Modernization and

Ecological Collapse

BLOCK 3
ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

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Environmental
Issues and BLOCK 3 ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Society
Welcome to the M.Sc. Environmental Science programme of IGNOU. This is
the third block in the course on Environment and Society. The block has four
units, and the details of each unit is explained in the following paragraphs.
Unit 1 introduces the learners to social justice.This Unit will introduce the
concept of social justice and the central role of the idea of social justice in
environmental thinking and action. In simple terms, the term social justice
refers to the principle that all members of society have equal rights and
opportunities. The Unit will discuss the concept of social justice, highlight
some important perspectives on the same, discuss its role in the Constitution
of India and discuss its relevance in the context of environmental and climate
justice. The unit is explained with case studies from environmental history:
Modern and Colonial period.
Unit 2 deals with Human Population and Social Justice.This unit details on
the Malthus theory of population, the features of Malthusian theory of
population, and the applicability of Malthusian theory. Further, the
assumption on population growth has been discussed. The unit also discusses
on population growth and human rights which are the basic rights and
freedom that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death.
Then the unit discusses on the importance of women and society. Finally the
unit discusses ecofeminism with a few success stories from Rajasthan and
Maharashtra where women have successfully come up with eco-friendly
initiatives in water conservation and environmental issues.
Unit 3 deals with Historical and Social Perspectives in environmental
problems. The unit details on the limits to growth approaches to the study of
the environment. The Marxian, Gandhian, Phule views have been discussed
with reference to environmental problems, some environmental movements,
technology, and society.
Unit 4deals with democracy, civil society, and ecology.The unit details on
the historical development of science and technology, industrial revolution
with special reference to India; technology adaptation: Third world countries
and adaptation to technologies along with some case studies.
Overall, this block in the elective course Environment and Society will equip
you well with knowledge on environment and social justice.

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UNIT 8 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL Introduction to
Social Justice
JUSTICE

Structure
8.0 Introduction
8.1 Objectives
8.2 Understanding Social Justice
8.3 Perspectives on Social Justice
8.3.1 Utilitarian and Libertarian Theories
8.3.2 Egalitarianism
8.4 Contemporary Understandings of social Justice
8.5 Social Justice in the Constitution of India
8.6 Social Justice and Environmental Justice
8.6.1 Environmental Justice Movements in India

8.6.2 The Chipko Movement

8.7 Let Us Sum Up
8.8 Key Words
8.9 References and Suggested Further Readings
8.10 Answers to Check Your Progress

8.0 INTRODUCTION
This Unit will introduce the concept of social justice and the central role of
the idea of social justice in environmental thinking and action. In simple
terms, the term social justice refers to the principle that all members of
society have equal rights and opportunities (Collins English Dictionary). The
notions or conceptions of ‘justice’ are abstract ideals. They include beliefs
about what is good, desirable, correct and moral. The idea of ‘social justice’
encompasses core values such as the equal status and worth of all citizens
and their rights to fulfil their basic needs and enjoy similar opportunities and
life chances. It also implies the need to eradicate unjustified inequalities in
society, so that all citizens may experience a level playing field. The Unit
will discuss the concept of social justice, highlight some important
perspectives on the same, discuss its role in the Constitution of India and
discuss its relevance in the context of environmental and climate justice. A
case study of an environmental movement will also be taken up to illustrate
these ideas.

8.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will be able to:
• explain the concept and relevance of social justice;
127
Environment • explain the concept of environmental justice and
and Social
Justice • discuss the significance of social justice in environmental thinking and
action.

8.2 UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL JUSTICE

The concept of Social Justice is a relatively new one in the history of
philosophy. None of the major philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle,
Confucius, Averroes, Rousseau or Kant explicitly viewed the idea of justice
from a social perspective, but viewed it rather as a philosophical concept.
Social justice has strong political overtones and first made an appearance in
Western thought with the industrial revolution and the growth of socialist
thinking. The perceived exploitation of labour by the capitalists demanded a
new thinking and measures to improve the conditions of human beings and a
new revolutionary slogan for progress and equality. In the mid-1800s Europe
saw a number of revolutions, and social justice became a rallying cry. The
idea of justice and respect for human dignity came to be associated with
social justice. By the middle of the 20th century, most leftist and centrist
political parties embraced the idea of social justice. Many newly independent
nations, freed of the colonial yoke, made social justice a part of their national
agenda. India too has the concept of social justice deeply embedded in its
Constitution. The emergence of the concept can also be linked with the
emergence and growth of the social sciences like sociology and economics as
disciplines separate from philosophy. Social justice refers to fair
and just relations between individuals and society, and can be measured in
terms of the distribution of wealth, social privileges and individual
opportunities. There is seen to be a reciprocal relationship between individual
duties and responsibilities towards society as well as receiving what is their
due from society. Human rights is a closely related concept, although it is a
more abstract idea. It requires that the basic prerequisites of justice be
fulfilled. Both social justice and human rights depend upon each other for
their realisation and are both grounded in the idea of “fairness.” The recent
movements for social justice seen all over the globe strive to break down
social and economic barriers that prevent communities from availing of
social goods, and to provide social security safety nets and economic justice.
The various institutions of society play a key role in ensuring social justice;
education, legal systems, public health infrastructure, public distribution
system, taxation and insurance, social security mechanisms, etc., contribute
towards lessening inequalities and promoting social justice and equity and
equal opportunities to all.
The notion of social justice is intimately tied with that of equity. Equity
implies fairness and justice without any bias and discrimination, giving
people what rightfully belongs to them, and recognising the specific as well
as diverse conditions of all individuals in society. According to Falk et al
(1993:2):
“equity derives from the concept of social justice. It represents a belief that
there are some things which people should have, that there are basic needs
128
that should be fulfilled, that burdens and rewards should not be spread too Introduction to
Social Justice
divergently across the community, and that policy should be directed with
impartiality, fairness and justice towards these ends.”

Social justice has also been conceptualised in terms of the apparent

contradiction between individual freedoms and societal good. It is argued that
individual rights and liberties must not be sacrificed in the name of
promoting social justices. However, it can be counter-argued that in order for
each individual to be able to flourish and develop to their full potential,
fundamental rights and duties, economic and social opportunities and a spirit
of fairness and justice must also be ensured in society.

Check Your Progress 1

Note: a) Write you answer in 50 words.

b) You can check your answers given at the end of the unit.
1) What is social justice? How can it be measured?

………………………………………………………………………….

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2) How is social justice related with equity?

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8.3 PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL JUSTICE

Justice can be conceptualised in terms of the following three components—
legal justice, commutative justice and distributive justice. Legal justice refers
to what people owe society; commutative justice, with what people owe each
other, and distributive justice, or what society owes the person. It is the third
of these that we shall focus upon. From a distributive perspective, social
justice involves both, approaches to societal choices regarding the
distribution of goods and resources, and also structuring social institutions in
such a manner that human rights and dignity are ensured, and every person
gets equal opportunities to participate meaningfully in the activities of the
society. There are three major philosophical approaches towards the
distribution of resources in a society: Utilitarian, Libertarian, and Egalitarian.
Let us briefly consider these.
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Environment 8.3.1 Utilitarian and Libertarian theories.
and Social
Justice a) Utilitarian theory, whose best-known proponents were Jeremy Bentham
(1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), emphasises acts that
result in the ‘greatest good for the greatest number’. It can be found in
much contemporary thought, including the principles of democracy.
Utilitarianism upholds the happiness, interests, and needs of the majority.
The central principle of utilitarianism is that irrespective of one’s social
position, everyone’s happiness has equal moral standing. Bell (2012)
writes that even though utilitarian thinking is concerned with the greatest
good of the greatest numbers, there are inherent problems. For instance,
the emphasis on economic growth and increasing the GDP as a mark of
social improvement can be classified as ‘economic utilitarianism’. “In
this case, GDP is taken as a direct measure of the greatest source of
utility in modern economies: money. If there is more of it around in the
economy, people overall must be able to do more of what they want to
do, which can only be for the greater good, the argument goes. Similarly,
if the use of pesticides and other toxins helps feed the world and keep us
in comfort, that must be for the greater good as well.” (p.138). However,
what if the use of these pesticides results in a small number of people
getting cancer? Can it be justified that some people must lose their lives
for the ‘greater good’, i.e greater food production that will fill the
stomachs of more people? Thus even though utilitarianism may seem to
have the best interests of the majority in mind, it is seen that in practice,
it often fails to fulfill this. For instance, economic growth is not always
accompanied by equitable distribution and may thus end up benefiting a
small group of people, thus violating the very idea of social justice.

b) Libertarian theories insist upon the autonomy and freedom of

individuals to pursue their goals without any encroachment or
restrictions. They reject the obligations for equal and equitable
distribution of resources, and argue for minimal state intervention,
allowing people to pursue their own self interests. The kind of free
market economy that libertarian theory endorses is however not
compatible with a humane society where the weak and vulnerable must
also be protected. While this theory addresses individual rights, it does
not address duties and obligations as members of society.

8.3.2 Egalitarianism
a) Egalitarian theory holds that all members of society should be
guaranteed the same rights, opportunities, and access to goods and
resources. Societal resources should be redistributed in such a way that
they benefit the most vulnerable people in society. One of the most
famous proponents of egalitarian theory was the philosopher, John
Rawls. Rawls critiqued utilitarian and libertarian understandings of
social justice for their justification of personal hardships in order to
achieve a greater common good. Rawls’ theory addresses the following
issues: What would be the features of a just society in which basic
human needs are met, each person is allowed to maximise their
competence, and threats to well-being are minimised and unnecessary
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 stress is reduced? For Rawls, distributive justice meant “the value of Introduction to
Social Justice
each person getting a fair share of the benefits and burdens resulting
from social cooperation,” both in terms of material goods and services as
well as non-material aspects such as opportunity and power. In his
famous book, A Theory of Justice (1971), Rawls explained his theory of
‘justice as fairness’. He asks what sort of idea of justice people would
develop if they started from an ‘original position’ in which they had no
biases about their positions or statuses. Rawls asks that we put on an
imaginary ‘veil of ignorance’ and then ask ourselves what principles of
justice we would like to see. According to him, we would all commit to
two basic principles:

1) Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic

liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others.

2) Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are

both a) reasonably expected to be to everyone’s advantage, and b)
attached to positions and offices open to all.

Simply put, Rawls says that we would want the greatest good not just for the
greatest number, but for everyone. “We would also recognize that our own
good must be realised within the context of others similarly, and justly
pursuing their own good. Liberty has constraints, most notably the liberty of
other people. And we would recognize that we would not want others to seek
advantage over us and they would not want us to seek advantage over them”
(Bell, 2012: 140).

Regarding the second point, it is recognised that justice does not depend upon
everyone being completely equal. In certain cases, some forms of inequality
can be beneficial too. For instance, children would most probably benefit
from the authority exerted upon them by their parents and teachers, who are
more experienced and can protect them from harm, and teach them skills and
knowledge. Police, medical and legal functionaries, government officials etc
also exert authority over other citizens and are expected to maintain social
order that will ultimately benefit and protect the common man or woman.
Rawls argued that these offices or positions must be of advantage to
everyone, not just select individuals or groups; and they must therefore be
open to everyone also. He wrote: “All social values- liberty and opportunity,
income and wealth, and bases of self-respect-are to be distributed equally
unless an unequal distribution of any, or all, of these values is to everyone’s
advantage.”

