Ecology Is Permanent Economy : The Activism and Environmental Philosophy of Sunderlal Bahuguna

For decades, Sunderlal Bahuguna has been an environmental activist in his native India, well known for his efforts on behalf of the Himalayas and its people. In the 1970s, he was instrumental in the successful Chipko (or'hug') movement during which local people hugged trees to prevent logging for outside concerns. He was also a leader of the long opposition to the Tehri Dam. In both conflicts, the interests of outsiders threatened the interests of local people living relatively traditional lives.George Alfred James introduces Sunderlal Bahuguna's activism and philosophy in a work based on interviews with Bahuguna himself, his writings, and journalistic accounts. James writes that Bahuguna's work in the Indian independence movement and his admiration for the nonviolence of Gandhi has inspired a vision and mode of activism that deserves wider attention. It is a philosophy that does not try to win the conflict, but to win the opponent's heart. Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgments 12 Introduction 14 Chapter 1 The Encounter 20 Chapter 2 The Childhood of an Activist 28 Chapter 3 Going Underground 42 Chapter 4 The Short Career of an Activist Politician 54 Chapter 5 Meeting Mira Behn 60 Chapter 6 Marriage and the Parvatiya Navjeevan Ashram 78 Chapter 7 Embracing the Trees 94 Chapter 8 Modes of Chipko Resistance 112 Chapter 9 A Permanent Economy 134 Chapter 10 Chipko Ecology: Shallow or Deep? 150 Chapter 11 Srinagar to Kohima: An Educational Mission 162 Chapter 12 Protesting the Tehri Dam 184 Chapter 13 Social Ecology, Religion, and the Tehri Protest 200 The Dam and the Hindu Right 201 The Rising Tide and the Judgment of the Supreme Court 206 Chapter 14 Against the Tide: Bahuguna’s Philosophy of Life, Religion, and Nature 218 Bahuguna and Gandhi 220 Bahuguna, Gandhi, and Ecology 224 Bahuguna and Indian Spirituality 229 Appendix 1 Some Critical Dates in the History of Modern India and the Activism of Sunderlal Bahuguna 240 Appendix 2 Arguments of the Petitioners in the Public Interest Litigation against the Tehri Dam 246 Notes 250 Selected Bibliography 266 Index 274