So the world thinks Indians are the most eco-friendly nation in the world. [See http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Indians_most_ecofriendly_consumers_Survey-nid-68569-cid-3.html] It better think again. Because if Indians are eco-friendly, it is not because they have made wise, conscious, conscientious ethical choices to adopt eco-friendly ways. Because their eco-friendly behaviour is not an index of their environment awareness.
It is rather an index of their lack of means. If Indians are the most eco-friendly nation of people in the world, then it is because their consumption patterns and habits are dictated more by the size of their wallets than by their environment consciousness.
Whether in the matter of energy use, transportation choices, food sources, use of green products or any other critical environment issues, most Indians still make choices based on their economic or financial conditions, and not based on their attitude towards the environment and understanding of notions of sustainability.
And because the number of Indians making such choices is so huge, it has managed to swing Indian consumers into the No. 1 position in the Consumer Greendex compiled by National Geographic recently. More than anything else, this ranking is more a reflection of the actual state of economic conditions in small town and rural India, which is the biggest part of the country, than it is of our habits and attitudes towards the environment. Let’s face it.
Agree entirely! While my sample size may be limited, once Indians come to a first world economy like America, they're as bad as anyone else in their wasteful consumption, ranging from use of large minivans and never switching off the lights to use of paper towels to wipe up every spill!
ReplyDeleteSo there are actually two points to make:
ReplyDelete1. If average or less than average Indian is eco-friendly in his habits, it is not out of choice (moral or ethical) but it is out of compulsion (economic).
2. The global, upwardly mobile Indian, who is not limited by his purse is as wasteful as the rest of 'em.
A third point that comes to mind here: Being a very old and largely agrarian society where a majority of people's lives have been touched by nature for millennia and where cultural traditions often draw from their interactions with nature and understanding of it, an average Indian ( by which I mean an Indian in small town with average earnings, if properly educated can easily become environment conscious in attitude and eco-friendly in habits and behaviour.
But there is no grassroots movement yet in India, though there is a lot of activity in pockets. Actually we should undertake large-scale documentation of indigenous wisdom, and local habitats, study their origins, critique the wisdom, brainstorm and come up with modifications suitable to the times, without losing the core wisdom, and then propagate these among people. As the solutions are part of the local culture and arise from the local people, they should easily find acceptance. Long way to go, I realise. But a very important issue to debate.