable contribution to the global environmental discourse. Like any commit­ted historian, Guha makes deliberate choices based on his archives, research materials, and intellectual pursuits, which result in the se­lection of figures such as Tagore, Kumarappa, Elwin, and others like them. However, the strength of this careful curation and inter­pretation is that it does not close the door to further research in India’s social and political spheres. On the contrary, it opens new avenues for future work on figures from different political and ideological backgrounds.

In the semester of Monsoon 2024 (before the publication of this book), I recalled and mentioned Ramachandra Guha in a meeting, hoping to draw on his expertise to deepen our environ­mental studies. His latest book reminds me once again that, like the 10 thinkers he has unearthed from history, Guha’s environ­mental thought and publications remain as ground-breaking today as they were in the past.

About The Author

Mukul Sharma