Rawls’ ‘Justice as Fairness’ approach was a corrective to many of the

contradictory or problematic aspects of utilitarian thinking. Bell (2012)
explains that the notion of justice as fairness was taken further by scholars
like Amartya Sen who attempted to contextualise it and address the
‘plurality’ or diversity of human society, and the diverse needs and wants of
people. Individuals and groups may not necessarily have the same values and
aspirations at a given point of time. Sen introduced the idea of ‘functionings’
and ‘capabilities’. Functionings refer to the beings and doings they value, and
capabilities are the freedoms to achieve these beings and doings.
Functionings can include basic things like being adequately nourished, being 131
Environment in good health, preventing morbidity and premature mortality; to more
and Social
Justice
complex aspects such as having a decent and valuable job, self-respect, a
valued place in the community, etc. For Sen, justice means maximising the
capabilities of individuals to achieve their functionings. Lack of justice is
when we are unable to give people these capabilities. Unlike conventional
economists, Sen sees poverty not merely as a lack of money, but as an
injustice, a ‘capability deprivation’. If a society is not able to provide
adequate health facilities, for instance, it would amount to a ‘capability
deprivation’ as a sick person would not be able to carry out his or her
functioning. As Bell points out, Sen’s ideas have been incorporated in the
United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Index (HDI)
which looks at development in a more holistic manner, rather than as a
utilitarian outcome of GDP and Per Capita Income. The HDI includes both
GDP per capita as well as other indicators such as health and access to
education to get a better idea of the level of well-being and capability
amongst populations.
The work of the philosopher Ronald Dworkin is also cited by Bell. “Dworkin
argues that justice needs to be based on the recognition that we are all
different and that across that difference we need to extend an equality of
concern…. everyone’s liberty has to be compatible with everyone else’s
liberty” (141-142). These ideas of mutual respect and concern for the rights
of others are the cornerstone of egalitarian notions of social justice.

Check Your Progress 2

Note: a) Write you answer in 50 words.

b) You can check your answers given at the end of the unit.
1) What is the major premise of utilitarian theory? What is its major
weakness?

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2) What do you understand by Rawls’ notion of ‘justice as fairness’?
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3) What are ‘functionings’ and ‘capabilities’ according to Amartya Sen? Introduction to
Social Justice
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8.4 CONTEMPORARY UNDERSTANDINGS OF

SOCIAL JUSTICE
Social justice is more than just a way of understanding how material goods
are distributed. Marxist and Feminist approaches towards social justice also
emphasise the liberative aspect of social justice. Karl Marx, the eminent
social thinker had theorized that society moved through various historical
stages of development, and class struggle was the feature of all societies. It is
only when a classless society is achieved that humans can fulfil their true
potential and gain freedom from exploitative social and economic conditions.
Feminist perspectives on social justice have also been influential. They
contend that the patriarchal systems that exist in society are fundamentally
unjust to women, and that merely ‘equal rights’ alone cannot break the
stranglehold of gender injustice. Justice, in feminist perspective, demands
breaking free from the internalised values of female gender roles and the low
self-esteem and sense of helplessness that accompany them. The ability of
women to participate in social and political spaces means that childcare and
domestic duties must be made social responsibilities, not just female ones.
Thus feminist perspective on justice emphasise the all-round development of
women, including their health and education, so that they can partake of their
rightful share of economic, political and social power. This expanded idea of
social justice is widely accepted by contemporary scholars as being inclusive
of political, cultural, religious, and sexual freedoms, in addition to socio-
economic aspects, and that we should aspire towards a society that is free
from injustice of all kinds.

The United Nations’(1948) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

formally recognized “the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the
human family.” The United Nations document Social Justice in an Open
World: The Role of the United Nations (United Nations, 2006) further
elaborates upon the different domains of social justice. It identifies three
critical domains of equality and equity that are affirmed inseveral United
Nations documents including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
the Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenants on Human
Rights, the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action and the
United Nations Millennium Declaration, namely, equality of rights, equality
of opportunities, and equity in living conditions. Let us look at these domains
in greater detail:

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Environment 1) Equality of rights, represents the most fundamental form of equality. It
and Social
Justice
involves elimination of all forms of discrimination and respect for the
fundamental freedoms and civil and political rights of all individuals.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration states that “all human beings are
born free and equal in dignity and rights”. Article 2 specifies: “Everyone
is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,
birth or other status.”

2) Equality of opportunities, which requires a conducive and stable social,

political, cultural, and economic atmosphere free from discrimination,
where people can realise their full potential and fulfill their aspirations.
This involves creation of public policies, particularly in the areas of
health education and housing, that reduce inequalities and create a level
playing field.

3) Equity in living conditions for all individuals and households. The

distinction between equality and equity has earlier been referred to,
wherein equity is seen as a more complex concept that considers
different life experiences and diverse characteristics. The shift in terms
from equality to equity reflects the fact that equality in living conditions
is a near impossibility in the real world. The lack of objective indicators
to assess equity amongst people of different classes, occupations and age
groups is, however a real challenge. Equity is thus hard to define and can
be a very problematic concept. At the same time, it is a crucial
dimension in any discussion on social justice.

8.5 SOCIAL JUSTICE AND THE CONSTITUTION

OF INDIA
Social justice, as we have seen so far, deals with the allocation of both
material and moral advantages of social life. It also denotes a progressive
concept and a model of development which breaks down the social and
economic barriers and discriminations based on caste, class, gender, religion,
ethnicity, ability/disability and provides opportunities for all. Economic,
political, and social justice must go together in order to guarantee a life of
dignity to all citizens. Neither economic equality nor political democracy
alone can give dignity to all citizens. The Preamble of the Indian
Constitution, and the part dealing with the Directive Principles of State
Policy, holds the promise of justice-social, economic and political. This
implies that society itself has to be restructured and reorganised in such a
manner that the material and moral benefits of social effort are made
available to the most vulnerable sections also, and not siphoned off by the
privileged few. Constitutions can provide peaceful, democratic means to
bring about social transformation. For a people emerging free from foreign
rule, they also announce and embody the first real exercise of political self-
determination.

134
When India shed the yoke of two centuries of colonial rule and became an Introduction to
Social Justice
independent nation, it had a huge and daunting task ahead. The horrors of
Partition inflicted deep new wounds in the newly independent nation.
Extreme poverty, malnutrition, social and economic divides based upon
caste, class and religion, the depressed status of women and the so-called
‘low’ castes, were endemic problems. The founders of the Indian
Constitution envisaged a new social, economic, and political order based
social justice. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar who was the chief architect of the Indian
Constitution, was fully conversant with the problems of the Indian society.
Although Social Justice is not explicitly defined in the Indian Constitution, it
is implicit in its core commitments and the trinity of the Preamble, the
Fundamental Rights, and the Directive Principles of state policy. Ambedkar
argued that social justice alone could lead to social harmony and social
stability, and thus the Constitution also represents an attempt at social
transformation and social engineering.

The remarkable feature of our Constitution is its commitment to individual

freedom. This was a legacy of the National Movement. The liberalism of the
Indian Constitution differs from the Western version of liberalism which
privileges individual liberties over social obligations. However, the liberal
values embodied in the Indian Constitution are firmly related and linked to
social justice. The best example of this is the provision for reservations for
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It was believed that by simply
granting the right to equality, or the right to vote, centuries of discrimination
and prejudices against these communities would not vanish into thin air.
Their interests needed to be protected and advanced through special measures
or affirmative action. Special constitutional measures were therefore
provided, and these made it possible for governments to reserve seats in
public sector jobs, educational institutions etc. Thus, a section of the
populace that had historically experienced an acute lack of equity and justice,
could be brought into the mainstream within a short period of time.
In the above sections you have understood the concept of social justice and
its importance in envisaging a society that is based upon fairness,
participation and inclusion. Shifting the focus to matters pertaining to the
environment and access to natural resources, we can see that the concepts of
social justice and equity are of great relevance in understanding how
differential relations of power place some communities at risk while others
profit and benefit because of their social and political dominance. We have
seen how indigenous and marginalised communities have been displaced and
deprived of resources that they have traditionally used for generations,
because models of economic growth have not paid heed to environmental
conservation or sustainability. We see that the impact of human-induced
climate change on poor and vulnerable groups is particularly severe and that
they must pay the price for the unsustainable and exploitative development
pathways adopted. In the following section, we shall discuss the issue of
environmental justice and conclude with case studies of environmental
movements which have social justice at their core.

135
Environment Check Your Progress 3
and Social
Justice Note: a) Write you answer in 50 words.

b) You can check your answers given at the end of the unit.

Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.

1) What do feminist understandings of justice emphasise?

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2) What is meant by ‘equality of rights’?

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3) ‘Social justice is deeply ingrained in the Indian Constitution’. Justify the

statement.
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8.6 SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL

JUSTICE
We have read that the concept of Social justice involves fair treatment of
groups and individuals and the fair distribution of advantages and
disadvantages within a society. Environmental justice refers to the
environmental benefits and burdens experienced by people. Benefits include
clean air and water, green space, and freedom from pollution. We see that
environmental justice, like social justice, involves power relationships
between the haves and have-nots, and focuses on communities rather than
individuals, to assess carefully which areas are to be developed, and whether
disadvantaged areas can benefit from the improvement or development of
136 greenspaces.(https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk)
The Environmental movements embody the principles of social justice. The Introduction to
Social Justice
Earth Charter, launched in 2000, has Social and Economic Justice as one of
its ‘pillars’or main principles. It seeks to
• “Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social, and environmental imperative.
• Ensure that economic activities and institutions at all levels promote
human development in an equitable and sustainable manner.
• Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable
development and ensure universal access to education, health care, and
economic opportunity, and
• Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social
environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual
well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and
minorities” (https://en.wikipedia.org)
Climate Justice movements also reflect ideals and practices of social justice,
addressing issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, climate-change induced
displacement, environmental pollution, climate change mitigation and
adaptation and the unequal impact of these on communities based upon
socio-economic factors, race, gender etc.

8.6.1 Environmental justice Movements in India

The Chipko Andolan which took place in the 1970s is often considered to be
India’s first environmental justice movement. However, the history of India’s
environmental justice movements can be traced back to the colonial period in
which grassroots resistance against the British was seen, for instance, the
Bengal peasant revolt of 1859-63 against indigo plantations. The freedom
struggle led by Gandhiji also expressed strong concerns for the local
ecosystems and village self-sufficiency. Gandhi’s notion of ‘gram swaraj’
based upon self-sufficiency and village economy was strongly opposed to
large-scale industrialisation. However, in the post-independence period, India
opted for large scale industrial growth and large infrastructure projects like
dams, steel plants etc became the symbols of nation-building and economic
development. These mega projects and the displacement of local
communities, destruction of habitats and livelihoods that they brought in their
wake, resulted in several environmental justice movements emerging on the
ground, to preserve Jal, jungle, zameen (water, forests and land). Appiko,
Silent Valley Protest, Narmada BachaoAndolan and in more recent times, the
movements against multinational corporations in Niyamgiri, Odisha and
Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, indicate the conflict between the dominant model
of economic development and the local communities, usually the adivasis or
the tribal communities who are most adversely impacted. These movements
reveal the multiple sites of inequalities and injustice that are still present in
our society and force us to confront head on the issues of social and
environmental justice.

Environmental justice movements are rooted within the structural inequalities

experienced and clearly reflect the unfair access to natural resources on 137
Environment account of social inequalities. These inequalities result in the burden of
and Social
Justice
environmental degradation and pollution being unfairly borne by the poor.
The health hazards posed by toxic chemicals and the lack of safety measures
and the treatment of marginalised and poor people as having no value, can be
seen in stark detail in disasters like the Bhopal disaster and other industrial
accidents. Increasingly, environmental justice movements are finding space
in urban contexts too, such as the recent protest in Mumbai to save the Aarey
forest from proposed construction of a metro car shed and the felling of
thousands of trees for the purpose.

(seehttps://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/brototiroy)

To illustrate the points made above, let us discuss the case study of the
Chipko movement. In his paper on Environmental movements in India, P.P.
Karan (1994) writes:
“These environmental movements are an expression of the socioecological
effects of narrowly conceived development based on short-term criteria of
exploitation. The movements are revealing how the resource-intensive
demands of development have built-in ecological destruction and economic
deprivation. The members have activated micro action plans to safeguard
natural processes and to provide the macro concept for ecological
development at the national and regional levels (1994: 33-34).”

