Assignment Code: BHIE-143/ASST/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: BHIE-143

Assignment Name: History of Environment

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

There are three Sections in the Assignment. You have to answer all questions in the Sections. Marks are indicated in front of each question.

Section-1

Answer in about 500 words each. 20x2

Q1) What do you understand by the term ‘Ecofeminism’? Elucidate with particular reference to Ecofeminism in the Indian context.

Ans) Environmental historian Donald Worster says humans experience nature as ideas, meanings, thoughts, and feelings. It's important to understand how humans and communities have envisioned nature across time and geography because it affects our attitudes, behaviour, and actions toward the environment. This is true even in the current era of science, as, as he says, scientists do not operate in isolation from their communities but reflect their societies, modes of production, human connections, culture's needs, and ideals in their models of nature.

Ecofeminism places nature's exploitation inside patriarchal ideology. It also shows how women's and nature's subjection are expressed and justified in comparable rhetorical terms in patriarchal discourse. Bina Agarwal's description of ecofeminist views is helpful. It may help start the debate. Her essay paraphrased:

1. There are important correlations between domination and oppression of women and domination and exploitation of nature.

2. In patriarchal imagination women are seen as embodying elements of ‘nature’ while men represent ‘culture.’

3. Since nature-culture binary is understood in hierarchical terms where culture is superior to nature, women by same logic are seen as inferior to men.

4. Owing to this close relationship between domination of women and domination of nature women have special responsibility and even a stake in ending domination of nature, “in healing the alienated human and non-human nature.”

5. In any case since feminist movement and environmental movement both stand for egalitarian, non-hierarchical systems besides having many other values in common, it logically follows that they need to work together to evolve a common perspective, theory, and practice.

Ecofeminism is a theory and movement. Ecofeminism's history is evident in its writings and women's involvement in environmental issues and grassroots battles worldwide.

Indian Ecofeminism

She said the colonial state drove this change in India. She said the idea of man dominating an inert and passive nature supplanted the earthmother image and a harmonious relationship between man and nature. From nature's perspective, she says, "This transformation was violent and disruptive." Prakriti's death signifies women's marginalisation, devaluation, displacement, and disposability. The ecological crisis is caused by the decline of the feminine principle.

She investigates rural women's reliance on natural resources for daily nourishment and survival, delving beyond ideological frameworks to study material links between women and environment. She explains how environmental degradation affects women's lives. She also mentions the women's innate knowledge. Because they rely on and understand nature, these women have an intimate relationship with it. Modern science has undermined this bond, she says. Women's knowledge is undervalued.

Her work is important for broadening ecofeminism outside Western experience, although her formulation has flaws. Bina Agarwal criticises her for generalising from her work with rural women in northwest India, particularly Chipko activists, to all Third World women. She fails to distinguish between women of different classes, castes, ethnicities, ecological zones, etc., making her argument essentialist as well.

Ecofeminists, particularly those from cultural or spiritual feminist background tend to emphasize the role of ideology to exclusion of everything else. This is not to deny the importance of ideas, imagination, or ideology. It is true that patriarchal social systems perpetuate themselves through continuous production and transformation of an elaborate edifice of symbols, metaphors, rituals, practices, beliefs, and ideas, including constructs about women and nature that ecofeminists speak about.

Q2) Throw light on the environmental movements in post-independence India against anti-environmental capitalist extraction and natural resource degradation.

Ans) Multiple critical voices emerged 20 years into a paternalistic state-led development strategy that fostered economic growth. The last two decades' development model's social and ecological repercussions are questioned. Chipko movement in Uttarakhand, India, objected to commercial exploitation of local Himalayan forests. In the absence of men, rural women clutched trees in local forests to prevent state-supported contractors from cutting them down. The movement's demand for local sovereignty over natural resources echoed far and wide, even as global discourse focused mainly on ecology and gendered protests.

While environmental concerns of previous decades were state-led and drew their inspiration from Western industrial nations, these social movements illuminated environmental concerns as integrated with livelihoods and justice for the marginalized. While national parks’ legislation defined environmental protection as excluding local use of pristine nature, movements such as Chipko highlighted connection between capitalist extraction and resource degradation. Such movements reimagined ways of locally using and sustaining nature, integrating development and environmental concerns as one.

