The Environmental Swaraj

- Uday Agarwal*

The world is witnessing mass protest of students for climate change. A girl who has not even completed her high school has stood in front of the world powers questioning them about the issues that are gonna shape our future and the world of our future generations. In the light of above, I had a discussion with my friend on why having protest at such mass level isn't rendering any result. Why the governments of our world have turned a blind eye to it's citizens. If the government is really of the people, then why it is so difficult for them to do what we want and why we always have to fight for what is right and is our civil right. Recently, after Australian bushfires, where millions of animals were burned to death, Australian authorities blamed camels for it and killed 5000 camels in just five days. So, where do we stand. What should be done. In this article, I try to draw a parallel between the immanent values of Swaraj and the problems of climate change, and through this I try to find solutions to the problem of our world.

Introduction

Swaraj is a Sanskrit word meaning "Self-Rule". Though, this idea finds its origin in the Hindu Vedas but it was brought to the world view by Swami Maharishi Dayanand, through the establishment of Arya Samaj in 1875. Swami Dayanand was the first person to have used it in a nationalist sense against the British Colonialism. After him, there were many freedom fighters who defined Swaraj in their own ways. But one person who really stood out in not only enunciating but also emulating the principles of Swaraj was Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi believed Swaraj is the way to go for India. Unlike others, he emphasised on the establishment of new institutions, new systems that would be suitable for India, instead of adopting the institutions of our colonial masters. As he writes in his book Indian Home Rule or Hindi Swaraj, that India requires neither the tiger (British Colonialism) nor the nature of the tiger (British Institutions and Systems). So, for Gandhi, Swaraj not only meant Home Rule, which is the literal meaning of the word, but the complete independence of India from the British shackles which also included freedom of thinking and freedom from the British Supremacy.

Gandhi pleaded for decentralization of power in society. He visualized 'Swaraj' at the individual level, 'Gram Swaraj' at Local level and 'Sarvodaya' at global level.

Gandhi also elaborated and extended the meaning of Swaraj to more spiritual sense, defining Swaraj as "Soul-Rule". He envisaged an utopia where there will be no need of states or government institutions and people would be able to govern themselves i.e. there will be decentralization of power in society. He visualized 'Swaraj' at the individual level, 'Gram Samaj' at Local level and 'Sarvodaya' at global level. Quoting Gandhi verbatim "We can learn to live simply so that others can Simply live". He emphasized on the spirit of "Simple Living and High Thinking". These values and principles of Swaraj if adopted by us all, could help us immensely.

Chipko Movement : Ecology is the Permanent Economy

The first Chipko Movement started around 260 years ago, by the Bishnoi Community of Rajasthan. A large group of them from 84 villages led by a lady called Amrita Devi, laid down their lives to protect the trees from being felled, on the order of the King of Jodhpur. After this incident, the maharaja gave a strong decree preventing the cutting of trees in all Bishnoi villages.

In 20th century, this movement began in the hills when government decided to allot a plot of forest area to a sports good company, where forests are the main source of livelihood. The name of the movement come from the word embrace, as the villagers hugged the trees, preventing the contractor from cutting them. The movement got very successful and also spreaded to the other parts of the country

"Embrace the trees and Save them from being felled, The property of our hills, Save them from being looted." — Ghanshyam Raturi, A Chipko Poet

Gram Swaraj - The Idea of Divine Democracy

The demands and problems of Chipko Movement resonates with the principles of Swaraj. Swaraj lays stress on governance, not by a hierarchical government, but by self-governance through individual community building. Swaraj emphasizes that every individual of the country has equal claim to the resources of his nation. The protesters of the Chipko movement had similar demands, of having a claim for equal right to their natural resources. Even in his song, Ghanshyam Puri, referred to hills as "our property" and urged people to gather, to protect them from being looted.

"Growth will not be a pyramid with the apex (the top of the pyramid-Privileged) sustained by the bottom (Underprivileged). But it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will be the individual. Therefore the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it." - Mahatama Gandhi, Harijan

Gandhi believed that instead of sabotaging the culture of villages and local communities and stressing on the need for creation of the bustling cities, he proclaimed that villages should be made self-sufficient in themselves which he defined under the concept of Gram Swaraj - The Self Rule of Villages and Local Communities. As Gandhi Quotes "Independence begins at the bottom. A society must be built in which every village has to be self-sustained and capable of managing its own affairs". He believed this will not only help in deepening of the democracy to the lowest section, but will also instil a sense of pride and ownership among the unprivileged. As Gandhi says "Growth will not be a pyramid with the apex (the top of the pyramid-Privileged) sustained by the bottom (Underprivileged). But it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will be the individual. Therefore the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it." Gandhi talked about states as being a mere instrument of serving the people. He talked of an utopia where the state machinery is virtually nil, and the real power resides directly in the hands of people as he quoted "Power resides in the people, they can use it any time". He talked of Swaraj as a state where we can learn to rule ourselves.