8.6.2 The Chipko Movement

The Chipko movement was a nonviolent movement to protect trees which
began in 1973 in Chamoli district, in present day Uttarakhand. The
immediate cause was the allotment of an entire ash tree forest to a private
company, a sports goods contractor, for commercial purposes. Karan explains
that exploitation of the forest by outside entrepreneurs with governmental
approval had long been a source of conflict between Uttarakhand villages and
the State Forest Department, ever since 1821, when the British instituted the
Tribal Forest Settlements in Kumaon. The villagers, who traditionally
depended upon forest products, were denied forest use. The justification
given for this was that indigenous agriculturalists and herders misused and
overused the forest, causing deforestation. However, villagers did not cut
down trees for fuel; rather, they used dead trees, fallen branches, and brush.
Trees were felled only for material for construction of houses. Large scale
profiteering was indulged in by timber and charcoal contractors, but the local
people were blamed for the deforestation. In 1964, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, a
Gandhian social worker and environmentalist founded the Dasholi Gram
Swarajya Mandal (DGSM), a cooperative, to promote small industries for the
local villagers, using local resources. DGSM soon became a force of
opposition against the large-scale logging industries whose activities were
causing wide-spread environmental degradation. The conflicts between the
local population and the contractors came to a flash-point in 1972 near
Gopeshwar in Chamoli district when a local cooperative was denied
permission to cut its small annual allotment of twelve ash trees for making
implements. The trees were sold by the Government to a sports-goods
manufacturer to use to make cricket bats and tennis rackets. To prevent the
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trees from being cut, the villagers, and notably the women, clung to the trees Introduction to
Social Justice
(‘chipko’) in an act of Gandhian nonviolent resistance. Their action resulted
in the permit to the manufacturer being cancelled, and thus was born the
Chipko movement. The movement had many similar successes over the years
leading to national and international recognition. The activists would move
from village to village enlisting the participation of the people, conducting
training sessions and organising rallies and picketing at the auctions held by
the forest department. It is estimated that between 1972 and 1979, more than
150 villages were involved with the Chipko movement, resulting in 12 major
protests and many minor confrontations in Uttarakhand. In 1980, Sundarlal
Bahuguna, a Gandhian environmentalist who played a leading role in the
movement, appealed to the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi
which resulted in a 15-year ban on commercial felling in the Uttarakhand
Himalayas. Similar bans came into force in Himachal Pradesh and the former
Uttaranchal.
One of the most noteworthy aspects of the Chipko movement was the
participation of women. It was they who formed the ‘frontlines’ and whose
moral authority and force was hard to resist. They referred to the forest as
their maternal home, and used nonviolent means to protect the forests, their
livelihoods, and the ecosystem. The Chipko movement also sparked activism
in other aspects, including anti-alcohol movements, which was a response to
the ill-effects of alcohol addiction in rural areas. Not only does the addiction
lead to violence against women, it also impacts the men’s health and most
importantly leads to a squandering of household income. This affects women
directly, especially in rural and tribal areas. In the words of Vandana Shiva,
noted environmental activist and eco-feminist,
“The Chipko struggle is a struggle to recover the hidden and invisible
productivity of vital resources, and the invisible productivity of women, to
recover their entitlements and rights to have and provide nourishment for
sustained survival, and to create ecological insights and political spaces that
do not destroy fundamental rights to survival. Chipko women provide a non-
violent alternative in forestry to the violence of reductionist forestry with its
inherent logic of indispensability. They have taken the first step towards
recovering their status as the other silviculturists and forest managers, who
participate in nature’s processes instead of working against them, and share
nature’s wealth for basic needs instead of privatising it for profit (Shiva,
1988: 95).”
As we can see from the above discussion, the case-study of the Chipko
movement clearly demonstrates how social justice and environmental justice
are intertwined. Development agendas that do not take on board the interests
and welfare of all stakeholders and exploit natural and human resources are
likely to result in conflict and unrest. The Chipko movement can be seen as a
struggle against this highly iniquitous concept of development. It opposed the
commodification of forest resources and waged a non-violent struggle for the
rights to subsistence and conservation of locally valued resources. The
women, who most often bear the brunt of unsustainable development models,
took the reins in their own hands and became agents of change. (Mies and
Shiva, 1993). The movement demonstrated how just and equitable use of
139
Environment natural resources also implies justice and equity in the social and political
and Social
Justice
realms as well, and how pathways to development must take on board the
interests and well-being of the most vulnerable.

Check Your Progress 4

Note: a) Write you answer in 50 words.

b) You can check your answers given at the end of the unit.
1) What are the major concerns of ‘climate justice’ movements?

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….

2) ‘Environmental movements in India are essentially social justice

movements’. Explain.

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….

3) What was the contribution of women to the Chipko movement?

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

8.7 LET US SUM UP

The Unit has introduced you to the concept of social justice which has
become an extremely important global concept closely related to the idea of
human rights. The idea of social justice is at the heart of the Constitution of
India which aims to dismantle traditional hierarchies and systems of
oppression and discrimination and usher in a new era of transformation and
opportunity for all citizens. The concept of social justice is also related to that
of environmental justice. Environmental movements have also been
movements for social justice and equitable access to resources. We
concluded by reading about one of India’s best known environmental
140
movements, the Chipko movement, which exemplified the need to embrace Introduction to
Social Justice
sustainable and non-exploitative strategies of development, which are
inclusive and participatory in nature.

8.8 KEYWORDS
Social Justice: The principle that all members of society must have equal
rights and opportunities.

Utilitarianism: A philosophical theory that emphasises those actions that

result in the good or benefit of the majority.
Egalitarianism: A philosophical theory that is based upon the concept
of social equality and prioritizing it for all people.

Environmental Justice: A concept that refers to the fair distribution of

environmental benefits and burdens.

Eco-feminism: A feminist theory that draws connections between women

and nature and how both have been exploited by patriarchal society.
Environmental Movement: A social or political movement for the
conservation of the environment or improving the state of the environment.

8.9 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Bell, Michael Mayerfeld (2012) An Invitation to Environmental Sociology
4th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Falk, Jim et al. (1993) Social Equity and the Urban Environment, Report to
the Commonwealth Environmental Protection Agency. AGPS, Canberra
Karan, P.P. (1994) ‘Environmental Movements in India’.Geographical
review,84: 32-41.
Mies, Maria and Shiva, Vandana (1993) Ecofeminism. London: Zed Books
Rawls, John (1971) A Theory of Justice. Harvard: Harvard University Press
Shiva, Vandana (1988) Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival in India.
London: Zed Books.
The United Nations (2006) Social Justice in an Open World: The Role of the
United Nations. New York: United Nations Publications.

Weblinks
https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/brototiroy)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Charter)
https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/urban-regeneration-
and-greenspace-partnership/greenspace-in-practice/practical-considerations-
and-challenges-to-greenspace/social-and-environmental-

141
Environment justice/#:~:text=Social%20justice%20aims%20to%20give,regardless%20of
and Social
Justice
%20background%20and%20status.).

8.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Check Your Progress 1.

Your answers should include the following points

1) Social justice is the principle that all members of society have equal
rights and opportunities. It refers to fair and just relations between
individuals and society. and can be measured in terms of the distribution
of wealth, social privileges and individual opportunities.

2) The notion of social justice is closely tied with that of equity. Equity
implies fairness and justice without any bias and discrimination, giving
people what rightfully belongs to them, and recognising the specific as
well as diverse conditions of all individuals in society.

Check Your Progress 2.

Your answers should include the following points

1) The central premise of utilitarianism is that irrespective of one’s social
position, everyone’s happiness has equal moral standing. However,if in
the name of securing the interests of the maximum number, suffering or
injustice may also result for a few. For instance, in order to secure
economic growth to benefit the maximum number, the livelihoods of
some may be destroyed.

2) Rawls’ theory of ‘justice as fairness’ is based upon the idea of the

greatest good not just for the greatest number, but for everyone. Our own
good must be realised within the context of others also pursuing their
own good. We would not want others to seek advantage over us and they
would not want us to seek advantage over them.
3) Amartya Sen’s idea of ‘functionings’ refer to the beings and doings
valued by people, and capabilities are the freedoms to achieve these
beings and doings. For Sen, justice means maximising the capabilities of
individuals to achieve their functionings. Lack of justice is when we are
unable to give people these capabilities.

Check Your Progress 3.

Your answers should include the following points

1) Feminists contend that the systems and institutions in society are
basically patriarchal and hence discriminate against women. Feminist
perspectives on justice emphasise the all-round development of women,
including their health and education, so that they can partake of their
rightful share of economic, political, and social power.
2) Equality of rights, represents the most fundamental form of equality. It
involves elimination of all forms of discrimination and respect for the
142
 fundamental freedoms and civil and political rights of all individuals, Introduction to
Social Justice
irrespective of caste, class, gender religion race etc.

3) Social justice is not explicitly defined in the Constitution but is implicit

in the Preamble, the Fundamental Rights, and the Directive Principles of
state policy. The Constitution is committed to social harmony and social
stability, and to bring in social justice through social transformation and
eradication of inequalities.

Check Your Progress 4.

Your answers should include the following points

1) Climate Justice movements also reflect ideals and practices of social
justice. They address issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, climate-
change induced displacement, environmental pollution, climate change
mitigation and adaptation and the unequal impact of these on
marginalised communities.
2) Environmental movements in India are basically movements for social
justice as they clearly reflect the unfair access to natural resources on
account of social inequalities. These inequalities result in the burden of
environmental degradation and pollution being unfairly borne by the
poor.
3) Women were the ‘frontline’ of the Chipko movement as they were the
ones most deeply affected by the destruction of the natural habitat and
livelihoods. They waged a non-violent protest and extended the agitation
to fight against other social evils like alcoholism.

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Environment
and Social
UNIT 9 HUMAN POPULATION AND
Justice
SOCIAL JUSTICE

Structure
9.0 Introduction
9.1 Objectives
9.2 Malthus theory
9.3 Assumptions on population growth
9.4 Human rights-based approach
9.5 Women and society
9.6 Eco-feminism with special reference to tribes and villagers.
9.6.1 Case Studies
9.7 Let Us Sum Up
9.8 Key Words
9.9 References and Suggested Readings
9.10 Answers to Check Your Progress

9.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit details on the Malthus theory of population, the features of
Malthusian theory of population, and the applicability of Malthusian theory.
Further, the assumption on population growth has been discussed. The unit
also discusses on population growth and human rights which are the basic
rights and freedom that belong to every person in the world, from birth until
death. A human rights-based approach is about empowering people to know
and claim their rights and increasing the ability and accountability of
individuals and institutions who are responsible for respecting, protecting,
and fulfilling rights. Then the unit discusses on the importance of women and
society. Finally the unit discusses ecofeminism with a few success stories
from Rajasthan and Maharashtra where women have successfully come up
with eco-friendly initiatives in water conservation and environmental issues.

9.1 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you should be able to:
• Explain the Malthus theory;
• Describe the concepts related to population growth;
• Explain human rights based approach;
• Discuss the importance of women and society; and
• Explain the concept of eco-feminism.

