Vision for the future - Frontline 22/10/20, 6:42 PM

Vision for the future

Ajit Menon

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I WAS skeptical when I started reading Alternative Futures: India

Unshackled edited by Ashish Kothari and K.J. Joy. In the early 1990s when
I worked at the Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, the Centre
actively publicised and promoted the “alternative” decentralised
community-based natural resource management model practised in places
such as Sukhomajri, Haryana, and Ralegaon Siddhi, Maharashtra as being
ecologically sustainable and socially equitable.

Unfortunately, as years went by, there was no sign that such experiments
were on the rise. Moreover, while critiques of capitalist modernity and
neoliberal development were a dime a dozen, there were few, if any,
detailed macro visions of a different path to sustainable and equitable
development and also rigorous critiques of these micro-level “success”
stories.

Despondency set in as neoliberal development gained pace and spread far

and wide, making India an even more polarised society than it had always
been.

The book under review is, however, different. Kothari and Joy, both being
actively involved in sociopolitical and environmental movements for the
past few decades, have assembled a group of activist scholars and scholar
activists to imagine a future that offers a viable sustainable alternative to
capitalist modernity.

What ties together an apparently disparate set of 32 essays covering a

breadth of topics on ecological, political, economic and sociocultural
themes is a critique of India’s current development path and a vision for a
future grounded in real-life examples of sustainable alternatives emerging
from state policies and/or civil society initiatives.

The writers have followed the brief given by the editors who say in their
introduction: “Our brief to the exciting galaxy of authors in this volume
was to indulge in some such vision-setting, for a moment letting the

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imagination run riot, and not get caught in the shackles of what is ‘realistic’
and ‘feasible’. But since we did not want this to be an exercise only in
imagination, we also requested authors to build on the current context, and
to provide actual examples and instances from the past or present that
point to the real possibility of such visions coming true” (page 3).

The first couple of essays in the book deal with the building blocks of such
a vision—namely a sustainable and equitable ecological future, a theme
that in fact runs through most of the essays in the volume. Kartik Shanker,
Nitin Rai and Meera Anna Oommen set the stage by arguing for a
reconciliation ecology that emphasises diverse, multi-use landscapes where
humans and non-humans can coexist. The importance of this cannot be
overemphasised, given the current conservation paradigm that imagines
largely a network of wildlife protected areas and reserved forests free of
humans and human use without caring much for what happens outside
them.

Conservation and social justice are inextricably linked in a densely

populated country like India, and hence alternatives to fortress
conservation must be explored along with local communities who depend
on natural resources.

Sharachchandra Lele and Geetanjoy Sahu build on this call for a more
equitable ecological future by arguing that environmental governance must
embrace environmentalism as a way of life through a reworked
institutional framework that emphasises social justice and democracy.
They argue that translating such principles into practice will require much
more decentralised nodes of environmental decision-making and more
downward accountability and inclusiveness within the bureaucracy
charged with administering environmental laws. They further contend that
more public awareness will be required to ensure that such a decentralised
system is held accountable and works.

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Water as a common resource

The other two chapters in the section on “Ecological Futures” are sector
specific, focussing on water and energy. The water sector is perhaps the
most emblematic of post-Independence India’s tryst with development.
Jawaharlal Nehru’s temples of modernity, that is, large dams, were the
focus of water policy. As Shripad Dharmadhikary and Himanshu Thakkar
highlight in their essays, the aim of the policy was to store and use water
and to deem the water not stored as waste. The result is there for us to see
—dried up rivers and overexploited groundwater. To make things worse,
many rivers have been polluted with no end in sight. Dharmadikhary and
Thakkar argue for a change of mindset where water is seen as a sustainer of
ecosystems and harvested and governed locally as commons. They point to
the locally revived traditional water-harvesting systems such as johads and
the larger systems such as the River Parliament to manage the Arvari, both
in Rajasthan.

Ensuring these water systems are sustainable will, of course, depend on

switching to less water-intensive crops. Here, one can think of the village of
Hivre Bazaar in Maharashtra where water-intensive crops such as sugar
cane have been banned by the village panchayat. The system of rice
intensification (SRI), “the new and evolving alternative to conventional
methods of rice cultivation”, is another option.

