Author: millennialmatriarchs

Father of the Library Movement: PN Panicker

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The last few days, newspapers have been carrying a number of pieces promoting the joy of reading physical books, in an age when the printed word is rapidly being buried under the digital avalanche. As a person who has never abandoned the physical avatars, these reminders of the very different experience of physically turning the pages of a ‘real’ book make me smile! All this hype culminated with the announcement of National Reading Day on 19 June.

I have written frequently about books, and was aware of a couple of international days of books, and reading. However this was the first time that National Reading Day was taking up so much column space. I was naturally curious to know more about this day. And I discovered that there is much more behind this day than reading. It is the story of a man with a mission, who laid the foundation of the library movement in India.

Puthuvayil Narayana Panicker was born on 1 March 1909 to Govinda Pillai and Janaki Amma at Neelamperoor in Kerala. As a youth he used to read the daily newspapers to groups of illiterate people of different ages. He began his career as a teacher, but moved beyond his designated duties to set up the Sanadanadhramam Library in 1926, in a small room provided by the local cooperative society in his village. This was the first step in what was to become beginning of a life-long passion and mission with a simple but powerful message: Vayichu Valaruku meaning Read and Grow.

Panicker held Mahatma Gandhi in very high esteem; and like him, felt that illiteracy was a curse and a shame. He believed in a holistic approach to human resources development, the foundation of which was literacy. Towards this, Panicker initiated a literacy movement across the state. He also believed that libraries could provide a stable scaffolding for encouraging and sustaining the literacy movement. He made the literacy movement into a cultural movement where people could feel the emotional connect with the library in their village or town, just as they connected with their place or worship or school or college. Libraries created by this movement later became the nerve centres of local social and cultural activities; children would come and read, older people would gather to meet and discuss issues relevant to them. When he visited a leprosy sanatorium at Nooranad, the inmates requested him to set up a library there. The library was established as LS Library on 1 July 1949. It was one of the first libraries in the district and housed a unique collection including over 25000 books and rare palm-leaf manuscripts. It was extensively used by the sanatorium residents as well as visiting researchers and scholars.

Panicker led the formation of Thiruvithaamkoor Granthsala Sangham (Travancore Library Association) in 1945 with 47 rural libraries. The slogan of the organization was Read and Grow. He travelled to Kerala villages proclaiming the value of reading and succeeded in bringing some 6000 libraries in his network. The Travancore Library Association expanded to become Kerala Granthasala Sangham (KGS) in 1956.  KGS was awarded the UNESCO Nadezha K. Krupskaya Literacy Prize in 1975.

Panicker was the General Secretary of Sangham for 32 years, until 1977, when it was taken over by the State Government and it became the Kerala State Library Council.

In 1977 Panicker founded the Kerala Association for Non-formal Education and Development (KANFED) with the objective to help universalize education by stepping up propaganda for it, and by the institution of non-formal education activities supplementary to the formal education system. This led to the establishment of institutes for research and training in all aspects of non-formal education, publishing houses for the production of literacy materials, and centres for the eradication of illiteracy.

These were operationalized through Committees which were set up in all districts of the state at Block and Panchayat levels to organize, conduct and supervise literacy centres; Regional Resource Centres were set up to store books, teaching aids and other materials necessary for adult education and make them available at all literacy centres.  

Primers for beginners, and books and periodicals and other useful material such a maps and wall charts for neo-literates were prepared through workshops for young writers, and published. The Primers included Alphabet Primer, Science Primer, Health Primer, as well as Primer for Women, Prier for Agriculturists, and Primer for Tribals. There were books on agriculture and animal husbandry; books on health and hygiene, and books for neo-literates. There were also biographies of inspiring national and international personalities, as well as books describing civic institutions, rights and duties, and promoting scientific temperament.

Resource material for adult literacy workers, instructors, project officers and organizers was supported and supplemented with seminars, workshops and training.  Plans for monitoring and evaluation of the literacy centres were also included.

Panicker’s vision and the state-wide mission of KANFED played a significant role in Kerala’s successful literacy movement–the Sakshara Keralam Movement. The first 100 percent literate city in India, and first 100 percent literate district have been from Kerala. Kerala was also the first state to attain 100 percent primary education. Some of the oldest colleges, schools and libraries of the country are also situated in Kerala.

In addition to literacy centres, Panicker also took keen interest in promoting Agricultural Books Corners, The Friendship Village Movement (Sauhrdagramam), and Reading Programmes for Families.

The life-long crusader for literacy and libraries passed away on 19 June 1995. Since 1996, this day is marked as Vayanadinam (Reading Day) in Kerala. It is a reminder to encourage the movement to promote a culture of reading, to inculcate the habit of reading and promote book-mindedness among school children, youth as well as the underprivileged population of the country. The Department of Education, Kerala also observes Vayana Varam Week (Reading Week) from June 19 to June 25 in schools across the state.

The Department of Posts honoured PN Panicker by issuing a commemorative postage stamp on 21 June 2004.

In 2017 PM Narendra Modi declared June 19, Kerala’s Reading Day as National Reading Day in India. The following month is also observed as National Reading Month.

The PN Panicker Foundation continues the mission to enhance lives and livelihoods through various targeted initiatives ranging from education, skill development, health, and need based programmes with the efficient use of technology. In keeping with the need of the hour, it is supporting digital learning in rural areas and has established thousands of home digital libraries across the state. PN Panicker’s vision continues to guide and inspire the new generations.   

–Mamata

Juneteenth

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That is not a word that we in India are very familiar with. Not surprising. Though the ‘Day’ is about a historical event that took place over 150 years back, it officially became a federal holiday in the US only in 2021.