Similarly, Chipko movement can be seen as the people's protest to rule themselves, by asking for the power to decide what should be done of the resources, that they have inherited from their ancestors, and hence belongs to them. In other words, the protestors of Chipko Movement demanded Swaraj - self-rule, to decide what should be done of their natural resources.

Sarvodaya : The Theory of Trusteeship

Sarvodaya literally means "Upliftment of all". Gandhi derived this idea from John Ruskin book "Unto This Last" where he imagined a utopia which would be of an egalitarian society. Sarvodaya, is the Gandhi theory of trusteeship. Under which he believed that every member of the society is the trustee of the wealth generated out of the collective efforts of all. Thus, it denies individual pursuit and accumulation of wealth with some individuals and encourages in converting such wealth of all for a better society. Gandhi based his theory of trusteeship on the Indian Vedas, the Hindu holy and philosophical text, according to which one is asked to dedicate and surrendered everything to God and then use it only to the required extent. The spirit of this doctrine is detachment and service. As Gandhi quoted "The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed."

Excerpts of Gandhi's view from Harijan

"Supposing I have come by a fair amount of wealth - either by way of legacy, or by means of trade and industry - I must know that all that wealth does not belong to me; what belongs to me is the right to an honourable livelihood, no better than that enjoyed by millions of others. The rest of my wealth belongs to the community and must be used for the welfare of the community."

Gandhi laid emphasis on the conviction of the people to emancipate this theory of Sarvodaya. He believed the real Satyagrahi will surely follow it as he himself said quoting verbatim " There is nothing in this theory which can be said to be beyond the grasp of intellect, though you may say it is difficult of practice." Gandhi believed the new India's objective should not to build the island of prosperity in the ocean of poverty. Gandhi believed in Sarvodaya and therefore the welfare of all was the basis of his thinking; hence his community centred approach towards sustainability emphasized on 'betterment of human life' and 'ensuring fulfilment of basic needs of all human needs'. Basically Gandhi suggested this doctrine as an answer to the economic inequalities of ownership and income - a kind of non-violent way of resolving all social and economic conflict which grew out of inequalities and privileges of the present social order.

Trusteeship and Socialism

Gandhi knew that the theory of trusteeship had a deep resonation with the theory of Socialism, as it also envisaged an utopia of an egalitarian Society. But he was very clear in not getting his theory being mistaken with Socialism. Gandhi, the person who herald the song of peace to the whole world, was totally against socialist idea of violence. He also believed that instead of destroying the institutions, as suggested by socialism, they should be reformed. As, he believed that Sarvodaya is converting the privileged into trustees of the unprivileged. This will instils love and harmony in the nation and will also help solve class war with love.

Bhoodan Movement: Sarvodaya In Practice

During the British Colonialism, Britishers did not used to own the land or dictate sovereign rights over the land but instead they used to demand a share in the produce of the land. This practice is not very different from the practice followed today. But the demands in the percentage of the produce, increased exorbitantly under the British Raj. And such share was to be produced in cash and also in advance, even before the produce is sold by the farmers. As a result farmers got into a debt trap, where they used to take loan from the Zamindar(landowner) to pay the previous loan and which ultimately resulted in abducting of the farmers land and also in many cases resulted in slavery. The loss of fertility of land and low prices of agricultural products further aggravated the problem. After Independence, the land problem was imminent.

Vinod's Bhave, a Gandhian follower, and also the first Satyagrahi selected by Mahatma Gandhi in 1940, on his tour of villages affected by communist violence in Telangana, came across the village Pochampali in 1951, where the Dalits demanded land. Heeding the Dalits concern, Vinoda Bhave casually asked for the solution from the crowd and surprisingly a man named Ramchandra Reddy stood up and donated 100 acres of his land, stating this being his father's dream. After this incident, Vinoda Bhave realized that the land problem of India could be solved within a community, and by the community through conviction. After this, Vinoda Bhave received 12,201 acres of land from 200 villages which got redistributed among the villagers.

