Ramachandra Guha’s latest book highlights early environmental thinkers of India

Ramachandra Guha discusses unique Indian environmentalism at book launch, highlighting practical resource management and grassroots movements.

Environmentalism in India is grounded in practical resource management and grassroots movements and has developed uniquely compared to the West, which tends to focus on aesthetic beauty and landscape preservation, said historian Ramachandra Guha at the launch of his latest book ‘Speaking with Nature’ in Chennai on Saturday.

Mr. Guha was in a conversation with AR Venkatachalapathy, Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, at the book launch organised by the Madras Book Club. In the book, he profiles 10 individuals whose work spans from the 1880s to the 1990s. These figures, while known for various contributions, shared a passion for environmental sustainability and social justice.

While many naturalists advocate strongly for nature, the thinkers in this book, including J.C. Kumarappa, a Gandhian economist, emphasise the importance of forest, soil, and water conservation for sustaining village life and agriculture in India. These thinkers do not simply speak “for” nature; instead, they incorporate social processes, which is why the book is titled ‘Speaking with Nature’, said Mr. Guha.

A two-decade project, the author’s later discoveries during the research for the book were the contributions of Rabindranath Tagore and K.M.Munshi to the history of environmentalism in India. He noted that while Tagore is often recognised for his aesthetic appreciation of nature, his environmentalism was also deeply educational, political, and prophetic. Similarly, Mr. Guha pointed out that Munshi, known as a novelist and politician, integrated his Hindu beliefs with environmental concerns.

When asked if he had missed any environmental thinker, Mr. Guha said he had to choose between Salim Ali, known as the Birdman of India, and naturalist M. Krishnan, but chose the latter as his work was wider. But, he said, another kind of a book, complimenting this, needs to document grassroots struggles in Indian environmentalism from the Chipko movement in 1973 to 2023, reflecting a broader social composition than the one in his book.