It goes back to the American Civil War. After the Union won, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared the over three million enslaved people living in the Confederate states to be free. However, those were not the days of instant communication. It took over two years before the news reached the people of Texas! It was when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, that the state’s residents finally learned that slavery had been abolished. The formerly enslaved African-American community immediately started celebrations with prayer, feasting song, and dance. Over time, the name ‘Juneteenth’ a portmanteau of the words “June” and “nineteenth” started being used for this day.

Since then, the day has been celebrated in Texas, with the first official Juneteenth celebrations held on June 19, 1866, marked by prayer meetings and the singing of spirituals. People wore new clothes as a way of marking their newfound freedom. Over the next few years, African-Americans in other states started celebrating the day as well, making it an annual tradition. Celebrations continued to spread across the United States and typically include prayer and religious services, speeches, educational events, family gatherings and picnics, and festivals with music, food, and dancing. Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas in 1980, and a number of other states subsequently followed suit.

It still took a long time for it to be recognized at the national level. It was only in 2021 that Juneteenth was made a federal holiday. Activist Opal Lee played a huge part in making this happen. Born in 1926 in Texas, Opal Lee was a teacher. One of the formative events of her life was when her house was burnt down in 1939. The house was in a predominantly white area, and obviously, the fact that a black family had bought a house there was uncomfortable for some people. On June 19, 1939, 500 white rioters vandalized and burned down the home. Opal realized that 19 June had been chosen for a reason and was very symbolic.

Opal was always at the forefront of organizing the community, and played a lead role in Juneteenth celebrations. This gathered momentum when she retired, and she became a relentless campaigner for having Juneteenth declared a federal holiday. For many years, she organized a march of 2.5 miles, to represent the 2.5 years it took for the news of their emancipation to reach the African-Americans in Texas. She promoted a petition for a Juneteenth federal holiday at Change.org, and the petition received 1.6 million signatures. In 2021, when Opal was 94, her dream came true and President Biden finally signed the Bill. Opal was an honoured guest at the function. Slowly, over time, the day started being celebrated outside the United States too, to recognize the end of slavery and to honor the culture and achievements of African Americans.

Here is something that Lincoln wrote about slavery, which is worth pondering:

‘If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B. — why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A?–

You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own.

You do not mean color exactly?–You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own.

But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest, you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.’

And to see how he relates it to democracy:

‘As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.’

Wise men know how to capture universal truth in a few words!

–Meena

CELEBRATING OCEANS: RACHEL CARSON

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The first week of June has two significant days that relate to the environment. World Environment Day (WED) on 5 June and World Oceans Day (WOD) on June 8. While desertification was the focus of WED, the themes of WOD emphasized the importance of working together to find solutions to ocean challenges.

Historically one name has been associated both with WED as well as WOD. Rachel Carson is probably best known for her book Silent Spring, one of the first that warned of dangers to all natural systems from the misuse of chemical pesticides such as DDT. Published in 1962, this initiated the contemporary environmental movement. Over the years Silent Spring became one of the essential readings and references for environmentalists and ecologists.

What is perhaps less known is that for a decade before she wrote Silent Spring, Rachel had already published three books, as well as numerous articles, on the subject that was dear to her heart—the Seas and Oceans. Rachel’s work was unusual in that it combined a solid base of science that she communicated in beautiful language and style, making for a rare combination of nature and literature.

Rachel’s love for nature stemmed from her early years in a rural community where she freely explored her surroundings, and also expressed her thoughts through her other passion—writing. Rachel Carson was born on 27 May 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. After High School, in 1925, Rachel joined Pennsylvania College for Women as an English major determined to become a writer. Midway through her studies, however, she switched to biology. A summer fellowship at the U.S. Marine Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts was her first close experience with the ocean. In 1929, Carson was awarded a scholarship to study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, an enormous accomplishment for a woman at that time. Graduating with a Master’s degree in Zoology in 1932, and with a flair for writing, Rachel began to work for the public education department of the US Bureau of Fisheries writing pamphlets on conservation and natural resources. This was the start of her long career as scientist and editor, eventually rising to become Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 1935 she was asked to create a series of short radio programmes on marine life called Romance Under the Waters. Her growing interest in oceans and marine life was supported by the opportunity to visit waterfronts and marine environments, access to scientific information, and interaction with a range of people associated with different aspects of the oceans as part of her work. During World War II, Rachel Carson was part of a programme to investigate undersea life, terrain and sounds, designed to assist the Navy in developing techniques and equipment for submarine detection. Thus Rachel had the opportunity to study many aspects of oceans.

In her free time, Rachel also wrote about findings from this research in a language and style that would reach beyond the academics to a larger audience. She wrote several articles for popular magazines, designed to create wider awareness about the wonder and beauty of the living world. As she once said: I have always wanted to write. Biology has given me something to write about. She also believed that science and literature could meld harmoniously. The winds, the sea, and the moving tides are what they are. If there is wonder and beauty and majesty in them, science will discover these qualities… If there is poetry in my book about the sea, it is not because I deliberately put it there, but because no one could write truthfully about the sea and leave out the poetry.


Rachel Carson’s first book, Under the Sea-Wind, was published in 1941. In 1951 she published her prize-winning study of the ocean, The Sea Around Us. The book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 81 weeks.

In 1952 Carson resigned from government service to devote herself to her writing, but also for the freedom that she would have as not being a part of the government, to raise issues, question government policies, and use her public voice to create awareness and encourage action.