On the threshold, this movement was totally neglected by the intellectuals claiming it unpractical but after its huge success was also lauded by our then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. This movement, whose basis could be found in Gandhian Philosophy of Sarvodaya, which are Detachment and Service, seemed totally impossible at the start. But this movement is an example of how the organised strength of which Gandhi used the word "Peoples Conviction" in Harijan can be used to find solution within the communities, without the political enforceability and use of power and violence. This movement clearly resonates with the view of principles of Sarvodaya i.e. Trusteeship where the privileged instead of being addicted to the wealth and glamour of their circle made themselves trustees of the wealth of the poor.

The principles of the movement can also be seen resonated with the solutions of most of the movement be it Narmada Bachao Andolan, Chipko Movement etc.

Sarvodaya: In Prevailing Time

The Gandhian theory of Sarvodaya is the most prevalent in the current times. Delhi, a city in India, can be seen facing a lot of problems which can find solutions in the Gandhian Philosophy. Compared to Delhi, 10 years earlier, significant changed in the city could be seen. The city is bustling with traffic due to imminent increase in number of cars, population has significantly risen, most of being the immigrants from other states, as Delhi sees the largest number of migration in India, mostly being from the areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Due to the increase in the claim for the limited resources of the city, water scarcity and electricity shortage in the near future is also imminent. The pollution levels know no bounds. The problem of pollution is so severe that it greatly has started affecting peoples life.

The Gandhian Principles of Sarvodaya lay emphasis on the development of the country as a whole. Hence, the Gandhian principle if to be applied to present scenario, dictates the development of the areas from where the migration is observed. The building of infrastructure in these areas will make them self-sufficient and help them to achieve Gram-Swaraj - self-sufficiency. Then these states instead of being at the bottom of the pyramid, will act as the energy centre of resources i.e. people, technology etc, that the most privileged of the states i.e. Delhi, could get benefitted from. As Gandhi Quotes "When our villages are fully developed there will be no dearth in them of men with a high degree of skill and artistic talent. There will be village poets, village artists, village architects, linguists and research workers. In short, there will be nothing in life worth having which will not be had in the villages". This all will help India as a nation to grow and become self-sufficient which will result in the Swaraj at National Level, or in other words the ultimate Swaraj.

Economics of Nature : The Paradox of Wants

Climate change has made us aware of the absorptive capacity of our atmosphere. It means that there is a limit to the amount of Green House Gases that the atmosphere can absorb. Scientist described this under the concept of Per Capita Entitlement. Per capita entitlement simply refers to the amount of greenhouse gases that each country should be entitled to emit in the atmosphere. Though there are many approaches to it but in simple terms, under this, an emission budget is prepared which shows the total environmental space which states the maximum amount of GHG that can be safely emitted in the atmosphere while meeting the ultimate objective i.e. keeping temperature below 2 degree Celsius by 2050. The emissions budget is then distributed equally among the global population, thereby implying equal rights to the atmosphere.

Though, there are various approaches to it which differ in their operations and implementation but all schemes aims at achieving an egalitarian society where even the poorest of the countries will have equal claim to the world resources I.e. Atmosphere. Per capita Entitlement aims to achieve Swaraj at a global level. Where like the Bedouins of the Chipko movement or the Dalits of the Bhoodan movement , nations fight for their equitable distribution and claim of natural resources. Such distribution will make their nations self-sustainable I.e. not dependent on other nations for items of need, which is Swaraj at National Level and ultimately which will help even the poorest of the countries stricken by poverty to uplift themselves resulting in Sarvodaya (Upliftment of all) and for the world as a whole, the ultimate Swaraj.

The developed nations argue that this theory claims atmosphere belongs to all, it it does then, it does to them also. But making this argument, they totally exempts the limited capacity of the environment to absorb GHG. As, there exist a certain limit to the extent to which a country's economy can be expanded, as there exist the problem of scarcity to which a country can emit, hence there exist the economic problem of choice. Where we as a world have to distribute or allocate resources, which in this case is environmental space, among ourselves in such a manner where we achieve maximum efficiency through it. And this certainly means giving an equal part of it to the developing nations, which have so little claim on these resources, yet they are the most affected by it like in the case of Maldives. The Indian government was one of the very First Nations to have officially adopted this approach. This was followed by African Countries. The developing nations still have to show their excitement for such equitable arrangement.

Maldives - A Case Study

Maldives is literally drowning. The problem is so Severe that the Maldives government is even setting aside funds from its main contributor of GDP I.e. Tourism which contributes 33% of the total GDP, to purchase land from another country like India or Sri Lanka to eventually relocate its populace. To tackle this problem, Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed in 2009 decided to go carbon neutral by 2020, though no follow up of the policy could be seen. But even doing so would have little effect on the environment as Maldives contribution to the overall carbon produce is just 0.1%, where US and China combine for almost half. This case study clearly exhibits the presence of inequality in the distribution of resources at the international level. It also stressed the need for the implementation of Sarvodaya - Upliftment of all, so that nations could achieve Swaraj at National Level.

