Environmental Movements of India: Chipko, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Navdanya

Description

In her detailed retelling of three iconic movements in India, Professor Emerita Krishna Mallick, PhD, gives hope to grassroots activists working toward environmental justice. Each movement deals with a different crisis and affected population: Chipko, famed for tree-hugging women in the Himalayan forest; Narmada, for villagers displaced by a massive dam; and Navdanya, for hundreds of thousands of farmers whose livelihoods were lost to a compact made by the Indian government and neoliberal purveyors of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Relentlessly researched, Environmental Movements of India: Chipko, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Navdanya presents these movements in a framework that explores Hindu Vedic wisdom, as well as Development Ethics, Global Environment Ethics, Feminist Care Ethics, and the Capability Approach. At a moment when the climate threatens populations who live closest to nature – and depend upon its fodder for heat, its water for life, and its seeds for food – Mallick shows how nonviolent action can give poor people an effective voice. Cover Table of Contents Acknowledgments Foreword Frances Moore Lappé Glossary Introduction Three Grassroots Movements That Made a Global Impact Principles of Environmental Philosophy (1) Environmental Justice (2) Intergenerational Equality (3) Respect for Nature 1. Historical and Cultural Contexts in India 1.1 ‘Legal’ Destruction of India’s Forests 1.1.1 Acts Spark Peasant Protests 1.2 A Cultural Leader Emerges 1.2.1 Nonviolence and Gandhi’s Truth 1.2.2 How Chipko Followed Hinduism through Gandhi 1.2.3 How NBA Followed Hinduism through Gandhi 1.2.4 How Navdanya Followed Hinduism through Gandhi 1.2.5 Ecology and Social Justice 1.3 Conclusion Works Cited 2. Chipko (Hug the Trees) Movement 2.1 A Physical Act of Survival 2.1.1 Sacred Texts and Social Justice 2.2 Preconditions and Formation of the Chipko Movement 2.2.1 Workers Organize for Nonviolent Action 2.2.2 Suffering by Means of Fasting and Foot March 2.3 Laudable Leaders 2.3.1 Women’s Role in the Chipko Movement 2.4 Critical Reception of the Chipko Movement 2.4.1 Questions about Chipko’s Popularity and Success 2.5 Conclusion Works Cited 3. Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA): Save the Narmada 3.1 The Common Good in a Cost-Benefit Analysis 3.1.1 A Recursive History of Dam-Building 3.2 Regional Tensions from the Start 3.2.1 Amid Unrest, NGOs Align to Form NBA 3.2.2 National and Global Ramifications 3.3 Gender and the Narmada Case 3.3.1 Roles for Displaced Women 3.4 Gendered Dimensions of Neoliberal Capitalist Development 3.5 Reasons for the Success of the NBA 3.6 Conclusion Works Cited 4. Navdanya (Nine Seeds) Movement 4.1 The Terrible Human Toll of GM Crops 4.1.1 Shifting Economics 4.2 Emergence of Anti-GM Movements 4.2.1 KRRS: Fiery Fields of Protest 4.2.2 Gene Campaign: Secure Food and Climate 4.2.3 Navdanya’s Holistic Approach 4.3 Food Sovereignty 4.3.1 Biodiverse Organic Farming 4.4 Biodiversity and Climate Change 4.4.1 Entrepreneurial Renewal 4.5 Navdanya and Social Justice 4.5.1 Civil Disobedience 4.5.2 Human Right to Food 4.5.3 Protecting the Global South 4.6 Shiva’s View of Earth Democracy 4.7 Genetically Modified Crops and the Future 4.8 Conclusion Works Cited 5. Moral Implications of Environmental Movements 5.1 The Mesmerizing Power of Nonviolence 5.1.1 An Ecological Warrior 5.1.2 Truth at All Costs 5.2 Defining Views of Globalism 5.2.1 Technological Prowess 5.3 Core Values of Development Ethics 5.3.1 Environmental Justice for All 5.4 Ecofeminism: Ethics of Mutual Care and Connection 5.4.1 Ecofeminist Roots in the Chipko Movement 5.4.2 Southern Materialist Ecofeminism 5.5 Conclusion Works Cited 6. Hindu Ethics and Ecology 6.1 Historical Background of Hinduism 6.2 Comparison of Hindu Dharma and Ethics in the West 6.2.1 The Gita and Dharma 6.2.2 The Ramayana and Dharma 6.2.3 The Yogasutra and Dharma 6.3 Hindu Dharma, Ecology, and Sustainability 6.3.1 Hindu Dharma and Applications in Ecologically Sustainable Development 6.4 Ways Hindus Connect to Nature 6.5 Influence of Symbolic Traditions on Some Environmental Cases 6.6 Is Hinduism Eco-Friendly? 6.7 Influence of Hinduism and Other Literature on Gandhi 6.8 Conclusion Works Cited Conclusion The Symbiosis of Natural Resources and Local Needs Theoretical Views of the Global South Global Environmental Theory Feminist Care Ethics The Capabilities Approach Ethics of Nonviolence Works Cited Index