In 1955 she published The Edge of the Sea. These books established Rachel Carson as both a naturalist and science writer for the public. But it was her final book, Silent Spring, published in 1962, that awakened society to a responsibility to other forms of life. In it, Carson documented in minute biological detail the harm caused to the ecosystem by harmful pesticides, especially DDT. The book was based on years of her research which indicated that the abnormalities caused by the pesticide showed up first in fish and wildlife, and went on to endanger the overall environment. As expected, Carson’s book provoked a huge controversy, as well as personal attacks on her professional integrity. The pesticide industry mounted a massive campaign to discredit her. The federal government, however, ordered a complete review of its pesticide policy and Rachel Carson testified before a Congressional committee, calling for new policies to protect human health and the environment. As a direct result of the Carson’s study and her making it public through Silent Spring, DDT was banned in the United States.

Despite her earlier noteworthy studies of the marine environment Rachel Carson’s name became synonymous with Silent Spring and DDT.

Rachel Carson died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer.

The theme for this year’s World Oceans Day is Waves of Change: Collective Actions for the Ocean. It would be worthwhile this year to revisit Rachel Carson’s books on the sea which seem as relevant today as they were when she wrote them in the 1950s. Carson’s ecological vision of the oceans demonstrates a larger environmental ethic which drew attention to the threats to the sustainability of nature’s interactive and interdependent systems. Her writing presages Climate change, rising sea-levels, melting Arctic glaciers, collapsing bird and animal populations, crumbling geological faults. All of which are dire realities today.

–Mamata

AJT Johnsingh: The Highest Standards of Wildlife Research

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A few days ago came the sad news of Dr. AJT Johnsingh’s passing. And for once, mainstream media covered this event—from AIR to Times of India to Hindu to several other national and regional papers. 

For media to so widely cover the passing of a wildlife researcher is sure indication that there was something special about him. And indeed there was.  He was one of India’s best and most respected field researchers. And even more, he put all that knowledge into practice in conservation.  He strongly believed that knowledge should not lie in books, but be used to develop better policies and practices to support conservation on the ground.

Born to teachers who were both nature-lovers and outdoor people, he grew up in a small town called Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. His parents encouraged him to be outdoors, and family outings generally meant picnics in the wilderness areas of the Western Ghats. They were early and important influences in his love for nature. Another source of inspiration was Jim Corbett, whom he read avidly when young, and whose approach to conservation he admired—it was an approach that was unsentimental, and doing what needed to be done, extending to killing maneaters when there was no other way out.

JC Daniel of BNHS whom he first met when trekking up in the Kalakad hills in 1971, and who mentored him at various stages in his career, was a great influence.  George Schaller,  American mammalogist, biologist, conservationist and author recognized by many as the world’s preeminent field biologist, studying wildlife throughout Africa, Asia and South America, was a role model for Johnsingh.

AJT went to St. Xavier’s College, Palayankottai, and then Madras Christian College, Tambaram. He started his career as a professor at Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi, He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He returned to India in 1981 to work with the Bombay Natural History Society. In 1985, he joined the faculty of newly-established Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and helped shape this premier institute which has developed the cadre of India’s current wildlife professionals. He retired as the Dean WII in 2005. In this period WII trained over 300 managers and several M.Sc Wildlife and PHD students.

He was the first Indian to carry out field research on free-ranging large wild mammals. He focussed particularly on the dhole (wild dog) in Indian forests. His research in the early years focused on the ecology and prey-predator relationships of dhole, other carnivores and ungulates in Bandipur National Park. His interest and research covered several large mammals, and his knowledge of many species saw him on the IUCN Asian Elephant Specialist Group, as well as the Cat, Canid, Bear, and Caprinae Specialist Groups. He also researched the Mahseer fish.

Tigers also fascinated him. He is credited with having taken the first good photo of a tiger in Bandipur. Talking about this photo in an interview to Sanctuary, he said: ‘ For years, no one had been able to take a clear picture of a tiger in Bandipur. Because my dhole study area was littered with tiger spoor, I always carried a camera around ‘just in case’. On May 23, 1978, around 7 a.m., I was sitting eight metres up on a mango tree in the Ministerguthi nullah, which was frequented by tigers whose pugmarks could easily be seen and whose spray markings, I could smell. I sat for around 45 minutes, barely breathing when a movement in the tall grass caught my eye. The tiger walked towards a clearing right in front of me and when it reached a patch of sunlight, I whistled and with a perplexed look on its face, it froze staring straight at me. But the moment it heard my camera shutter, it vanished. Interestingly, I cannot stop smiling whenever I see this picture.’

He authored several research papers, but what got him know widely across the general public where his three popular books: ‘Field Days: A Naturalist’s Journey through South and Southeast Asia’ (2005), ‘Walking the Western Ghats’ (2015) and ‘On Jim Corbett’s Trail and Other Tales From the Jungle’ (2018). He also edited two volumes of The Mammals of South Asia which in total has 69 chapters.

AJT was decorated with many honours including the Distinguished Service Award by the Society for Conservation Biology, the Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award, the ABN AMRO Sanctuary Lifetime Wildlife Service Award, ‘Kirloskar Vasundhara Sanman’ and Salim Ali Conservation Award.

The government also respected and valued his expertise. He was on the Standing Committee on the National Board for Wildlife, Government of India, and served for three years as a member of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. He was also a Padma Shri awardee. His voice, opinion and work contributed to the creation of wildlife areas including the Kalakkad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.