144
9.2 MALTHUS THEORY Introduction to
Social Justice

Malthusian theory of population is a well-known theory of population. It was

associated with the name of Thomas Robert Malthus. Since the middle of 18th
century the population has experienced social, economic, and population
change because of industrial revolution one of the steady fall in mortality,
especially child mortality followed by infant mortality. The reason for a
decline in mortality are due to the following factors.
• improved public health
• increase food supplies
• smallpox inoculation and vaccination

Because of declining mortality and increased fertility, population started

growing rapidly. Thomas Robert Malthus (who lived from 13 Feb 1766 - 23
Dec 1834) is the first economist to take up the systematic study of population
growth and maintainable agriculture production with supporting data in his
famous book Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798.

a) Malthus on Population Growth and Various Editions of Essay

(Population Theory)
In 2012, our population exceeded seven billion and it is predicted to reach 9.6
billion by the year 2050. All people need food, water, space, and energy to
survive. This growth has put a strain on our environment, economies,
governments, infrastructures, and social institutions. But growth in developed
nations has slowed down in recent years. Overcrowding has been a
worldwide concern for centuries. Malthus was one of the first to openly
address the limits of the earth and the risks of population growth which he
wrote in “The Principle of Population” in 1798. The second edition is an
expanded version of the first edition: An Essay on the Principle of Population
in 1803. He published four more editions continuously in the year 1806,
1807, 1816 and 1826. In 1823 Malthus contributed the article on Population
to the supplement of the Encyclopedia Britannica. In 1830 Malthus had a
long extract from the 1823 article reprinted as A summary view of the
Principle of Population.

b) The Malthusian doctrine is detailed as given below

In his 1798 work, An Essay on the Principle of Population, Malthus
examined the relationship between population growth and resources. From
this, he developed the Malthusian theory of population growth in which he
wrote that population growth occurs exponentially, so it increases according
to the birth rate. For example, if every member of a family tree reproduces,
the tree will continue to grow with each generation. On the other hand, food
production increases arithmetically, so it only increases at given points in
time. Malthus wrote that, left unchecked populations can outgrow their
resources.

145
Environment c) Features of Malthusian Theory of Population:
and Social
Justice • Population increases in Geometrical progression: Malthus stated that
population of a country always increases in geometrical progression and
if unchecked the population doubles for every twenty-five years. He
observed that population starting from 1, will be 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 128, and
256 (after 200 years).
• Food production increases in Arithmetical progression: Another
proposition of Malthus is that food production of a country increases in a
slow arithmetical progression, that is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (after 200
years). The arithmetical progressive increase in food production is due to
the Law of Diminishing Returns in agriculture. As land is inflexible and
fixed, it is not possible to increase the supply of food grains on par with
the increase in population.
• Population exceeds food supply: As population increases in
geometrical progression and food production increases in arithmetical
progression, after some time population growth exceeds the supply of
food stuffs. In Malthus’s words: “It is the constant tendency in all
animated life to increase beyond the nourishment prepared for it.” When
the food supply becomes less compared to population growth, people
face sufferings, and they are plunged into starvation (Figure 9.1).

Figure 9.1 Food Supply Malthusian Population Curve

The food supply in arithmetical progression is measured on the horizontal
axis and the population in geometrical progression on the vertical axis. The
curve M is the Malthusian population curve which shows the relation
between population growth and increase in food supply. It rises upward
swiftly (Figure 9.1).

146
 Introduction to
Social Justice

Figure 9.2 Malthusian Theory of population

There are other factors involved in events that could be labelled as

Malthusian catastrophes, so many scholars take caution when providing
modern examples (Figure 9.2).

Fig 9.3 Population and food production growth

According to Malthus, population increases at a rapid race when compared to

food supply. He observed that population tends to increase at a geometrical
progression where food production of a country increases in arithmetical
progression. Figure 9.3 shows the relationship between population and food
production growth. Y axis shows the quantity and X axis show the time,
period and the linear line production of food and curve describes population.
The cross production of food and population line is Malthusian catastrophe.

147
Environment • Checks to Population Growth:
and Social
Justice Malthus recognized that there are two possible checks which limit the
population growth and he classified them into:

1) Preventive checks

2) Positive checks

• Preventive checks:
Preventive checks are applied by individuals. These checks limit the increase
in birth rate, late marriages, self-restraint during married life, practice of
celibacy and restricting marriage against persons suffering from poverty,
physical or mental disability. These are some of the methods to be applied by
the individuals to limit the size of their families and to reduce the birth rate.

• Positive checks:
Positive checks are applied by nature. They influence the growth of the
population by increasing the death rate. They bring suffering and hardship to
humans. When the population exceeds food supply, then famines, epidemics,
diseases, starvation, wars, earthquakes, floods occur resulting in what is
called as Malthusian catastrophes. Sometime the positive checks are referred
to as factors which tend to shorten human lifespan such as:
• Hazardous occupations like severe labour,
• Bad food or insufficient food,
• Bad nursing of children,
• Diseases and epidemics, wars, infanticide, plague and famine.

So, positive checks are painful. Hence preventive checks are desirable to
reduce the growth rate of population.

Criticisms of Malthusian Theory of Population

Although the Malthusian theory was rejected in 1900, it again become
prominent in the second decade of the 20th century. It again lost its
prominence by 1934 and again regained interest after the Second World War.
Some of the criticisms are as follows:

Malthus stated that population increases in geometrical progression. But his

view is not correct. Such a mathematical calculation of increase in population
is not possible in the case of mankind. Several economists have pointed out
that even in England, population has not doubled in twenty-five years.
Besides, in some countries the population is much below and negligible.

• Exaggeration of facts regarding population and means of

subsistence: Malthus exaggerated the facts regarding the increase in
population and the corresponding decline in the means of subsistence.
Malthus believed that an increase in the means of subsistence leads to
increase in population. But this is not the case in several countries.

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• Population growth leading to increase in labour force: Malthus forgot Introduction to
Social Justice
the fact that increase in population also increases the supply of labour.
This further leads to the efficient utilization of natural resources and
development of the economy. His view that additional population only
acts as a consumer is wrong. Because every man is born not only with a
stomach to be fed but also with two hands to work. Hence Malthus
ignored the aspect of labour force in population.

• Excessive emphasis on Law of Diminishing returns: Malthusian

Theory of Population is based on the Law of Diminishing Returns.
Malthus said that food production could not keep up with population
growth. But food production could be increased by following intensive
and extensive cultivation in agriculture. Malthus has been proved wrong
not only in the advanced countries but also in developing countries like
India with the green revolution.

• Increase in Population the Result of declining Death Rate: The

Malthusian theory is one sided. It takes the increase in population as the
result of a rising birth rate, whereas population has grown greatly world
over due to a decline in death rate. Malthus could not foresee the
marvellous advancements in the field of medical sciences which has
controlled fatal diseases and made human life longer. This has been
particularly so in under­developed countries like India where the
Malthusian theory is said to operate. The Malthus theory of population is
applicable only to overpopulated countries. But it is not applicable to the
under populated countries. Malthus stated that when a country is
overpopulated, excessive population is reduced by positive checks like
famine, floods, cyclones, epidemics, earthquakes etc. But these positive
checks applied by nature occur not only in overpopulated countries but
also in under populated countries. In fact, there is no relationship
between overpopulation and positive checks.
• Practice of self-restraint by individuals: Malthus suggested late
marriages, celibacy, and self-restraint as preventive checks for limiting
population growth. But these methods are not practical due to the under-
education, ignorance and illiteracy of the people. Malthus did not
advocate modern methods of family welfare for limiting the size of
family.

• Importance given to only Food-grains for Livelihood: Malthus gave

importance to only food-grains for livelihood. But for livelihood, food-
grains alone are not enough. Fruits, meat, fish, milk, eggs, etc. can also
be used as food. They have high growth rates in comparison to the
population growth. For instance, a good breed of hen lays 240 eggs in a
year. Similarly, one fish in a year multiplies manifold. Thus, Malthus
took an unrealistic view in comparing the production of food-grains
which increases in arithmetical progression with the population growth
which increases in geometrical progression.

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Environment Applicability of Malthusian Theory
and Social
Justice Even though the criticism levelled against Malthusian theory of Population,
the theory is not completely irrelevant and unreal. Thus, the Malthusian
theory is fully applicable to underdeveloped countries like India. This theory
is applicable to the third world countries where population growth has been
distressing. The backward and developing countries in Asian and Latin
American continents are loaded with overpopulation. For example, in the
case of India, Malthusian theory of population became real as its population
almost doubled between 1940 and 1970. As a result, the efforts made through
five-year plans for eliminating inequalities, poverty, exploitation, ill-health
etc. have not succeeded completely.

Check Your Progress 1

1) What are the features of Malthusian Theory of population?
………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….

2) What are the positive and preventive checks on population, according to

Malthus?

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

9.3 ASSUMPTIONS ON POPULATION GROWTH

Population growth is the increase in the number of individuals in a
population. Many of the countries, including Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle
East, South Asia and Southeast Asia, have seen a huge rise in population.

a) Population at present
From February 2019, the total population of the world exceeds 7.71 billion
people, and this number is continuing to grow each day. However, in some
areas, growth is slow or even declining. China is one of the most populous
country in the world with a population exceeding 1.4 billion. It has a
population of more than 1 billion and India is the second most populous
country in the world. As of 2018, India has a population of over 1.355 billion
people, and its growth is expected to continue up to 2050. By the year 2030,
the country of India may become the most populous country in the world.
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This is because India’s population will grow, while China may probably see a Introduction to
Social Justice
decline in population.

b) Future population by assumption

The world’s population will increase to 11.2 billion by 2100 from the current
7.6 billion. India’s population, presently estimated at 1.355 billion, is
projected to rise to 1.51 billion by 2030 and further to 1.66 billion by 2050
before declining to 1.5 billion by the end of the century. Although China is
presently the world’s most populous country with 1.41 billion, in 2024 both
countries (India and China) will have about 1.44 billion each. Next, India’s
population will continue to grow while the Chinese population will remain
stable till the 2030s and then see a decline. The next eleven countries that are
the most populous in the world each have populations exceeding 100 million.
These countries include the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan,
Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico, Japan, Ethiopia, and the Philippines.
Of these nations, all are estimated to continue to grow except Russia and
Japan, which will see their populations decline by 2030. Many other nations
have populations of at least one million, while there are also countries that
have just thousands. The smallest population in the world can be found in
Vatican City, where only 806 people reside.
In 2018, the world’s population grew at a rate of 1.112 %, every five years
since the 1970s, the growth rate has continued to fall. The world’s population
is expected to continue to rise larger but at a much slower pace. By 2030, the
population will exceed 8 billion. In 2040, this number will grow to more than
9 billion. The current annual population growth estimates from the United
Nations are in millions estimating that over 80 million new lives are added
each year.
This growth will be contributed by the nations: Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda, the United
Republic of Tanzania, and the United States of America, China. Furthermore,
multiple nations within Africa are expected to double their populations before
fertility rates begin to slow entirely.

Global life expectation has also improved in recent years, increasing the
overall population life expectancy at birth to just over 70 years of age. The
predictable global life expectancy is expected to continue to improve,
reaching nearly 77 years of age by the year 2050. Important factors impacting
the data on life expectancy include the projections of the ability to reduce
AIDS/HIV impact, as well as reducing the rates of infectious and non-
communicable diseases.
Population aging has a huge impact on the ability of the population to
maintain what is called a support ratio. One key finding from 2017 is that
majority of the world is going to face considerable growth in the 60 plus age
group. This will put enormous stress on the younger age groups as the elderly
population is becoming so vast without the number of births to maintain a
health support ratio.

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Environment
and Social
9.4 HUMAN RIGHTS BASED APPROACH (HRBA)
Justice
Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in
the world, from birth until death. A human rights-based approach is about
empowering people to know and claim their rights and increasing the ability
and accountability of individuals and institutions who are responsible for
respecting, protecting, and fulfilling rights. It is a theoretical framework for
the process of human development that is normatively based on intimation
human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and
protecting human rights.

The HRBA has a twofold objective:

1) To empower people (right- holders) to claim and exercise their rights,
and

2) To strengthen the capacity of the actors (duty bearers) who have a

particular obligation or responsibility to respect, protect, and fulfil rights
of the poorest, weakest, most marginalized, and vulnerable.

The principles of human rights are integrated into policymaking as well as

the day to day running of organisations. There are some fundamental
principles which are of fundamental importance in applying a human rights-
based approach in practice. These are:
• participation
• accountability
• non-discrimination and equality
• empowerment and
• legality

These are known as the PANEL principles.

• Participation: Every person has the right to participate in decisions
which affect their human rights. Participation must be active, free, and
meaningful and give attention to issues of accessibility, enjoyment of
civil, economic, social, cultural and political development, including
access to information in a form and a language which can be understood,
through which human rights and fundamental freedom can be realized.