Some movements established local authority, while others battled state and international influences for years. Narmada Bachao Aandolan in India brought together aadivaasis, farmers, environmentalists, and human rights activists in a campaign against large-scale river damming, which affects ecosystems and indigenous lives, livelihoods, and cultures. NBA highlighted the destructive import of huge development projects, uneven distribution of costs and benefits of the prior paradigm of development, and increased marginalisation of the already marginalised. These described the arrogance, injustice, and ecological and social unsustainable nature of prior growth models and offered alternatives.

Groups that sought accounting for social and environmental costs of development were called anti-development. Now, they are acknowledged as conceiving an alternate development and as environmentalism of the poor. Northern environmentalism was limited to post-industrial issues, and the contradiction between environmentalism and development was criticised. Poor and indigenous populations consume scant local resources, and their livelihoods and well-being are tied to local natural resource sustainability. Postcolonial states were inspired by a dichotomous model contrasting development and conservation.

Environmental movements have pushed for participatory development and community-based natural resource management. While these arose under different names and acronyms around the world, they emphasised local consultation on development. Some efforts utilised an institutional approach to including stakeholder involvement in project design and implementation, while others took a social movement perspective to mobilise people as active development decision-makers. Despite the dominating narrative, commitment and practise varied.

Colonial states appropriated and administered forests through a techno-bureaucratic institutional system. Modern legal systems did not recognise non-European kinds of rights, disenfranchising local forest users. As environmental concerns grew, same constructions added conservation goals. Commercial forestry and conservation kept locals out of colonial woodlands. Indigenous post-colonial elites continued and strengthened these structures and practises in post-colonial nations. In post-colonial cultures, the forest department managed local natural resources and livelihood. Community-based natural resource management was a dramatic move with both successes and failures in the post-colonial world.

Now more people are aware of the specific detrimental effects of development on indigenous people. Perhaps the most obvious effect of these effects is their actual displacement. The number of indigenous, Aadivasi, and tribal people displaced by development projects is disproportionately high in comparison to their share of the population in nations like India.

Section-2

Answer in about 250 words each. 10x3

Q1) How do you see man-environment relationship, interaction, and interface during medieval India?

Ans) Sedentarism refers to sedentary way of life or settlement of people in a certain location often by undertaking agriculture as a mode of sustenance in that region. On the other hand, nomads are a group of people who roam from one place to another. The stage where nomadic groups are engaged in practice of pastoralism, is referred to as nomadic pastoralism. One of fundamental factors for adoption of nomadism is environmental conditions of a region.

Nomadic communities were dependent upon land and water resources surrounding them, as did agriculturalists. But interference and manipulation of these natural resources was not required by the former. Again, pastoralism was more individualistic in character. Ecological and seasonal factors, in absence of manipulation and interference, would have led to notion of territoriality making inroads in nomadic communities. Evidences of such nature have come to fore at many regions.

In addition to this exchange nomadic communities must have been encouraged to call on post-harvest agricultural fields serving the purpose of cleaning stubs on fields and providing them with manure. Nomadic communities would have also provided grazing services for livestock of settled communities, procuring agricultural fodder in exchange. Large population of cattle was maintained by nomadic communities in peninsular India during Neolithic period.

Pastoral Cultures in Southern Deccan

Examples of communities from southern Deccan that practice pastoral-cum-agricultural strategy for sustenance, based entirely on herding of sheep/goat, come from:

1. In Karnataka, kuruba or kuruva.

2. In Telangana, Rayalaseema and Golla or Kuruva.

These pastoral nomads who are semi-sedentary identify nitikorata as the cause of their transient mobility. Wool traders make up one group of Kuruvas. Their traditional craft is gongali weaving, which permeates the material culture of ranchers in general. Although this group engages in agriculture, they do not rely as heavily on it as other residents of their own community do. However, much as in earlier times, people in these settlements frequently engage with the agrarian community that surrounds them.