We at CEE had the opportunity to interact with Dr. Johnsingh on different occasions when we sought his expertise on various projects. Two in which I was personally involved where he was on the Advisory Committee were the Snow Leopard Education project, and the ‘School Education to Support Asian Elephant Conservation’ project. In the days prior to Zoom and video calls, we could not get into discussions with him, but sent him drafts on which he gave his insightful comments.

The conservation world and India have lost a unique researcher and spokesperson who had the knowledge and courage to speak out, and the stature to be listened to. As a message from his family puts it: ‘The Green Warrior has landed safely in his Valhalla, after a war well fought, to save mother nature, for all mankind.’

And to end with a quote from him which underlines the spirit behind his research: “I used to ask questions about wildlife that no one could answer. So I began to search for answers myself by observing animals. Curiosity is the greatest trigger for good science.“

RIP, Dr. AJT Johnsingh.  Your passing is personal loss to your family and friends, and as great a loss to the wildlife and environment you worked so hard to protect.

–Meena

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A Tree for all Reasons: Khejri

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5 June has been marked annually as World Environment Day (WED). First held in 1973, and led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), WED is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. This year, 2024, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is hosting the global celebrations.

The focus of this year’s WED is land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.

As the world is seeing rapid advances in desertification, and land degradation, propelled by climate change, it is useful to go back and see nature’s in-built mechanisms for coping with such conditions. 

Khejri tree

Plants that grow in arid areas have special ways of dealing with extreme heat or cold, and other desert conditions.  Desert plants fall into three categories according to the way they deal with the problem of surviving in arid or extremely arid conditions.

Drought evaders: Plants which remain as seeds in the sand, but are ready to spring up when it rains, to flower quickly, to produce another crop of seeds and die again. These are known as ephemerals.

Drought resisters: Plants which have evolved various ways of storing water, locating underground water or reducing their need for water by such methods as shedding their leaves. These are known as perennials. They manage to live from one rainy season to another.

Drought-endurers: Plants which have the capacity to tolerate drought for a longer period by adapting through condensed growth, small-sized leaves and very deep root system.

These natural adaptations have enabled these plants, over millennia, to grow in some of the toughest of conditions. In turn, these plants have also played an important role in supporting other life, including human life, in desert conditions. Perhaps no plant better exemplifies this than the Khejri tree.  

Khejri or Prosopis cineraria is a tree that grows in the dry and arid regions of India and West Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran where summers are very hot, winters are harsh, and rainfall is scant. It has a variety of common names in different states of India. Khejri or sangria (Rajasthan), jand (Punjab), kandi (Sindh), sami, sumri (Gujarat). Its trade name is kandri.

A moderate-sized evergreen thorny tree, with light bluish-green foliage, its sturdy older branches, and slender tender branches have conical thorns. It sprouts freely from the base, producing a fresh growth of leaves around March. Soon after the new leaves, the small yellow, creamy white flowers appear. These, in turn, give way to pods.

This drought-resister tree has a range of adaptations that enable it to grow well in highly arid and harsh conditions, where other plants cannot survive. It grows on a variety of soils, including moderately saline soils. It has a long and well-developed root system. This serves two purposes; it provides firm anchorage and also aids in obtaining moisture supplies from deep down. Its foliage also helps to absorb moisture from the rains, as and when there is rainfall. 

The roots are a life saver not only for the tree, but are equally valuable for the environment in which the tree lives. The extensive root system helps to stabilize shifting sand dunes. The tree is useful as a windbreak shelter, and in afforestation of dry areas. It fixes nitrogen through microbial activity, and its leaf litter decomposition adds organic matter thus rejuvenating poor soils.

Often being the only kind of tree that grows in the arid conditions, the tree also provides much needed shade and shelter to local farmers, as well as livestock. Prosopis cineraria is a much valued fodder tree, which provides nutritious and highly palatable green as well as dry fodder which is readily eaten by camels, cattle, sheep and goats. Its dead leaves are fed to cattle to improve milk yield. Its dry pods are also nutritious animal feed. The pods are also eaten, in green as well as dry forms, by people who have scant access to a variety of fresh vegetables for much of the year.

The tree’s wood is suitable for construction, and is used locally for numerous purposes including making agricultural implements and tool handles, water pipes, yoke and spokes of carts. The high calorific value of the wood also makes it an efficient fuel wood. The bark of the tree is dry and acrid with a sharp taste. The bark extract is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties, and is used in traditional medicine to treat rheumatism, cough and colds, and asthma, as well as scorpion sting. The pod is also believed to have astringent properties.

A popular saying in the Thar desert encapsulates the value of the khejri. Death will not visit humans, even at the time of famine, if they have a khejri, a goat and a camel, since the three together help sustain humans even under the most trying conditions. 

Thus for millennia the people of the Thar have revered the khejri as such a critical part of their lives. And they have given up their own lives to save the trees that sustain their lives.

Nothing highlights this better than the story of Amrita Devi and the Bishnois, or Twenty-niners, a sect that lived by simple tenets: Do not cut any green tree, do not kill any animal or bird, respect every living being, it has as much right to life as we humans do.

Amrita Devi’s story dates back to 1730.  The then Maharaja of Jodhpur, Abhay Singh, wanted to build a new palace for which he required wood. He sent his soldiers to a village to cut down some khejri trees. But this was a Bishnoi village. For hundreds of years, generations of villagers had nurtured and protected their vegetation, land and wildlife. One of the villagers was churning butter when she heard the commotion. Her name was Amrita Devi. She saw the men sharpening their axes and her mind flashed back to her childhood. She remembered how, every morning, she would respectfully greet  all the khejri trees and choose a special one for that day; she would hug it and thank it for all the gifts that it gave her and her people. Every child in the village had their own special tree.