• Accountability: Accountability needs effective monitoring of human

rights standards as well as effective remedies for human rights breaches.
For accountability to be effective there has to be appropriate laws,
policies, institutions, administrative procedures and mechanisms of
redress in order to secure human rights.

• Non-discrimination and equality: HRBA means that all forms of

discrimination in the realisation of rights must be prohibited, prevented
and eliminated. It also requires the prioritisation of those in the most
marginalised situations who face the biggest barriers to realising their
rights. All humans are entitled to their human rights without
152 discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, ethnicity, age,
 language, religion, political, disability, property, birth, national or social Introduction to
Social Justice
origin, disability, property, birth or other status as explained by the
human rights treaty bodies.

• Empowerment of rights holders: HRBA means that individuals and

communities should know their rights. It also means that they should be
fully supported to participate in the development of policy and practices
which affect their lives and to claim rights where necessary.

• Legality of rights: HRBA requires the recognition of rights as legally

enforceable entitlements and is linked to national and international
human rights law.

The FAIR approach - putting HRBA into practice

The Scottish Human Rights Commission established the FAIR approach. The
basic steps of the FAIR approach are:
• Facts: What is the experience of the individuals involved and what are
the important facts to understand?
• Analyse rights: Develop an analysis of the human rights at stake.
• Identify responsibilities: Identify what needs to be done and who is
responsible for doing it.
• Review actions: Make recommendations for action and later recall and
evaluate what has happened as a result.

Not every unfair situation will be an abuse of human rights law. Often using
the FAIR approach, however, can be a means of reaching a balance and just a
solution in those situations. The role of HRBA is to ensure that the dignity of
the individual is at the centre of policy and decision making. Wherever it is
applied, everyone affected will have an opportunity to help think through
how human rights can best be realised in the delivery of care and support
services.

9.5 WOMEN AND SOCIETY

Women are important in our society. Every woman has her own job or duty
in this modern society though men are still the stronger gender. A woman
must take care of her own personal life and if she is a mother, she must take
care of her children’s life too. Married women have lots of problems and they
have a more stressful life than men. In earlier times, women were exploited
through every possible means by the society. They suffered a lot of criticism
and lacked freedom. Indian women suffered immensely. Women are
responsible for bearing children, yet they are malnourished and in poor
health. Women are also overburdened with all domestic work. It took a lot of
effort and courage for women to be empowered and occupy a significant
place in society. Poetesses such as Charlotte Bronte inspired women by
quoting, “I am no bird and no net ensnares me, I am a free human being with
an independent will”. Through this she tried to convey that woman are no
longer to be treated as birds in the cage, instead they should be given equal
153
Environment liberty and opportunities as men. Such supportive sections of society led to
and Social
Justice
the developments that are responsible for the improved status of women in
the present day society.

a) Women in the Vedic age: Women enjoyed good status and respect in
the society. Worship of Goddesses depict the respect women had in
society. Woman had overall freedom regarding the following:
• Could select their partners (swayamvara)
• Live as spinsters,
• Window could remarry,
• Women were educated,
• No child marriage,
• No sati,
• Dowry only existed symbolically, not as social evil,
• Could take part in religious activities like husband and wife
performed yagna together,
• Women were considered equal to men. The concept of Ardhangan
i.e.equal half, was prevalent.
• Women were educated and just like men, went through
brahmachary” discipline including 'upanayana’ ritual.

Woman who gave inputs to vedic literature is apparent from the famous
women scholars like Ghosha, Visvavara, Maitri, Gargi, and so on. The great
Indian epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, also depicted women playing
an important role in society.
b) Women in the later Vedic periods: This period saw the decline of
status and position of women in society. It degraded further in the
Mughal period and had hit rock bottom by the time the British arrived in
India. When foreigners occupied India, they carried with them their own
culture. For the Muslim attackers, women were the sole property of her
father, brother or husband and she did not have any will of her own.
Imposition of Brahmanical austerities on the society and rigid
restrictions imposed by the caste system further dented the status of
women in society. All this gave rise to new evils which are discussed in
the table given below (Table 9.1)

Table 9.1 Some negative issues that impacted women in early times

Sati The ritual of a widow being burnt

alive on the funeral pyre of her
husband.
Plight of widows In medieval India, living as a Hindu
widow was sort of a curse. They were
not treated as human beings and were
subjected to a lot of restrictions.
Child marriage Women were married off even before
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 reaching puberty at the age of 8 or 10. Introduction to
Social Justice
Due to the huge age gap between
girls and their husbands, most girls
ended up being widows at a very
young age. Child marriage also
brought with it increased birth and
poor health of women due to repeated
childbearing and mortality rate of
women and children.
Devadasi Meaning servant of God. This custom
was prevalent in South India. In this
system, girls were dedicated to
temples in the name of Gods and
Goddesses. They were supposed to
live a life of celibacy and spend their
time in worship of God by singing
and dancing. But it was an open
secret that most devadasis were used
as prostitutes by the priests of the
temples.
Other socio-economic problems Besides, women were barred from
education and female infanticide was
rampant due to the socio-economic
problems attached to the girl child.
All in all, it was a dark age for
women.

However, there was a flicker of silver lining. Effort for upliftment for women
also started and is detailed in the table given below (Table 9.2).

Table 9.2Some women upliftment activities

Infan • Abolished by Bengal Regulation Act, 1795.

ticide • Abolished by Lord Wellesley in 1802.
• Lord Bentinck also tried to suppress it by legislating Female
Infanticide Prevention Act, 1870 that declared infanticide
illegal.
Sati • Abolition of Sati by Lord William Bentinck in 1829. Pioneering
efforts in this direction were made by Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
Educ • Vidyasagar opened a school for women.
ation • Viresalingam emphasized on the education for women.
• Ramabai worked for the education and rights of the women. She
made first attempt to educate widow and for this purpose
established Sharda Sadan at Bombay.
• Dhondo Keshav Karve made efforts for the education of
women.
• India’s first Women University was established in 1916. John
155
Environment Fillot Bethune founded Bethune school in 1849.
and Social
Justice Wido • Vidyasagar made efforts in passing the Hindu Widow
w Remarriage Act, 1856.
remar • Viresalingam also laid emphasis on the right of widow to
riage remarry.
• Widow Marriage Association was established in 1861 by
Ranade and Vishnu Shastri Pandit.
Child • Behramji Malabar made efforts in passing of the Age of
marri Consent Act in 1891. By this act, the age of a girl for marriage
age was increased from 10 to 12 years.
• Rai Sahib Harbilas Sharda moved a bill for increasing the age of
marriage.
• In 1929, the age of marriage was increased to 18 years in the
case of boys and 14 years in the case of girls by Child Marriage
Restraint Act commonly known as Sharda Act.
• In 1931, Child marriage was banned by Infant Marriage
Prevention Act.
Devd
• Muthu Lakshmi Reddi opposed Devdasi system.
asi

c) Women after Independence: Free India’s composition provides legal

measure relief to Indian women in the following ways (Table 9.3).

Table 9.3 Some Acts for women upliftment and empowerment

The Special Marriage Act, 1954 Permits inter-caste and inter-religion

marriages.
The Hindu marriage Act, 1955 Abolished bigamy and permitted
dissolution of marriage on specific
grounds.
The Hindu succession Act, 1956 Made the daughters equal co-heir
with sons, thus, abolishing
discrimination with respect to
inheritance laws.
The Hindu Adoption and Enhanced the status of women by
Maintenance Act, giving her the right to live separately
and obligation of the husband to
maintain his wife and an obligation
of the father-in- law to maintain his
widowed doughter.
Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 The Act makes demand of dowry
before, during or after marriage an
offence.
The Factories Act, 1948 Provides for health, safety, welfare,
and house for women labourer’s
working in factories.
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The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 Provides for payment of equal wages Introduction to
Social Justice
to both men and women workers for
the same or similar and prohibits
discrimination against women in the
matter of recruitment.
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 Provides for maternity benefit for
women workers.

d) Position of Women in India in the year 2000: As of March 2001, the

female population stands at 495.4 million out of total 1,028 million
Indian populations. Thus, in the present population of 1.03 billion, there
ought to be 528 million women. Instead, estimates show only 496
million women in the population today. This implies that there are some
32 million "missing" women in India. Some are never born, and the rest
die because they do not have the opportunity to survive. Sex-ratio
(number of females per 1,000 male) is an important indicator of women's
status in the society. In 1901 there were 972 females per 1,000 males,
while by 1971; this ratio has come down to 930 females per 1,000 males.
In 1981, there has been only a nominal increase in the female sex ratio
with 934 females to 1,000 males. There were only 926 females per 1000
males in India according to 1991 census.

e) Women in Modern Society: The improvement in the status of women

in the society can be analysed in the light of the major changes that have
taken place in areas such as legislations, education, economic and
employment sector, political participation and awareness of their rights
on the part of women, etc. Following are some changes:

• Women in the field of education:An increase in the amount of

women’s education in regions tends to correlate with high levels of
development. Some of the effects are related to economic
development. Women's education increases the income of women and
leads to growth in GDP. Other effects are related to social
development. Educating girls leads to several social benefits,
including many related to women's empowerment. Women's
education is one of the major descriptive variables behind the rates of
social and economic development. According to notable economist
Lawrence Summers investment in the education of girls may be the
highest-return investment available in the developing world.

• Women in economic and employment fields:In both villages and

cities, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of women
going out of the four walls of the household and becoming
successfully employed. In some fields the number of women
employees is steadily increasing. For example, women working as
teachers, doctors, nurses, advocates, bank employees, clerks, typists,
telephone operators, receptionist, personal assistants and so on. Since
1991, women are getting employed in armed force, air force and naval
force also. To give protection to the economic interests and rights of
the womenfolk the government has undertaken various socio-
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Environment economic legislations, which cover areas such as right to property or
and Social
Justice
inheritance, equal wages, working conditions, maternity benefits and
job security.

f) Status of women in today’s society:The Texas Education Agency (TEA)

recently reported facts about women in education fields in Texas in the
following:

• Women represent three-fourths (75.6 %) of the 493,440 public

education employees.

• Women represent one-fourth (25.5 %) of public education employees.

• Women represent 1.4 % of superintendents; 9.1 % of assistant

superintendents; 6 % of principals; and 9 % of assistant principals.

• More than half (56.5 %) of the female teachers in public schools

worked in early childhood and elementary schools.
g) Importance of Women in Society & Politics:For a very long time, women
and politics were standing far from each other and all was because of
deeply rooted issues, which excluded the role of women in any political
affairs. There was a strong belief that women have nothing to do with
politics. Every country deserves to have the best possible leader and that
means that women have to be given a chance to compete. If they’re
never allowed to compete in the electoral process then the countries are
really robbing themselves of a great deal of talent says Madeleine K.
Albright, Chairman of NDI. Comprising over 50 % of the world’s
population, women continue to be under-represented as voters, political
leaders, and elected officials. Women in politics are not a bit less
successful than men. The number of women politicians and political
leaders is increasing every day. The political empowerment of women
can become a powerful tool for increasing the importance of women in
the society, as this let women raise their voice for a large audience. They
will have the opportunity to talk about such issues as gender inequality,
women healthcare, and the protection of the rights of women and girls.

Women and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, enshrines "the
equal rights of men and women", and addressed both the equality and equity
issues. In 1979, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) for legal implementation of the Declaration of
elimination of discrimination against sex. Described as an international bill of
rights for women, it came into force on 3 September 1981.The Convention
defines judgement against women in the following terms, Any distinction,
exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or
purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by
women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and
women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It also establishes an
agenda of action for putting an end to sex-based discrimination for which
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states ratifying the Convention are required to enshrine gender equality into Introduction to
Social Justice
their domestic legislation, repeal all discriminatory provisions in their laws,
and enact new provisions to guard against discrimination against women.
They must also establish tribunals and public institutions to guarantee women
effective protection against discrimination and take steps to eliminate all
forms of discrimination practiced against women by individuals,
organizations, and enterprises.