Q2) Define ‘Green Imperialism’. Assess the role of European colonialism towards Green Imperialism.

Ans) The phrase "ecological imperialism" or "green imperialism" offers a critical viewpoint on how changes in the environment caused by humans reproduce social divisions such as class, gender, caste, race, and country. Ecology enables us to comprehend the intricate connections between living things and their surroundings. Beginning in the 1970s, environmental historians started to recognise the importance of terrain, soil, animals, insects, plants, and climate in influencing society and the economy. This marked a significant shift away from the overemphasis on political events as the primary drivers of history.

European Colonialism and Early Modern World

Great European sailors started the colonial expansion of Europe into Asia, Australia, and America in the 15th century, which marked a turning point in the development of capitalism and contemporary imperialism. Bartolomeu Dias took a risky long sail in 1487 to reach the southernmost tip of Africa, which made it possible to join the Indian Ocean. In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed to the west and landed in the West Indies. Vasco da Gama set out on his journey to Asia from Lisbon and arrived in Kerala's historic port city of Calicut in 1498. In search of spices, Magellan arrived in the Philippines. These travels led to the creation of a vast body of knowledge regarding winds, maritime routes, and wealth-accumulation prospects.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, European travellers visiting New Zealand, New England, or Austria discovered natural products that were scarce in Europe. Following a period of initial confinement to the coastal region, ships from Europe began bringing farmers to the New World to increase the production of wheat and other food crops. For them, the natural resources of the New World were valuable goods. Native Americans were seen as potential cheap labourers by white settlers. White settlers' viewpoint was echoed by the European intelligentsia, who viewed native people as being without history. The Portuguese, Dutch, and British governments helped mercantile firms build their trading ports around the coasts of the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean by the middle of the 16th century.

Q3) How are environmental elements and components like forests, lakes etc. envisioned in Indian philosophy?

Ans) The leaders of various governments periodically issue a clarion cry for the preservation of our environment. Some people discuss issues such as global warming, CO2 levels, ozone layer depletion, glacier meltdowns, etc., while others discuss a ban on plastic and ethene-containing polymers. There is no denying that science has made life incredibly simple, pleasant, and comfortable for us, but there is also another side to the storey. A scientific policy has both a positive and a negative aspect, just like a coin.

Every person, family, civilization, community, and nation has an ideology of some type. In the modern world, there are numerous environmental issues that need to be addressed. Some of these issues include the eroding ozone layer, rising sea levels, CO2 concentrations, and poisoning of our waterways, including ponds, lakes, streams, canals, and rivers. Water and air are essential to our existence. In actuality, 80% of a person's body is made up of water, and they breathe air. Without both of these elements, survival is all but impossible. This is the reason the lack of clean water and air has become a global issue.

For both human and non-human life forms, pollution in all of its manifestations has proven to be horrible. In actuality, the contaminated water of rivers used for irrigation has caused extensive destruction of our distinctive flora and fauna. All living things, both aquatic and terrestrial, drink the poisoned river water. They die instantly as a result of this. Add to that the use of pesticides in fields, which, while undoubtedly aiding in pest control, also have the unintended consequence of destroying several creatures, including earthworms, which are crucial to improving soil fertility.

Similarly, urban air pollution from car traffic and industrial activities kills many elderly and young people. Consider the impact on people, animals, and plants. Rising plastic consumption is another concern. Agriculture-contaminated rivers have devastated our animals and plants. Aquatic and terrestrial life drink poisoned river water. They die immediately. Add to that the use of pesticides in fields, which help control pests but kill earthworms, which improve soil fertility. Rising plastic consumption is another concern.

Section-3

Write short notes on each of the following in about 100 words each. 6x5

Q1) Environmental history

Ans) Environmental history refers to history of human beings and their interface with nature. Importance of environment is known and traced with the beginning of human civilisation, whether as science or religion. It is strongly linked with our daily lifestyle that is closely associated with fauna, flora, and ecological system. This significance has developed with dependence on nature as a whole, which established a symbiotic relationship between biotic-abiotic. Most of the literature of environmental history has been classified into three important thrust areas:

1. Concept of nature and its dynamics with time and space.

2. Impact of such changes on nature and its interface with fauna, flora, and ecological system, with special focus on humans and their surroundings i.e., Land, water, atmosphere, and biosphere.