Now the trees were in danger. Amrita Devi ran and confronted the axe men. She pleaded with them: “Leave our trees. They are our brothers and sisters, our village protectors. They are the breath of life, the water we drink, and our food.”

The axe men paid her no heed. They continued with their task. Amrita Devi hugged a tree. “Chop me first” she said, “take my life and leave my tree.” The axe men tore her away, but Amrita Devi was back at her tree, clinging for dear life. She did not let go of her tree; the axe men had to chop through her body to get to the tree. No sooner did Amrita fall than hundreds of villagers, young and old, rushed to the trees. Each one hugged a khejri tree. The king’s men continued to chop through them, until 363 people lay dead at the feet of the trees they hugged to save.

When the king heard of the incident, he could not believe that people would lay down their lives for trees. He personally visited the village to meet these people. They said: “The trees can survive without us, but we cannot survive without the trees.” The king was deeply moved the faith and humility of these people. He proclaimed that from then on no Bishnoi village would be called upon to provide timber or wildlife by hunting. Almost three centuries later, the Bishnoi community is intact. The twenty-nine tenets continue to live, even as the khejri trees give life to the land and its people. Amrita’s village came to be known as Khejarli after the trees she gave her life for.

Amrita Devi’s name is synonymous with her sacrifice. In 2001, a national award (the Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award) was created in her honour, to recognize people who had contributed to environmental conservation.

This World Environment Day, as the world looks ahead to combatting desertification, it is humbling to look back and remember the story of Amrita Devi and the khejri trees.

–Mamata

Shady Environment-Talk

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June 5: Marked as Environment Day across the world since 1973.

The world has come a long way since the time in 1972 when such a day was mooted. Not only in terms of becoming more aware about the environment and taking action, but also in terms of the planetary boundaries being pushed to the brink through not taking enough action!

With the environment being such a widely talked-about issue, every actor—governments, businesses, civil society– have taken these issues on board.

Which is very good.

Till it is not.

The ‘till it is not’ includes corporates and other entities passing themselves off as environmentally or socially friendly when they are not. How do they do this? Here are a few terms that are used in the context of the many, many shades of these tricks:

  • Green Washing is undertaking misleading promotion of products or policies as environmentally friendly when in reality, they are not—often exaggerating the benefits while hiding the true or non-existent environmental impact. Common and insidious, such examples may range from misleading ads, to misleading recycling claims, to unverifiable carbon footprint claims, and every PR stunt in the book.
  • Blue Washing, indulged in by some of the largest corporations across the world, is the practice of businesses to sign up for the UN Global Compact and use their association with the United Nations to enhance their image and shift attention from their controversial business practices.
  • Carbon Washing is when companies make misleading or unsubstantiated claims about their carbon impacts or initiatives.
  • Social washing is similar to green washing, but in the context of being socially conscious–corporations wrongfully trying to market themselves as socially responsible.
  • Purple Washing is when a state or organization appeals to women’s rights and feminism in order to deflect attention from its doing nothing, or in fact actually harming these rights. 
  • Pink Washing is when companies try to create a false impression of being LGBTQ friendly while doing nothing to make life for their LGBTQ employees easier.
  • Rainbow Washing is similar to the above, when corporations use the rainbow symbol or colours, while being involved in activities that are damaging to LGBTQIA+ community 
  • Vegan Washing is when companies promote their products through appeals to compassion for animals, while actually causing animal suffering

Of recent times, the vocabulary of Green Washing has got even more nuanced! Here are some subtle variations:

  • Green Shifting: This is a subtle move, wherein companies highlight consumer choices, thus transferring responsibility to them, rather than highlighting their sustainability efforts.
  • Green Lighting: This trend is about corporations highlighting a particularly environmentally friendly aspect of their operations, in an effort to divert attention from less sustainable practices elsewhere in the company.
  • Green Rinsing: This involves businesses frequently changing ESG targets without genuine accomplishment, thereby making it hard for stakeholders to track their progress.

The UN warns about the seriousness of the harm that Green Washing (and allied colour-washes) can cause. In the context of climate change, the UN points out that: ‘Greenwashing presents a significant obstacle to tackling climate change. By misleading the public to believe that a company or other entity is doing more to protect the environment than it is, greenwashing promotes false solutions to the climate crisis that distract from and delay concrete and credible action.’

They identify many tactics of green washing including:

  • :‘Claiming to be on track to reduce a company’s polluting emissions when no credible plan is actually in place.
  • Being purposely vague or non-specific about a company’s operations or materials used.
  • Applying intentionally misleading labels such as “green” or “eco-friendly,” which do not have standard definitions and can be easily misinterpreted.
  • Implying that a minor improvement has a major impact or promoting a product that meets the minimum regulatory requirements as if it is significantly better than the standard.
  • Emphasizing a single environmental attribute while ignoring other impacts.
  • Claiming to avoid illegal or non-standard practices that are irrelevant to a product.
  • Communicating the sustainability attributes of a product in isolation of brand activities (and vice versa) – e.g. a garment made from recycled materials that is produced in a high-emitting factory that pollutes the air and nearby waterways.’

The UN urges us all to be more responsible by:

  • Learning more about green washing techniques so that we are more discerning
  • Make better consumer choices by buying only from companies whose green claims have been substantiated
  • Taking into account a product’s lifecycle and its environmental impact through every stage of making, use and disposal.

This Environment Day, let’s become better watch-dogs for the environment by getting more savvy about this colour palatte!