The Importance of Women in Society and Family

Today women are interested in being respected not only as partners but also
for their professional skills and qualities. Women are often mistreated and the
importance of women in the society is underestimated. Before the main
activities in women’s lives were considered as being a good cook, an abiding
wife, taking care of the kids and the household. Women were not even
allowed to vote in past century. There were very few female scientists. This
was because women’s education was never encouraged. Meanwhile, men
were taking leading position in business economy, science and were making
the image of the society. For a very long time, women were considered
inferior to men. However, the role of a woman in society has significantly
changed during recent decades. The positive changes connected with the role
of the women became especially obvious after the World War I. Most
families in India, irrespective of their caste and religion, are patrilineal.
Patrilineality implies descent and inheritance through the male lineage. Even
though a mother has a vital part to play in the child's life, the men in the
family take major decisions regarding his/her future and that of others in the
family. Men appear to exercise far greater influence in decision-making and
are far more visible and audible than their wives. The mother, grandmothers,
sisters etc do most of the tasks within the home. At mealtimes, the women
carry food to the fields for men. All these tasks that consume time and energy
are not counted as 'work' or 'employment' and there is no payment involved.
The fact that women are expected to perform all these tasks as a part of their
conventional roles and no special merit is awarded to them for these tiring
and tiresome jobs.

The repeated under-representation of women's work reflects a combination of

factors. Women's work participation and their status as workers have been
affected by various factors. Some of the important ones are women's self-
perception, employers' attitude to women employees, traditional positions of
authority in the rural and urban areas, and traditional role expectations.

9.6 ECO-FEMINISM WITH SPECIAL

REFERENCE TO TRIBES AND VILLAGERS
Ecofeminism, also known as Ecological feminism is a branch of feminism
that examines the connections between women and nature. The term
ecofeminism was coined by French feminist Françoise d'Eaubonne in the
year 1974. Ecofeminism is a movement that sees a connection between the
exploitation and degradation of the natural world and the subordination and
oppression of women. It started in the mid-1970s along with the second-wave
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Environment feminism and the green movement. “Ecofeminism brings together elements
and Social
Justice
of the feminist and green movements, while at the same time offering a
challenge to both. It takes from the green movement a concern about the
impact of human activities on the non-human world and from feminism the
view of humanity as gendered in ways that subordinate, exploit and oppress
women” (Mary Mellor, 1997). Ecofeminism, grew out of various social
movements - the feminist, peace and ecology movements especially in the
late 1970s and early 1980s. It became popular only due to some activities
against environmental destruction and major disasters. The meltdown at
Three Mile Island prompted women in the USA to come together for the first
ecofeminist conference - 'Women and Life on Earth: A Conference on Eco-
Feminism in the Eighties' in March 1980, at Amherst. It was at this
conference the connections between feminism and militarization, healing and
ecology were discussed.
The Ecofeminist theory asserts that capitalism reflects only paternalistic and
patriarchal values. This means that the effects of capitalism have not
benefited women and has led to a harmful split between nature and culture
(Oksala, Johanna, 2018). In the 1970s, women discussed that this can only be
healed by the feminine instinct for nurture and holistic knowledge of mother
earth’s processes. Since then, several ecofeminists have made the distinction
that it is not because women are female or "feminine" that they relate to
nature, but because of their similar states of oppression by the same male-
dominant forces (Warren, Karen, 2015).

9.6.1 Case Studies

a) Village women empower themselves with Ecofeminism in India
There are several social problems that are persisting in our country; lack of
women empowerment and water shortage are prominent among them. While
these two are different social and environmental issues, let us consider a
possibility where these two major issues are combined together and their
effects are nullified. For instance, underprivileged women find their own way
to save the environment, which empowers them and at the same time, tackle
the environmental issues that we face.

The word has a significance in today’s scenario, which basically comprises

two words ecology and feminism, i.e. how women can positively impact the
environment. Vandana Shiva is the pioneer who established a home grown
brand of Ecofeminism in India, which believes women have always been the
key to solve many of our societal problems, environmental protection is one
of them. Here are a few recent interesting trends where village women are
taking the lead in ecological conservation and in turn building the momentum
for Ecofeminism.

c) MP village women dig their own well

d) Langoti village is situated in the Khandwa district of Madhya
Pradesh. Just like any other backward village, this village too has an
unjust system of separation of upper castes and Dalits. The Dalit part
of the Langoti village had no access to water, making the lives of
160
 those underprivileged people miserable especially for women, who Introduction to
Social Justice
like other women in different parts of our country had to fetch water
from long distances. The women not only had the courage but were
also determined to solve this problem. So, these Dalit women went to
the Langoti gram panchayat and asked them to build a well in the
nearby area. But the panchayat refused to do so due to lack of funds.
Undaunted, the women picked up shovels and hammers and got down
to digging a water well by themselves. Within 40 days, the women
could dig up a well 20 feet deep. After digging the well up to 20 feet
they started facing some problems due to the hard rocks at the ground
level but with the help of tools the water started flowing in the well.
This is a success story.

c) Rajasthani village celebrates girl child birth by planting trees

161
Environment Piplantri village in Rajasthan stands as a contradiction in a country like ours
and Social
Justice
where female foeticide has been a common practice. The village’s previous
sarpanch Shyam Sundar Paliwal was instrumental in starting an interesting
eco-friendly initiative in the memory of his daughter Kiran, who died very
young. To confront this unfortunate event Shyam Sundar Paliwal started a
tradition in which 111 trees are planted on the birth of every girl child. In his
support all the villagers not only plant saplings but also take care of them. It
is also interesting to note that the villagers plant Aloe Vera around these trees
to save them from termites. Further, the forest produce that they get from
trees have become a source of income for many villagers, especially Aloe
Vera.

The purpose of planting trees is to ensure that every girl child is financially
secure and for this the villagers contribute 21,000 collectively and take
10,000 from the parents to put it in a fixed deposit which gets matured when
the girl turns 20. Besides making the girl financially stable the villagers also
make sure that the girl receives proper education and is not married off
before they attain adulthood. Apart from conserving environment and
empowering women the village has another feather on its cap, it is reported
that in the last 7-8 years there has been no police case. The Piplantri village
truly stands as an example of Ecofeminism that must be emulated.

e) 12-year-old creates innovative shower to save water

Shrusti Nerkar is a 12-year young student of Rachna Vidyalaya in Nashik,

Maharashtra. She when along with her father for car washing, where she was
astonished to know that the entire car can be washed in just 2 litres of water.
She established the idea with her father who is a professor of electronics in
the Government polytechnic college. After this she was enthused to create a
special shower and soon started experimenting with electric wire pipes and
PVC pipes.

When she was sure about the model, she finally made it by using foldable
pipes. Shrusti claims that the bath uses only 15 litres of water for one person
162 as against the 80 litres that is usually used. This saves 65 litres of water, per
shower. Currently, she has applied for a patent for her water-saving shower Introduction to
Social Justice
innovation.

Check Your Progress 2

1) What is mean by HRBA and explain about principle of HRBA.

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

2) Write about ecofeminism and give two example with tribes and villages.

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

9.7 LET US SUM UP

This unit details on the Malthus theory of population and the features of
Malthusian theory of population, and the applicability of Malthusian theory.
The unit also discusses on population growth and human rights. The unit also
details on the importance of women and society. The status of women from
early vedic times to the present times is discussed with examples. Finally the
unit discusses ecofeminism with a few success stories from Rajasthan and
Maharashtra where women have successfully come up with eco-friendly
initiatives.

9.8 KEY WORDS

Human rights: They are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every
person in the world, from birth until death.

HRBA: A human rights-based approach is about empowering people to

know and claim their rights and increasing the ability and accountability of
individuals and institutions who are responsible for respecting, protecting,
and fulfilling rights.

Ecofeminism: It is also known as Ecological feminism is a branch of

feminism that examines the connections between women and nature.

163
Environment
and Social
9.9 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Justice
Beals, H.L. (1958). Historical context of the essay on population.in
D.V.Glass (Ed.) and, introduction to Malthus (pp.3). London: Frank cass and
company, as cited by Bhende A.A. and Kanitkar, T. (1996). Principles of
population studies. Delhi: Himalaya Publishing House.

Bhende, A.A &Kanitkar, T. (1996). Principle of population studies. Delhi:

Himalaya publishing House.
Davis, K. (1955). Malthus and the theory of populatin, in Paul F lazarsfeld
and Morris Rosenberg (Eds.). The language of social research (pp.541). New
York: The Free Press.
Dr. Y.K. Sharma, Indian society; issues and problems (Lakshmi
NaraiyanAgarwal, Agra,2007)
Essay (1798). Edition, Royal Economics society, reprint, p.11
Eversley, D.E.C. (1959). Social theories of fertility and the Malthusian
debate (pp. 256-257). Oxford Clanden Press.
Mary Mellor (1997). "Feminism & Ecology" New York University
Press,1997, p.1
ISSN 1927-0240 [Online] www.cscanada.net www.cscanada.org Higher
Education of Social Science Vol. 7, No. 1, 2014, pp. 67-72 DOI:
10.3968/4895 Ecological Criticism Based on Social Gender: The Basic
Principles of Ecofeminism
Karen, J. W. (1994). Ecological feminism (p.1). London & New York:
Routledge.
Malthus. (1872). An essay on the principle of population. 7th Edition, Book 1,
chapter1
Malthus. (1958). A summary view of the principle of population. In D.Glass
(Ed.), Introduction to Malthus. London: frank Cass and Company, p.153, as
quoted in Hutchinson, E.P. (1967). The population debate: the development
of conflicting theories upto 1900 (pp.153). Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company.
Oksala, Johanna (Spring 2018). "Feminism, Capitalism, and
Ecology". Hypatia. 33 (2): 216–234.
Ranjita Singh. Status of Women in Today’s Society. International Journal of
Humanities and Social Science Invention: 2319 – 7714, 3;2:2014 PP.59-62.
Shiva, Vandana (1988). Staying alive: women, ecology and development.
London: Zed Books. ISBN 978-0-86232-823-8.
Shiva, Vandana. "Development as a New Project of Western
Patriarchy." Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Feminism, edited by
Irene Diamond and Gloria Ornstein, Sierra Club Books, 1990, pp. 189-200.
Warren, Karen J. (2015). "Feminist Environmental Philosophy". The
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford
University.

164
World Population Prospects (2017 Revision) - United Nations population Introduction to
Social Justice
estimates and projections.
Weblinks
http:// www.slideshare.net/unicefFi/hrbamanuaali-finalpdf small2
http://careaboutrights.Scottishhumanrights.com/whatisahumanrightsbasedapp
roach.
http://www.ecoideaz.com/showcase/village-women-empower-themselves-
with-ecofeminism-in-india
https://women-s.net/importance-of-women-in-the-society/
https://www.sociologyguide.com/women-and-society/index.php

9.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Answers to Check Your Progress 1
Your answers should include the following points.
1) Population increases in Geometrical progression
Food production increases in Arithmetical progression
Population exceeds food supply
According to Malthus, population increases at a rapid race when compared to
food supply. He observed that population tends to increase at a geometrical
progression where food production of a country increases in arithmetical
progression. Figure 9.3 shows the relationship between population and food
production growth. Y axis shows the quantity and X axis show the time,
period and the linear line production of food and curve describes population.
The cross production of food and population line is Malthusian catastrophe.
2) Checks to Population Growth: Malthus recognized that there are two
possible checks which limit the population growth and he classified them
into:
3) Preventive checks
4) Positive checks
Preventive checks: Preventive checks are applied by individuals. These
checks limit the increase in birth rate, late marriages, self-restraint during
married life, practice of celibacy and restricting marriage against persons
suffering from poverty, physical or mental disability. These are some of the
methods to be applied by the individuals to limit the size of their families and
to reduce the birth rate.
Positive checks: Positive checks are applied by nature. They influence the
growth of the population by increasing the death rate. They bring suffering
and hardship to humans. When the population exceeds food supply, then
famines, epidemics, diseases, starvation, wars, earthquakes, floods occur
resulting in what is called as Malthusian catastrophes. Sometime the positive
checks are referred to as factors which tend to shorten human lifespan such
as:
165
Environment • Hazardous occupations like severe labour,
and Social
Justice • Bad food or insufficient food,
• Bad nursing of children,
• Diseases and epidemics, wars, infanticide, plague and famine.