Similarly, energy, too, will have to become more decentralised, as Harish

Hande, Vivek Shastry and Rachita Mishra suggest. While they recognise
the importance of modern energy sources in meeting the aspirations of
over 200 million people in rural areas who still do not have regular
electricity, they argue that the centralised grid is already strained.
Moreover, the costs of expanding it in terms of more coal-fired power
plants and large hydro systems would not only be financially costly but
environmentally and socially destructive. Development, lest the reader has
forgotten, continues to destroy ecologically fragile landscapes and human

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lives through displacement. Again there are real-life examples of

decentralissed energy systems, which cater to local livelihoods. These
should be promoted, as the authors argue, through financing such
pathways and upgrading local capacity through service networks.

Radical social democracy

Power structure holds the key to these imagined ecologically sustainable
futures and, therefore, not surprisingly receives attention in the second
section, “Political Futures”. A number of chapters in the section call for a
more radical social democracy, as Aditya Nigam calls it in his essay titled
“For a radical social democracy: Imagining possible Indian future/s”.
Nigam argues that such a democracy would be a far cry from “the present
form of party-based parliamentary democracy” which “reduces all politics
and contestation to mass manipulation…” (page 155). Such an imagined
democracy, Nigam adds, will build on the ideas of B.R. Ambedkar and
M.N. Roy, while taking the positive elements from Rabindranath Tagore
and Mahatma Gandhi. We can add a host of other visionaries to that list
such as Jyotiba Phule and ‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramasamy.

In the essay titlted “Allowing people to shape our democratic future”,

Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Praavita Kashyap talk about how such a
democracy might unfold and what a vision of such a democracy might look
like. They highlight the importance of a rainbow coalition of social
movements that help foster direct democracy that prioritises economic,
social, ecological and political rights and show how such a coalition led to
the Right to Information Act, 2005, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, and the Scheduled Tribes and Other
Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.

Questions no doubt remain as to whether such alliances can be maintained

and even expanded given the plurality of India’s actors and its large size.
One also wonders how such rainbow alliances will translate into grass-

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roots democracy. True, examples such as the Panchayat Extension to

Scheduled Areas Act, 1996, already exist. They require development
projects in particular geographical areas to get the approval of the gram
sabha concerned. However, in the gram sabhas often rules are not only not
framed but their implementation also remains half-hearted.

Arpita Kodiveri, in the chapter titled “Legal futures for India”, proposes a
third House of Parliament comprising village representatives who could
debate and discuss Bills and whose two-thirds approval would be required
to pass a Bill. This leaves us with the vexing question of social inequality in
villages that Ambedkar warned about. Will radical social democracy
overturn such inequalities? Presumably, direct democracy with adequate
affirmative action safeguards will make it more likely than at present, but it
remains a daunting challenge.

For a sustainable economy

The chapters under the section “Economic Futures” collectively chart out a
vision for a more equitable and sustainable economy that is cognisant and
appreciative of local knowledge systems and resources. Capitalist
modernity has not only degraded, depleted and polluted nature but also
killed vast reservoirs of biodiversity and marginalised knowledge systems
associated with them. Bharat Mansata, Kavitha Kuruganti, Vijay Jardhari
and Vasant Futane make a case for food sovereignty and security based on
traditional knowledge systems as an alternative to the Green Revolution.
They give the example of the Deccan Development Society in Telangana
and its work with women’s sangams in repopularising traditional
agriculture and millet cultivation. Ilse Kohler-Rollefsen and Hanwant
Singh Rathore argue for an integrated pastoral production system that
once again is cognisant of the traditional as opposed to mimicking the
“efficient” but energy-intensive livestock production systems” (page 218) of
the West.

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In his chapter titled “Biomass-based rural revitalisation in future India”,

Joy details the importance of a biomass-based economy that can be locally
self-sufficient. These three chapters illustrate the possibility of an
integrated approach to agriculture and allied activities. The rest of the
chapters in this section speak of the other dimensions of the village as well
as the urban economy. In “Crafts show the way for Indian
industrialisation”, Uzramma argues that craft industries not only require
minimal financial investment and infrastructure but embody cultural traits
that have a significant market. Craft melas, which are fairly common in
urban centres, are an example of this.