–Meena

Cicada Summer

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In many countries, ranging from America to Japan, the song of the cicadas heralds summer. This summer, cicadas are making headlines in the United States which is bracing up for a cacophony of noise as trillions of cicadas are due to emerge in a rare synchronized event that occurs only once in a couple of hundred years.

Periodical cicada
Source: Getty images

Cicada species have been around for a long time. The oldest cicada fossils are from the Triassic period, where they may have buzzed around the dinosaurs. Cicadas are members of the superfamily Cicadoidea. A cicada has a stout body, a broad head with two large compound eyes on both sides, and clear-membraned wings. Cicadas have modified mouthparts to feed on liquids rather than solid material. Larvae suck juices from plant roots, while adults suck fluids from woody shrubs and trees. While all cicadas have the same basic body shape, they come in all sorts of sizes and colour.

The most defining feature of cicadas is not in their form but in the sound that the male cicadas make to attract female partners. This sound is produced by the movement of specialized structures on each side of the abdomen called tymbals. Tymbals are thin membranous structures streaked with marginally thicker ribs. A muscle pulls these ribs inward and then releases them, resulting in a sharp sound. Rapid repetition of this action at a speed of 300 to 400 times per second generates the distinctive song of the cicada. The cicada’s body is like a hollow musical instrument, similar to a violin or guitar, with air-filled pockets that act like echo chambers, amplifying the sound. Varying body sizes produce different sound frequencies. Each species has its own specific call. In answer to the male’s song, the female cicada replies with a soft click.

Despite having no vocal chords and no lungs, male cicadas are the loudest insects in the world. While poets may wax eloquent about the song of the cicada, the decibel level of the cicada chorus can be deafening. The intensity of the sound can be as high 120 decibels, the decibel level of a jet engine!

Cicadas have a fascinating lifecycle. The male attracts the female with his powerful song which reverberates through the air. The female arrives, and after the mating, she makes slits in tree branches and lays her eggs. The eggs hatch six to seven weeks later. The emerging young ones look like termites, and stay on the plant, feeding on sap till they are ready to drop down to the ground. This marks the beginning of the next stage of their lifecycle. Tunnelling through the earth with their powerful front legs, the nymphs burrow and build chambers deep in the soil, living a major part of their lives underground, feeding on roots, till they are finally ready to emerge as adults. Once they crawl back onto the surface, the nymphs shed their exoskeletons, and start flapping their wings. They spend the next six weeks or so of their adult life, making a cacophony to attract mates, so that the eggs can be laid before they die

This trait of disappearing distinguishes cicadas from most other insects. While all species of cicadas disappear underground, different species have different cycles of emergence. There are annual cicadas which emerge once a year, or once very couple of years, and periodical cicadas which spend most of their lives underground, and emerge, en masse every 13 or 17 years to mate and start the cycle over again. Of the 3,400 species of cicadas in the world, only nine species are known to have developed the habit of disappearing underground for years at a time and then emerging en masse simultaneously.

It is this cycle of disappearance and reappearance that has symbolically linked cicadas with rebirth and transformation in some cultures. In China during the Han Dynasty, jade cicadas were placed on the tongue as part of the burial ceremony to ensure that the departed have voices in their afterlife. Some Native American tribes believe that cicadas emerge from the earth, bringing with them an opportunity to renew their relationship with nature and their ancestors.

India has approximately 250 species of annual cicadas, but only one species of periodic cicada, the Chremista ribhoi in Meghalaya that emerges once in four years. Forests in all parts of India are abuzz with cicada sounds, especially before the rains begin, thus here cicadas are associated with the monsoon. A curious tale related to cicadas is that when, in 1847, an Englishman discovered a forest area in Kerala, he found it to be completely devoid of cicada sounds, and thus so quiet, that he named it Silent Valley.

This summer several parts of the United States will witness the once-in-lifetime phenomenon of the simultaneous emergence of billions of cicadas from two different broods of cicadas—one that lives a 13-year cycle and one that has a 17-year cycle. This rare synchronized event last occurred in 1803. This is causing much excitement among scientists as well as others, who will witness (as well as hear) this rare event—a cicada summer to remember!

–Mamata

Wise Words on Democracy

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Election fever is well upon us. Not just us in India. An estimated third of the world goes to the polls this year.

A good time to pause and reflect on what people who have contributed so much to the shaping of our nation have said about democracy?

The first section is devoted to quotes taken from the discussions in the Constituent Assembly of India in 1949. The later section reflects Gandhiji’s thoughts on the subject.

‘What is democracy? I define it, in one word. Democracy is accommodation. Any person who does not understand this small definition of democracy, cannot be a democrat at all. ‘(Shri R. V. Dhulekar)

‘If we are going to have a democratic form of Government we should have as real democracy as possible by giving as much power to as small a unit as practicable so that the individuals composing the unit may have easy and ready remedy ..’. ( Shri B. P. Jhunjhunwal)

‘..the strength of democracy lies in the character of the people and their representatives.’ (Shri B. M. Gupte)

Constitution of India
Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of the Constituent Assembly, signing the Constitution of India.