3. Most important aspect is people’s perception or thinking about nature, which includes their attitudes, beliefs, and values.

These are the broad coverage of not only vast environmental history but also demographic transition, means of production, technological changes as well as production and consumption processes.

Q2) Role of water resources in river-valley civilizations during ancient India

Ans) In our ecology, water is the wellspring of life. Because rivers provided a reliable source of drinking water, convenient transportation, and rich land for crop cultivation, many of the oldest towns were built nearby. Studies on the water management system in early India underline the importance of hydraulic knowledge. The longest Himalayan river, the Indus, twice a year inundated the valley, making it a fertile area where the Harappan civilization, a riverine civilization, could grow and prosper. Due to its floodplains, clays, which are abundant in such places, were easily accessible.

Bricks were made from clay and used to build constructions. Trapezoid bricks were employed to line wells during the Mature Harappan period at places like Mohenjodaro to prevent internal collapse. This was an amazing achievement. The Harappans had created complex systems for managing sewage and drainage. One of the first public water tanks found in the ancient world is the Great Bath of Mohenjo-Daro. At Mohenjodaro, homes had bathtubs and toilets, a sophisticated sewage system, and more than 700 wells for water. Small bunds were constructed in places like Lothal and Inamgao to collect rainwater. The Harappan port-town of Lothal, located along the Bhogava River, had a tidal dockyard that supported maritime trade.

Q3) Animal hunting under East Indian Company

Ans) Tigers were widely distributed and regarded as perilous vermin for many years. Thevenot, a French traveller who lived in the seventeenth century, stated: "The Road I have been speaking of is tolerable, but it has numerous inconveniences." On it, one might encounter tygres, panthers, and lions. This was not overstated. Johnson recalled how early in the nineteenth century, British officers were given funds to maintain a road and to clear the jungle for fifty yards on either side of the road.

Johnson said that without these actions, it would have been extremely risky for any small group of people to travel that road because there were so many tigers. In the eighteenth century, the East India Company instituted incentives for killing tigers. These rewards persisted into the twentieth century, as did those for shooting panthers and leopards. The son of General Sir Hector Munro, who was abducted while having a picnic with friends in 1792, was one of the most well-known victims of a tiger attack.

Q4) Role of NGOs in environmental conservation and restoration in contemporary India

Ans) Indian social and environmental movements have a long history. Since we believe that all living and non-living objects in nature are created by gods, the environment is deeply ingrained in our culture. In prehistoric civilizations, the idea of a "totem" is a well-known "social truth" that is also practised.

After the Second Globe War, the world experienced negative impacts from war and devastation that compelled everyone to adhere to peaceful principles and create an organisation to promote conflict resolution. To stop such violence and devastation, a global alliance was created through voluntary agreement. United Nations is the name of it.

The UN and other various international organisations contributed significantly to civil society in many ways:

1. Directly implementing programs,

2. Collaborating with agencies,

3. Valuable research support,

4. Policy making,

5. Advocacy, and

6. Most importantly, as a funding agency.

Q5) Tinai concept during Sangam age

Ans) In terms of urbanisation in southern India, it appears that agricultural groups first began to settle in the Kaveri valley at the beginning of the Iron Age. Early in history, settlements significantly increased, and the Sangam age began. We learn that Tamilaham was divided into five physiographical sections from Tamil Sangam literature. They were referred to as aindu tinai. Every tinai had an own temperature, vegetation, and fauna depending on what the people did for a living. Their professions, gods, and other beliefs were products of the milieu they lived in. Marutam was crucial to the local environment.

In the riverine delta zone, it represented agricultural fields. Paddy farming was promoted using both natural and artificial irrigation methods. Both neytal and marutam tinais saw an increase in urbanisation. With the expansion of maritime trade in coastal areas, Neytal gained popularity in the first century CE. Sangam age was characterised mostly by marine trade, which fueled urban development. This resulted in neytal having a higher level of urbanisation than marutam in the beginning.