So, positive checks are painful. Hence preventive checks are desirable to
reduce the growth rate of population.

Answers to Check Your Progress 2

Your answers should include the following points.

1) Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every
person in the world, from birth until death. A human rights-based
approach is about empowering people to know and claim their rights and
increasing the ability and accountability of individuals and institutions
who are responsible for respecting, protecting, and fulfilling rights. It is a
theoretical framework for the process of human development that is
normatively based on intimation human rights standards and
operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights.

The HRBA has a twofold objective:

• To empower people (right- holders) to claim and exercise their rights,
and
• To strengthen the capacity of the actors (duty bearers) who have a
particular obligation or responsibility to respect, protect, and fulfil rights
of the poorest, weakest, most marginalized, and vulnerable.

The principles of human rights are integrated into policymaking as well as

the day to day running of organisations. There are some fundamental
principles which are of fundamental importance in applying a human rights-
based approach in practice. These are:
• participation
• accountability
• non-discrimination and equality
• empowerment and
• legality

These are known as the PANEL principles.

2) Ecofeminism, also known as Ecological feminism is a branch of

feminism that examines the connections between women and nature. The
term ecofeminism was coined by French feminist Françoise d'Eaubonne
in the year 1974. Ecofeminism is a movement that sees a connection
between the exploitation and degradation of the natural world and the
subordination and oppression of women.

166
UNIT 10 HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL Historical and
Social Perspectives
PERSPECTIVES IN in Environmental
Problems
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Structure
10.0 Introduction
10.1 Objectives
10.2 Limits to Growth Approach to the study of environment
10.2.1 Marxian approach

10.2.2 Gandhian approach

10.2.3 Phule approach

10.3 Development, Displacement, Relocation and Environmental Problems
10.4 Environment, Technology and Society
10.5 Let us Sum Up
10.6 Keywords
10.7 References and Suggested Further Readings
10.8 Answers to Check your Progress

10.0 INTRODUCTION
Ever since the Industrial Revolution, there has been an increase in disruption
of Earth systems leading to Environmental degradation. The decades 1960
and 1970 saw a gain in Environmental movements that demanded
considerable changes in society. It was observed that there was a link
between society and environment and that economic growth led to several
environmental problems. This link was seen in books such as ‘Silent Spring’,
‘Limits to Growth’ and ‘Blueprint for Survival’. Many leaders and
philosophers such as Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi and JyotibaPhule stated
their ideas for society and environment that bestowed a long-term impact. All
of them have focused on community-centered approaches for sustainability.

Environmental problems such as global climate change, biodiversity loss,

water pollution etc. have continued to worsen over years. Due to the extreme
climate-related hazards, some areas worldwide are becoming less habitable.
There is need of evidence of identified new places for carrying out the
Resettlement and Rehabilitation activities along with significant policy and
legislative changes in these systems. There is a growing need for holistic
development of Environment, Technology and Society approach that helps
people to connect one concept with the other. Technology and innovations
should be such that there is minimal or no impact on the Environment while
bringing maximum benefit to the society. Simultaneously, studying historical
contexts helps us in appreciating cultural traditions and intellectual thoughts
that have influenced environment and world at large. These contexts help us
to derive conclusions from past and use them in present in developing
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Environment sustainable strategies. Sustainable development, in its true sense, can only be
and Social
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achieved by balancing the impact of economic activities, environment, health
and well being of the community.

10.1 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• describe the importance of Environmental issues in the process of
development especially for the future generation;
• identify some historical perspectives and ideologies of philosophers
related to Environment;
• explain how developmental activities and Environmental events can
result in displacement of people and get an insight into the policies
related to resettlement; and
• discuss how Environment is related to Technology and Society.

10.2 LIMITS TO GROWTH APPROACH TO THE

STUDY OF ENVIRONMENT
The genesis of Environmental History is usually seen through the
Environmental movements taking shape in United States and Europe in
1960s and 1970s. The logical thinkers and philosophers of that time observed
that there is a linkage between human activities and nature. It was predicted
that human activities are changing the environment in a detrimental way that
could make it difficult to survive on this planet. With rise of Industrial
revolution, the eighteenth and nineteenth century had seenunhindered and
uncontrolled usage of natural resources. Advances in science and technology
provided humans with more power over their natural surroundings than
before. There was a continuous race being carried out by the industrialized
state to acquire more colonies. The period from the late 19th century till the
end of the Second World War could be seen as one in which humans brought
maximum damage to their natural environment. The beginnings of modern
environmentalism was first said to be expressed in the path breaking and
highly acclaimed work by Rachel Carson, who in her ‘Silent Spring’ and
later works was highly critical of the industrial policies followed and
reflected on the ill effects of human activities and rapid industrialization on
the nature and natural habitats. As per the historical perspectives pertaining to
Environmental issues, Economic activity was considered to be dependent on
natural resources. The limitation of economic activity depended on capacity
of resources. The ‘limit’ concept was introduced by some thinkers such as
Malthus (1798), Ricardo (1817) and Marx (1867).

Definition
Donella and Dennis Meadows along with their team from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) titled their work/ report as ‘Limits to growth’
in 1972. A computer simulation was run through a software between
economic and population growth and finite supply of resources. They
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predicted that there would be specific ecological limits if the consumption of Historical and
Social Perspectives
resources followed the current trend. The limits applied to the economic in Environmental
growth and growth in production. Problems

Conclusions of Report were:

1) As growth depends on consumption of resources, if the pace of

industrialization, production and resource depletion continues at this
level, the limits to growth may be reached within next hundred years.
These limits to growth would result eventual decline in population and
industrial capacities. It was stated that global industrial outputs, food and
services would be limited within the next hundred years and thus the
population would also reach a limit and then decline.
2) Maintaining stability between ecological and economic entities making
use of sustainable practices may alter these growth trends. A capping for
basic needs of a person should be designed so that each person is
satisfied with the resources.

3) If people try to attain the balance between the ecological and economic
entities and reduce the pace of industrialization, the greater could be the
chances of success of coherent survival.

Criticisms of “Limits to Growth” approach

1) Technological input , which was supposedly an important component,
was not considered and thus it was said that it does not predict
technological advance.
2) The model used was a relatively simple computer model. One-
dimensional variables were used to describe industrial output, resource
depletion etc. that generallyare more complex in nature. The approach
was expected to be more quantitative.
In the year 2008, the predictions of Limits to growth models were compared
with the present scenario and it was found to relate well with present
‘business as usual’ conditions. The graph as depicted in Fig. 1 shows that
aggregate non-renewable resource depletion (shown with purple dots on red
curve) agrees well with the standard run of Limits to growth model prediction
(green curve). The depletion scenarios of certain resources match with the
limits to growth model’s business as usual scenario. “Business as usual
scenario” meant that pace of industrialization; population and resources
consumed grew at the same rate as in the 1970 data that was used for
predicting the future scenario.

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Environment
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Fig. 10.1: Agreement of Limits to growth model with ‘business as usual’ scenario 30
years after report (Source: Earthbound report, 2010)

Thus, we may observe that the Limits to Growth models agree well with the
present scenario despite of certain flaws. The model was a stepping-stone for
study regarding achieving sustainability.

Perspectives on Environment:

10.2.1 Karl Marx

All progress in capitalistic agriculture is a
progress in the art, not only of robbing the laborer,
but of robbing the soil; all progress in increasing
the fertility of the soil for a given time, is a
progress towards ruining the lasting sources of
that fertility.

– Karl Marx, Capital vol 1

Karl Marx can be called as social scientist of the19th century. He considered
labor to be a process between man and nature. There was social and political
unrest within the country and Marx highlighted the possibility of limited
economic growth because of such unrest.
• Marx’s Theory is also known as “The Theory of Social Limit”
• Marx claimedthat capitalism led to more production and rapid economic
growth but could harm nature by depleting its resources. Marx also
highlighted that laborers could be harmed with capitalism becoming
increasingly productive, as it shall hamper their link with nature.
• According to Marx, Capitalism tended to decrease the wages to minimal
levels. As population was continuously increasing, opportunity of work
was reducing and laborers had to work for less wage.

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Karl Marx’s ideas have left a mark on the entire world much more Historical and
Social Perspectives
profoundly than any other philosopher. Marx introduced the concept of in Environmental
“alienated labor” in his early manuscripts. The alienated labor meant that Problems
people were being separated from nature due to the capitalist framework of
society. Due to the industrial class capturing the common land, the rural
people had no option of meeting their daily needs. The capitalists exploited
their labor power. Rural people were also deprived of their spiritual needs
associated with nature. The theme of his early manuscripts has been of the
concept that exploitation of workers and nature go hand in hand. He stated
that:
Man lives on nature – means that nature is his body, with which he must
remain in continuous interchange if he is not to die. That man’s physical and
spiritual life is linked to nature means simply that nature is linked to itself,
for man is a part of nature.

He also reiterated that people need to understand the privatized/capitalized

society and how it impacts the nature if environmental problems are to be
addressed. In 1860’s, due to industrialization, there was division of towns in
the country, which led to loss of soil fertility and its degradation. The people
of those areas did not understand this phenomenon but there was a mention
of this in Marx’s work. He had mentioned about the imposition of burden of
pollution and diseases due to industrialization.
Present ecologists who showed a belief in Marxian philosophy argue that
capitalism leads to unsustainability and we need to shift towards greener
practices in order to achieve sustainability. In order to transform society and
shift towards sustainability, Marx’s emphasis on amiable relationship with
nature can be considered. Through this, material as well as spiritual needs
from nature can be met.

10.2.2 Gandhian Perspective on study of Environment:

Mahatma Gandhi being a hard-core conserver of nature and environment

inspired many environmental movements in India through his sayings and
works. Some of his beliefs and works pertaining to environment were:
• Integration: Ecology is a subject that involves identifying and studying
the relationship between biotic components and their environment.
Human beings are dependent on environment for their daily needs.
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Environment Gandhi had a belief in advaita (non-duality) and unity of man and all
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lives. Gandhi saw integration between various entities of natureand
advocated for bringing in balance amongst all. He said that humans tend
to have compartmentalization within their bodies where one part does
not know what other is doing but nature treats every individual in the
same manner. All living beings are treated equally by nature.
• Wise use of resources: According to Gandhi, a man should keep limited
number of material needs and have plain living. He said that comfort is
necessary but not to an extent that it becomes greed. Plain living and
high thinking of mankind was his ideology of living.
• Thoughts against Industrialization: The thoughts of industrialization
in the west disturbed him. He was somehow aware regarding the perils
of industrialization. He said that India should never take industrialization
as seriously as the west. During those times, England was ruling over
other kingdoms and stripping the world like locusts.Gandhi, however,
followed few Western thinkers, who cherished and praised the pre-
industrial era. He followed John Ruskin whose thoughts were that
industrialization had destroyed the harmony between man and nature.
• Purification through nature: Gandhiji’s views were influenced by
Jainism. The foundation of this influence was Jainism’sinherent
character of considering nature as living entity. He firmly believed that
human beings should respect all forms of nature as their equals and must
consider them as their brothers and sisters.
• Emphasis on limited violence to nature: He considered subjecting
nature to limited violence and persuaded people to just take those
resources from nature that were necessary for their sustenance. He
emphasized that exploiting nature for short-term receipt of resources was
not a good practice and should be minimized.One such instance that has
been described often is when his close disciple had a habit of breaking an
entire twig of neem tree just for his need of four or five neem leaves.
Gandhiji termed that as violence and asked his disciple to seek an
apology from the tree for his wasteful and wrong deed.
• Influence in Environmental movements and Environmentalists:
Gandhian thoughts on nature were a motive for carrying out different
environmental movements in India. One amongst the largest
environmental movements in India, Chipko movement, derived
inspiration from Gandhi’s philosophy.
• Influence on Environmentalists: The philosophy to concentrate and
include rural population in addressing environmental concerns can be
attributed to Gandhiji. Many environmentalists and people working for
society such as Ramchandra Guha and Madhav Gadgil have credited
Gandhi for their work. The common feature amongst all of their work is
the special focus given over to work in rural areas, which also has been
derived from Gandhian thoughts. Similarly, Vandana Shiva, an
environmental activist acknowledged Gandhian influence while starting
the movement of “Seed satyagraha” to protect biodiversity. This
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 movement enabled farmers to understand their seed rights. Besides this, Historical and
Social Perspectives
campaigns were also conducted to boycott unjust Intellectual Property in Environmental
rights Problems