M.P. Parameswaran dreams of a village economy that is not only self-

sufficient, but also minimalist and sustainable. Dunu Roy’s vision is
equally big, namely cooperative-based industrialisation that moves away
from competition and profit and ensures the dignity of labour. Rakesh
Kapoor makes the case for a more dispersed urbanisation process while
Sujit Patwardhan argues for a transport policy that is less car-centric and
focusses on non-motorised transport nodes, which is possible if residential
areas in urban centres are much more compact, reducing the need for
travel. Dinesh Abrol talks about technological alternatives that are not
driven by neoliberal logic but by people’s needs.

Diversity & tolerance

The final section of the book, “Socio-Cultural Futures”, contains a wide
range of subjects, including language, education, arts, health, caste,
religion and knowledge. What binds these chapters together is a broad call
for embracing diversity and tolerance that builds upon the past but is
cognisant of the need for change as well. Ganesh Devy points out that
India, according to the People’s Linguistic Survey, has more than 700
living languages, each embedded in rich cultures. Sudha Gopalakrishnan
speaks about art traditions such as Theyyam in Kerala that cross religious
boundaries and illustrate ways towards a multicultural society.
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Similarly, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta talks about the growth of alternative

non-profit initiatives within the media and Rajeshwari Raina about more
decentralised initiatives such as the one by the Timbuktu Foundation for
knowledge production for agriculture. All these authors are, of course,
aware that much more needs to be done to mainstream such initiatives and
roll back the increasing corporatisation of our lives. This is perhaps most
important in the education and health sectors, which continue to be driven
mostly by profit motives.

As Rajesh Khindri and Tultul Biswas illustrate, while the Right to

Education Act, 2009, aimed to make education more equitable, it has
hardly made a dent in our stratified educational system. Similarly, despite
Abhay Shukla and Rakhal Gaitonde’s call for a universal health care model
that is publicly funded, it is private health care that continues to flourish
and private hospitals that mushroom. We must, therefore, continue to
push forward these alternative visions across sectors and also make the
case for a future that grapples with and addresses social inequalities,
especially those of caste and gender as Anand Teltumbde and Arvind
Narrain respectively argue. “Imagining Utopia”, as Narrain puts it, is well
worth it.

In their “Concluding Perspectives”, under “Looking back into the future:

India, South Asia, and the world in 2100”, the editors suggest that we
acknowledge the daunting task ahead in translating the collective imagined
future dilineated in this volume into reality. History tells us that capitalism
invariably responds to the crises it finds itself in. Today is no different.
Many alternatives set out in this book, be it non-renewable energy or
organic agriculture, have an increasing number of corporate actors
involved. First, sustainable futures are being neoliberalised, and capital
sees in such futures opportunities for further accumulation. The current
political disposition depends significantly on keeping corporate India
happy. Secondly, capitalism is successful in creating new subjects enticed
by the market and consumption. How do we fight back against this, given

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that much of India aspires for a better life? The case for an alternative
future needs to have a material foundation that people buy into.

Thirdly, these alternative futures based on real-life examples have not

derailed the juggernaut of economic growth in India and its scant regard
for the environmental laws on statute books, which are increasingly being
watered down in the name of development. While there are victories to be
celebrated such as the Supreme Court’s judgment in favour of the Dongria
Kondh people’s right to reject the United Kingdom-based mining company
Vedanta Resources’ bauxite mining in Niyamgiri Hills, these are few and
far between. The recent closure of the Sterlite copper plant in Thoothukudi,
Tamil Nadu, is a stark reminder of how far governments are willing to go
when “development” is at stake.

Fourthly, we are now living in times when diversity appears to have lost
value. The bogey of majoritarian nationalism is increasingly deployed to
undermine alternative visions for the future and anything that comes in the
way of nationalism and development as the government knows it. It
remains to be seen, therefore, what space will exist in the near future for a
more decentralised vision of development and democracy that is
sustainable, equitable and inclusive.

Finally, even if such space exists for more decentralised development, it is

worth keeping in mind that decentralisation can be socially exclusive and
economically unjust. Trade-offs might exist between sustainable ecologies
and egalitarian societies. We need to grapple with these complexities,
much more than, perhaps, the authors of this volume were able to do, and
chart out a vision that is cognisant of the shortcomings of “traditional”
societies. Let us not forget that Indian society is hugely polarised on the
lines of class, caste, gender and other identities. Feudal caste-based
patriarchies are as much a threat as capitalist modernity. It is perhaps this
sobering reminder of the challenges ahead that makes this book and the
message it puts forth all the more valuable and a must read, however

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utopian it might appear.

Ajit Menon is professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies.

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