Bhutan - The Utopia of the Environmental Swaraj

Bhutan is a carbon neutral country, or as they proclaim they are a carbon negative, which means that Bhutan produces more oxygen than it consumes. Bhutan generates 2.2 million tonnes of carbon annually, yet it's trees absorb almost three times of carbon annually, which makes Bhutan a carbon sink. Carbon sink means that it not only produces more oxygen but also helps in absorbing carbon dioxide of its neighbouring countries like India and China. Bhutan's constitution also dictates that 60% of the land should have forest cover. Today, they are able to maintain 70% forest cover. Bhutan is also termed as one of the World's happiest country. In fact, the former king of Bhutan, who developed Gross National Happiness index, based his index on four pillars : Sustainable Development, Environmental Protection, Cultural Preservation and Good Governance.

Bhutan's Gross National Happiness (GNH) index is based on four pillars : Sustainable Development, Environmental Protection, Cultural Preservation and Good Governance.

Bhutan is also planning to become 100% self-sufficient in vegetables by 2020, as announced by Bhutan Ministry of Agriculture and Forests. They had laid out plans to decrease country's dependency on imports and to support its farming industry. Though, government claims that they don't plan to ban imports but instead plan to support the domestic agriculture, by making it self-sufficient. Some of such steps include, building of 216 greenhouses, to help extend the growing season, in order to combat country's harsh winter. Efforts are also being made to improve Irrigation and harvesting, with government encouraging subsidies for water pumps, storage tanks and hose pipes. Seeds are also been subsidised to encourage farmers to plant more crops. The Hydro-Electric sector, which is the main source of energy generation for Bhutan and is on the decline, efforts are also been made to revive it.

The Health Facilities are free in Bhutan and High School education is also free in Bhutan. Scholarship are also given to the deserving students on the basis of talent for higher education. This is the most important step as Gandhi claimed that Education is the only means to achieve Real Swaraj. Such practice of education is also being encouraged in other countries for example - correspondent of a website claims that on his visit to Maldives, he saw number of Maldivians learning about conservation, stating it as "A true win-win situation. Community participation has helped enhance the design and acceptability of this initiative."

Tourism: Boon or Bane - Venice Emulating the Utopia of Bhutan

Venice, the city of canals, is being destroyed by tourism. Each year 20 million tourist visits the beautiful city, while the permanent population of Venice is just 55,000. Salvatore Settis in his book "If Venice dies" proclaimed that "Venetians are increasingly abandoning their hometown— there's now only one resident for every 140 visitors". The increased tourism has placed a lot of strain on the limited resources of Venice. There are protests every day, mostly of students with play cards saying " Go Back Tourist". Due to increased tourism, the major problem is being faced by Venice is of Waste Management and their deteriorating environment . Most of the hotels in Venice, are least cared about the Waste Management and the burden of which has to directly being borne by the citizens there. Government argues majority of its GDP comes from Tourism, and stopping tourist would result in sabotaging the Economy.

Today, Bhutan is faced with the similar problem. But the Bhutanese Government, recognizing the problem, have actively taken part to tackle this problem. The Bhutanese government have built an Eco-Tourism Industry. Under this, they have limited the number of tourists and their access to certain areas. Also, Tourist have to pay in addition to Visa($40), additional 200$ to 250$ , a minimum daily package fee. Though, this fee is exempted for tourists from India, Bangladesh and Maldives. Similar kind of fee, after huge protest in Venice, will also be levied under the name of tourist tax from July 1, 2020. Though, the demands of such tax are being made from 2018 by the local citizens to limit tourist in Venice.

Bhutanese government have also introduced a "Homestay Programme", where tourist will have the chance to stay in traditional bhutanese homes and which in turn help the homeowners - the rural people, from getting benefitted from the tourism industry. The bhutanese government is encouraging tourist to stay with the local people rather than staying in big resorts. As they claim, this will help the tourist to know Bhutan culturally. This is an excellent effort by the bhutanese government to promote rural-urban integration, and distribute tourist-related funds amongst the rural population. It will also provide the villagers with an alternative source of livelihood in the form of payment for rooms, meals, drinks etc.