‘The essence of democracy is not so much the existence of what are called political parties, etc., but the essence of democracy is the effective participation of the individual in the actual government of the country. The greater and more effective the participation of the individual in the government, the greater is the democracy, because democracy is still only an ideal which has yet to be reached by humanity.’ (TJM Wilson)

‘..Gandhiji  said that true democracy rose not from the top but from the bottom. Power and authority should not be centered at the top but should be distributed among the people at the base of society. Then alone can true democracy be established and then alone can people enjoy freedom.’ (Shri Kamlapati Tiwari)

‘We must observe the caution which John Stuart Mill has given to all who are interested in the maintenance of democracy, namely, not “to lay their liberties at the feet of even a great man, or to trust him with powers which enable him to subvert their institutions“. There is nothing wrong in being grateful to great men who have rendered life-long services to the country. But there are limits to gratefulness. As has been well said by the Irish Patriot Daniel O’Connel.. no nation can be grateful at the cost of its liberty. This caution is far more necessary in the case of India than in the case of any other country. For in India, Bhakti or what may be called the path of devotion or hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude by the part it plays in the politics of any other country in the world. Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship. (BR Ambedkar)

‘We must not to be content with mere political democracy. We must make our political democracy a social democracy as well. Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life.’  (BR Ambedkar)

From: Discussion in the Constituent Assembly of India. 1949.

Gandhiji on Democracy

‘I understand democracy as something that gives the weak the same chance as the strong.’

Democarcy is ‘..”the art and science of mobilizing the entire physical, economic and spiritual resources of all….in the service of the common good of all”

‘There is no human institution but has its dangers. The greater the institution the greater the chances of abuse.  Democracy is a great institution and therefore it is liable to be greatly abused. The remedy, therefore, is not avoidance of democracy but reduction of possibility of abuse to a minimum.’

‘..if individual liberty goes, then surely all is lost, for, if the individual ceases to count, what is left of society? Individual freedom also can make a man voluntarily surrender himself completely to the service of society. If it is wrested from him, he becomes automation and society is ruined. No society can possibly be built on denial of individual freedom.’ ‘In the democracy which I have envisaged, a democracy established by nonviolence, there will be equal freedom for all. Everybody will be his own master.’

Profound perspectives indeed, and we would do well to reflect on them, and to think about the fundamentals of democracy, which are:
1) Respect for basic human rights,
2) A multi-party political system paired with political tolerance,
3) A democratic voting system,
4) Respect for the rule of law,
5) Democratic governance, and
6) Citizen participation

Democracy is much more than election day and inking the finger!

–Meena

Pic: http://www.nbpgr.ernet.in

Nature Education Pioneer: Anna Botsford Comstock

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In 2005 a book titled Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder became a best-selling ‘bible’ for the environmental movement. In a society where an entire new generation of children was spending all their time indoors, hooked to virtual devices for entertainment, the book by Richard Louv rang alarm bells. It brought together research that indicated that this alienation from the natural world was creating a phenomenon called Nature Deficit Disorder, and urging that direct exposure to nature was essential for healthy childhood development, and for the physical and emotional health of children, as well as adults. The book spurred an international movement to connect children, families and communities to the natural world.

Today the value of direct exposure to the natural environment is recognized as an important input for a healthy life. Educational curricula at all levels are formally introducing opportunities for this, emphasising the need for learning-by-doing in natural settings. Not many today are aware that more than a century-and-a-half before this ‘trend’, there was a strong advocate for ‘connecting with nature’. She was Anna Botsford Comstock. Indeed, she may be called the pioneer of nature education.

Anna was more than this; a woman of many achievements. Born in 1854 in a Quaker family, Anna grew up in an environment which encouraged appreciation and exploration of the natural world. She spent her childhood on a farm which was largely self-sufficient, guided by her mother in observing different aspects of nature, and getting some formal education in a single teacher rural schoolhouse. A voracious reader, she grew up with the influence of the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Wordsworth and Henry David Thoreau. When she was 13 the family moved to a place closer to a town, where she graduated from high school. She then applied to Cornell University which had recently begun to admit women.

Anna Botsford was interested in English and history, but took a course in invertebrate zoology to balance her curriculum. As part of this she attended the lectures of a young entomologist John Henry Comstock, who encouraged her to cultivate her already strong interest in nature, as well as her skills as an illustrator. He also asked her to assist him in his research. The working partnership blossomed into romance and the two were married in1878. Anna had to discontinue her studies, when Henry was appointed chief entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they moved to Washington, D.C. where she also worked for the same department. Anna returned to Cornell to complete her degree, side-by-side with working in the lab, and graduated in 1885 with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Anna’s additional career as a nature educator began in the early 1890s. This was a period when there was a large migration of rural youth to urban areas in search for employment, leaving a shortage of labour in rural agricultural communities. One school of thought believed that if young people were taught to appreciate the wonders of nature, it would encourage them to stay on in their family farms, and also others to migrate to rural areas. This gave rise to the Nature Study Movement which began in New York and soon became a nationwide movement. Anna was attracted by this approach. She believed that ‘future citizens should be set on inheriting our Earth by learning of its environments, and of the interactions of the living systems therein’. Anna emphasized that children should discover their environment through the use of their five senses and careful observation. Through their own individual investigations, children could thereby cultivate a sense of connection and responsibility for our Earth. She began promoting nature study programmes in public schools throughout Westchester County, often leading lessons and training teachers in subjects related to the natural sciences.

Serendipitously, the Cornell College of Agriculture got a grant to carry out a pilot project under the Nature Study programme, and Anna plunged into this with passion and conviction. She continued to lecture and promote nature study in local schools as she had been doing. In order to reach a larger audience Anna began lecturing and training teachers at other institutions across the nation. She also wrote and published a series of Nature Study Leaflets that were distributed to schools and teaching programs. The Nature Study Leaflets were in fact succinctly written and beautifully illustrated Lesson Plans for self-led or teacher-guided instruction. Her detailed notes, language and observations were reminiscent of the writing of Henry David Thoreau who had been one of her early inspirations.

