Speaking with Nature : The Origins of Indian Environmentalism

By the canons of orthodox social science countries like India are not supposed to have an environmental consciousness- They are as it were 'too poor to be green'- In this deeply researched book Ramachandra Guha challenges this narrative by revealing a virtually unknown prehistory of the global movement set far outside Europe or America- Long before the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and well before climate change gained currency as a term ten remarkable individuals wrote with deep insight about the dangers of environmental abuse from within an Indian context- In strikingly contemporary language Rabindranath Tagore Radhakamal Mukerjee J-C- Kumarappa Patrick Geddes Albert and Gabrielle Howard Mira Verrier Elwin K-M- Munshi and M- Krishnan wrote about the forest and the wild soil and water urbanization and industrialization- Positing the idea of what Guha calls 'livelihood environmentalism' in contrast to the 'full-stomach environmentalism' of the affluent world these writers activists and scientists played a pioneering role in shaping global conversations about humanity's relationship with nature-