Such, practice of Bhutan exactly resonates with Gandhian Ideology - Swaraj at individual level, Gram Samaj at Village Level and Sarvodaya at nations level. Bhutan is making efforts to make the society self sufficient at the most local level, by giving the most unprivileged, the right to their rich natural resources. Bhutan is also making sure that with a sense on ownership, citizens also instil a sense of responsibility towards their countries resources. For Example: Farmers in WCP national park, Bhutan can no longer kill wolves and the wild boar. Also, through their programme of homestay, they are also making efforts to conserve and promote the village culture, so that they instead of being a burden to economy, could complement the economy. In doing so, they instead of making a pyramid of class, made a circle of society with villages at its centre, as advocated by Gandhi. Their efforts to build an Eco-Tourism, also clearly shows the government's will to distribute the country's resources to the deepest sections of the society, and hence deepening the democracy. Bhutan is also stressing on the need to restore their cultural values and practices. As the Correspondent of the website Livemint writes "The streets are virtually empty, except for a few cars, and people walking about in traditional costumes". This scenery exactly emancipate the utopia of the Gandhian Swaraj. Gandhi in his book Indian Home Rule or Hind Swaraj claimed that the use of machines should be decreased to the minimal. He believed that machines should not be used to replace humans but to complement them. He also believed that the Indian outfits should be promoted, as they represent Indian culture, which are very evident in his principles of Swadesh.

At global level, Bhutan is helping its neighbour by setting itself as an example of Environmental Swaraj, like stated above President of Maldives have declared that their island will be carbon neutral by 2020, Venice has also levied a similar tourist tax as in Bhutan. But this all won't make a big difference till big players, the real exporters and the exploiters participate in such programme. When we all unite for the common good, then only we would be able to achieve Sarvodaya and ultimately the Swaraj at Global Level.

Bhutan's New Struggles With Swaraj

Bhutan is developing and so is its population. The young population is now preferring to move to the cities for jobs and is reluctant to work on the farm land. Though, Bhutan has levied a 100% import duty on imported cars but people in Bhutan are still buying them. Though, the cigarettes are banned in Bhutan but the people are still finding a way to smuggle them in. Televisions were introduced in Bhutan in 1999, but now every person in Bhutan owns one. Government, instead of putting a blind eye, recognises the problem and are making efforts to confront it. For example: The Bhutanese Government has made a contract with Nissan and Mahindra to introduce electric cars in Bhutan. The government is also determined to revive the hydroelectric sector of the country. With all this, Bhutanese government is taking strong steps to make the local communities self-sufficient.

The Environmental Swaraj in Present Scenario

The United Nation Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as Rio Summit or Earth Summit was a major UN conference held in Rio De Janeiro, in 1992. In that summit, there were thousands of young green activist who drew inspiration not from Marx, or from Lenin or Adam Smith but from Mahatma Gandhi. The Agenda 21, one of the five documents of the Earth Summit, shares a lot of similarities with Gandhian View. What Gandhi imagined in that era is still relevant today. In a prayer meeting in Delhi in 1947, he suggested water harvesting to be done for irrigation purposes to avoid famines and food shortages. The mad rush for exploitation of our natural resources has resulted in global warming. Neglecting such practices, Gandhi once denied to get on the bike, during Dandi March, brought to him by one of his followers, stating that when you can walk, the why use the motorcycle.

Many interpretations of Swaraj also claims that Gandhian philosophy is not practical as it suggests boycotting of all the Machinery, as doing so will never make India compete with the global nations. But Gandhi in his book Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule answered this question by claiming that he is not against machines - stating that even the glasses he wears is a machine, moreover his body in which his soul resides is a machines but what he is against is the craze of machines that is also prevalent in the modern times. For example, Greta Thunberg denies using planes to travel, but only using methods that have least possible effect on the environment. Some may argue that these methods are not practical or relevant for our times, just like Gandhian ideas are criticised but may be these ideas are a need of time. I would not say that we should start boycotting these modern techs but as Gandhi claims, we should surely reduce the craze for it. In regards to the plane discourse, I would like to quote Joaquin Phoenix recent speech at golden globes where he said:

"Hopefully, we can be unified and actually make some changes. It's great to vote, but sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves and make changes and sacrifices in our own lives. We don't have to take private jets to Palm Springs (A Place in Venice and famous destination for hosting Cannes) for the awards sometimes."

Hence, I genuinely feel that may be we all can't hold that extreme moralist stand on environment as it would mean disturbing our so disturbed lifestyle, maybe we all can't be the flag bearers of change but I genuinely believe that we all can at the least try to make efforts towards a better future because as one of my friend argued that " future is bleak and we are going to be facing huge catastrophe if we don't check and mend our ways and certainly, the future is for us to decide today".