Anna began with botanical lessons, but soon included all species from microbes to mammals, as well as natural resources and ecosystems. The pedagogy encouraged the development of a child’s curiosity by “opening one’s eyes to our natural surroundings.” Having developed hundreds of such Nature Study Leaflets, Anna felt that it would be useful to compile these into a comprehensive manual. In 1909 she began work on this comprehensive manual which grew into a nearly 1000-page document. No commercial publisher was willing to publish it, so it was published by Anna and her husband. Published in 1911 as Handbook of Nature Study, the book was a huge success, going into over twenty reprints, and being translated into eight languages. It remains a timeless resource and continues to inspire new generations of nature lovers.

In 1899, Anna Comstock was made assistant professor of nature study at the Cornell University Extension Division, the first woman to hold the title of professor at Cornell. But conservative trustees objected to a woman professor, and her title was revoked. Instead, she was named as lecturer with the same salary. Anna did retire from Cornell University with full professorship in 1922. She continued to teach, lecture, and publish materials related to nature studies until she passed away in 1930.

Her pioneering Lesson Plans and her vision for nature education for children supported and inspired generations of students and teachers in nature study.

Anna was also a pioneer in advocating for introducing ‘nature study’ as part of the school curriculum. This continues to be a challenge even today; not many curricula have effectively integrated and infused this; nor accepted that nature study can plant the seeds of valuable life skills.

May 22 is marked as International day for Biological Diversity. A good day to remember Anna Botsworth Comford, one of the early advocates for celebrating biodiversity, and pioneers in biodiversity education.  

–Mamata

Vasco da Gama Lands in India

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526 years ago to the day yesterday (May 20), the first European made it by the sea route to India. This was the Portuguese Vasco da Gama who landed in Kozhikode (Calicut), Kerala. And the history of globalization and the colonization of India by Europeans started.

The discovery of the sea route to India was a milestone in world affairs. It provided access to the spice trade, which otherwise happened overland—more time consuming, more risky and more expensive. Vasco da Gama first came to India via the Cape of Good Hope, and became the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route—one that traversed the Atlantic and the Indian oceans. This enabled Portugal to establish colonies all the way from Africa to Asia, and dominate the trade between Asia and Europe for decades. The Dutch, the English, the French and the Danish lagged by almost a century before they could challenge the Portuguese for supremacy in these seas.

Vasco da Gama
Statue of Vasco da Gama, Viceroy’s Arch, Old Goa, Velha Goa

There can be no questions about da Gama’s courage, enterprise, skills and sheer sense of adventure in venturing out into unknown waters, and persisting for almost two years in the voyage to finally make it to India.

But even as one celebrates this spirit of human endeavor, it is necessary to question many of the motives and actions.

Da Gama, in his interactions with the Zamorin (ruler) of Calicut was always less than respectful. The Zomorin received da Gama with the respect due to a visitor from foreign shores, but da Gama had no clear answers to why he was visiting India, and gave the Zamorin such trivial gifts from the Portuguese king that no one would quite believe that da Gama was a royal ambassador and not some small-time merchant. This resulted in the Zomorin refusing Vasco da Gama’s request for permission to leave a representative behind to look after the merchandise he had not been able to sell. Further, local officials insisted on his paying customs duty like any other trader. This irritated the entitled da Gama, and he kidnapped and carried away some Nairs and sixteen fishermen when he left the shores.

But the most damning incident occurred during his next visit—the Second Armada. His ships reached India in October 1502. At the same time, a ship named Mirim carrying about 400 Muslim pilgrims including 50 women, had set out from Calicut for Mecca. Da Gama’s ships intercepted Mirim, looted the ship, locked in the passengers including the owner and an ambassador from Egypt, and burned them to death. Only about 20 children were spared on the condition that they would convert to Christianity. Da Gama watched the whole gory incident through the porthole of his ship.

Da Gama had come this time with the objective of signing a trade treaty with the Zamorin. After the pilgrim ship incident, the Zamorin hesitated to take on the Portuguese head-on and indicated his willingness to sign a treaty. But Da Gama had an atrocious condition—that the Hindu Zamorin expel all Muslims from his territory before negotiating the treaty. The Zamorin was appalled and refused. A very senior priest, Talappana Namboodri, known to both sides was sent to Da Gama to try to sort out things. But da Gama labelled him a spy, and had the priest’s lips and ears cut off. He had a pair of dog’s ears to his head before sending him away. But this was not the end of the matter. So infuriated was da Gama that he had the Portuguese fleet bombard the unfortified city of Calicut for nearly two days from the sea, severely damaging it. He also captured several ships, cut off the crew’s hands, ears and noses, dispatching them to the Zamorin with a note wherein he said that he would be happy to reset the relationship to a positive note once the Zamorin had paid for the items plundered well as the gunpowder and cannonballs used to bombard Calicut! Things escalated, and there was a sea battle which da Gama won. He also started trade with Cochin and Cannanore which were at war with Calicut.

Da Gama’s fortunes in Portugal declined for some decades after this journey, and he lay low. In 1594, with the new King’s blessings, he set out again for India, now with the title of Viceroy. This time he landed in Goa. He set out immediately to strengthen the Portuguese domination along the East Coast. However, it was not for long. He contracted malaria and died three months later in Kochi.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to colonize India, and the last to leave! Vasco da Gama not only laid the foundation for this, but also for the ‘divide and rule’ strategy—turning one religion against another, one kingdom against another– which served future colonizers well.

Heroes in their time and country, leaving behind troubling legacies.

–Meena