• Nature cure: Gandhi had said that resources are enough in nature for
everyone provided people take just the amount that is required by them.
He even requested the medical practitioners of that time to cure people
using medicinal plantsso as to harness traditional knowledge. He also
insisted on indigenous ways of treatment that had inclination towards
nature.
• Emphasis on artisan skills: He focused on village-based technologies
such as Charkha. He focused on the fact that human labor should not be
replacedindiscriminately and artisan tools should be given their due
importance. His viewpoint was that excessive use of technological
equipments was not a real sign of progress and technology should be
usedin unison with indigenous methods of manufacturing.
• Consideration of nature as sacred: Gandhi considered living in co-
existence with non-human world. His cottage in Sevagram faced several
events of presence of snakes or other animals. But he advised people not
to kill the snakes. Rather , heencouraged them to pick up snakes and
release them at far off places in their natural habitat. He considered all
non-human entities as sacred and divine and considered it important to
live in harmony with them.
• Conservation: Gandhi always focused on wise use of resources. Besides
conserving money and other personal resources, he even ensured that
only an optimal amount of water be given to plants. He conveyed the
idea of conserving resources for the future generation of the country thus
focusing on sustainability.
• Stress on Environmental problems: The patterns of growth and
development which were genesis of industrialization were considered a
disease by Gandhiji.According to him, all mess created by industries
such as pollution, climate change or biodiversity loss needed to be cured
by focusing on indigenous practices.
• Focus on Cleanliness: Mahatma Gandhi awakened the Indian
community on improving their public image on sanitation while
underlining the importance of keeping the surroundings clean. He has
been a true inspiration behind Swachh Bharat scheme launched on
2ndOctober, 2014.

10.2.3 Phule’s perspective on Environment:

Though Women are great enablers in the field of
environment and sustainable development, their
contribution has been undermined for centuries in
India.They being the chief resource manager, manage
everything from water, fuel and food to other resources,
while simultaneously taking equal responsibility in
agriculture. Asia’s largestenvironmental movements such 173
Environment as Chipko Movement and Green belt movement has highlighted results when
and Social
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women undertake the responsibility to contribute in sustainable development.
Some benefits that the society can reap by educating women are
demonstrated through Figure. 10.2.

Figure 10.2: Benefit of Women education to society and environment

Thus, for an overall development of the society, it is imperative to teach and

enlighten women so that they can further educate their children and
encourage them to differentiate between right and wrong.

JyotiraoGovindrao Phule, also known as Jyotiba Phule recognized this and

worked diligently for Women empowerment and improvement and
enlightenment of economically and socially weaker sections. He understood
the implicit relation that uplifted womencould bring about in strengthening of
the society, in both social and environmental terms. Some of his
contributions have been in the varied fields of:

• Improvement of social status of women: During 1860’s and 1870’s,

women did not hold a significant social status and were frequently ill
treated by their own families. The prevalent caste system ensured that
one particular caste was deprived of all kinds of rights in society and
education. In his struggle for emancipation of Women and eradication of
caste system, Jyotiba Phule opened the first school at Pune meant to
educate families from lower caste. Besides facing a stiff opposition from
upper caste Brahmins, he and his wife,Savitribai,continued with the
tireless effort to ensure education for all ,irrespective of their caste and
creed.
• Female education and training: Mahatma Phule knew that widening
the horizons for women shall widen the philosophy and opinions people
carry ,thus further awakening the society. He thought that emancipation
of the oppressed classes was possible only through social reforms and
education. His institutions for underprivileged females were a modest
start of a larger public movement and sign of societal transformation.
Jyotiba was extremely passionate about bringing this societal
transformation through teachingfemales, while keeping his wife
Savitribai in forefrontas a role model. He stated that the improvement,
which comes about in a kid because of a mother’s larger involvement in
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 decision-making, is significant for a better psyche of the child. He Historical and
Social Perspectives
emphasized that futuristic and holistic development of a nation demands in Environmental
a non-oppressed female fraternity. He called attention to the fact, that Problems
those who are actually worried about the well being as well as welfare of
the nation should take note of the state of women and make every
attempt to impart knowledge to them in case they sincerely wish the
nation to improve.

With this particular idea they initially began the school for women. Most
people weren't prepared to send their kids to school but LahujiRagh,
Raut Mang and Ranba Mahar convinced the communities regarding the
positive aspects of women getting educated.
• Equality of society: Mahatma Phule was a sign of the revolution of
societal equality. His vision promulgated equality as a force for making
social, national and economic change all over India. The obsolete socio-
religious structure defined by caste system bred inequality. Both
Savitribai and Jyotirao battled for gender equality and worked their way
against prejudiced caste system in spite of huge criticism by the
Brahminic and Manuwadi forces. Jyotiba highlighted that prosperity of a
country is ascertained only when women take a lead role and are treated
equal to men.

• Child marriage and widow remarriage: To be able to empower

females he opposed Child marriage. Simultaneously, he advocated for
widow remarriage and arranged for an “Ashram” for widows. In those
times, widow remarriage was a taboo amongst Hindus. A lot of widows
were young and not all of them would live in a fashion in which the
orthodox individuals expected them to live. Several of the widows
resorted to abortion or left their illegitimate children to the fate of theirs
by leaving them on the streets. So, he established a home for newborn
infants of widows in 1863 to avoid the infanticides.

• Education and Progress: Phule stated that six kind of progress were
feasible just with education. In the introduction to the guide
ShetkaryachaAsud, written by him, he elucidated these six philosophies
as: Without training wisdom was lost; Without wisdom morals have
been lost; Without morals growth was lost; Without development wealth
was lost; Without wealth the underprivileged had been ruined.Thus, he
gave a brand new meaning and perspectiveto the concept of education
• Fight against Untouchability: He worked as a pioneer of liberating
Dalits from oppression and tyranny. Although the renaissance had started
but still Dalits were humiliated and discouraged to take part in the social
life or functions. Their presence in education related sectors were
abysmally low.They weren't permitted to make use of public places, visit
templesor take drinking water out of public wells & tanks.Phule made
highly effective pleas to the society to abolish “untouchability” and
revamp the caste system. He revolted against the unjust caste system
which rendered a large group of people “without any rights” for
centuries altogether.
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Environment Check Your Progress 1
and Social
Justice Note: a) Write your answer in about 100 words.

b) Check your progress with possible answers given at the end of the
unit.

1) State the conclusions of ‘Limits to Growth’ report.

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

2) State some of Mahatma Gandhi’s perspectives on Environment.

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….

10.3 DEVELOPMENT, DISPLACEMENT,

RELOCATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS
Relocation of humans has been a phenomenon that has been practiced for
long for different reasons. Some people moved due to economic factors such
as employment while others moved due to environmental events such as
floods, droughts or famines. These migrations were either for a limited time
period or were more permanent in nature.
Generally, government agencies pursue programs for population relocation
either due to looming hazards, threats of violence or developmental activities.
While the first two causes are more unforeseen, the relocation for the
development projects is more systematic in nature. Developmental projects
require large land area and there is need to displace local people.
Accordingly, local people may have to relocate as per the government norms
and policies.

Definitions:
The following set of definitions is given by International Organization for
176 Migration (IOM) which is the inter-governmental organization that works in
the field of migration. IOM became a subsidiary of United Nations in Historical and
Social Perspectives
September, 2016: in Environmental
Problems
Migrant: A person who has moved across an international border or within a
state away from his/her habitual place of residence.
People are sometimes forced to move to a different place due to some factors
known as push factors. On the other hand, if people are attracted to a
different place due to better avenues available, such factors are known as pull
factors. Factors that can affect a migrant are indicated in the following
Table10.1:

Table 10.1:Push and Pull factors due to which migration occurs

(Adapted from Jaccob, 2013)

Push-factors Migrants Pull-factors

Countries of Origin Countries of
destination
⇒Population growth, Demographic factors ⇒Stable population,
young age structure and social population decline,
⇒Inadequate infrastructure demographic ageing
educational ⇒Welfare state
institutions, medicare benefits, educational
and social security institutions, medicare,
social security
⇒Unemployment, low Economic factors ⇒Labour demand,
wages high wages
⇒Poverty, low ⇒Welfare, high
consumption and living consumption and
standard living standard
⇒Dictatorships, Political factors ⇒Democracy, rule of
shadow democracy, law, pluralism,
bad governance, political stability
political upheaval ⇒Peace, security,
⇒Conflict, (civil) war, protection of human
terrorism, human and civil rights,
rights violation, protection of
oppression of minorities
minorities
⇒Ecologic disaster, Ecological factors ⇒Better
desertification, lack of environment,
natural resources, environmental policy,
water shortage, soil protection of natural
erosion, lack of resources and
environmental policy environmental
protection
⇒Decisions of the Migrant flows and ⇒Diaspora, ethnic
family or the clan migrant stocks community
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Environment ⇒Information flows, ⇒Information flows,
and Social
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media, transferred media, transferred
picture of country of picture of destination
origin country
⇒Possibilities of ⇒Possibilities of
(ir)regular (ir)regular
immigration, routes of immigration (right of
trafficking residence)

Refugee or Asylum seekers:A person who flees across an international

border due to a well-founded fear of being ill-treated due to his race,
nationality or political opinion.
Internally displaced person: A person who is forced to depart from their
home, but has not crossed an international border.
Environment migrant:A person who moves either temporarily or
permanently due to some sudden or progressive environmental changes such
as volcanoes, hurricanes etc. They may move either within their territory or
abroad.
Internal environmental migrants: A person who voluntarily relocates
domestically for reasons of environmental changes.
Environmental refugee: A person who because of difficult environmental
conditions, is forced to depart from home and cross international borders.
Environmental Internally Displaced Person: A person who is forced to
leave home but remains within the state of which he/she is a national.
These definitions constitute legal classifications for people for their
entitlements towards certain relief/ benefits. But there are certain limitations
associated with these definitions. However, it is more on the jurisdiction of
the agency to provide relief based on state’s rule. For example, if any agency
volunteers have to provide relief to refugees, they may/may not consider
providing relief to environmentally displaced persons. Thus, sometimes these
definitions bring about a sense of confusion during entitlements.

Rehabilitation and Development

Resettlement process is generally immune to the emotional or social aspects
of migrating people. Migrants may have certain emotional attachments with
the previous dwelling sites and may want the new site to be similar to earlier
ones. A good rehabilitation process should take care of this while
simultaneously ensuring a smooth transition between the below mentioned
factors:
• Landlessness to land-based resettlement
• Joblessness to re-employment
• Food insecurity to safe nutrition
• Homelessness to home reconstruction
• High morbidity and mortality to improved health and well being and
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• Social disarticulation and deprivation of common property resources to Historical and
Social Perspectives
community reconstruction and social inclusion in Environmental
Problems
Thus, this kind of phased rehabilitation ascertains that a citizen is granted the
same freedom and rights that he/ she was enjoying before relocation.

Environmental Problems leading to Migration

Amongst many problems that Environmental changes pose, few are
categorized as follows:

1) Global Warming
• Global warming is a major environmental problem caused by release
of green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, etc.
• Significant rise in global temperatures due to the trapping of solar
radiations by green house gases can result in further increase in
temperature which is a phenomenon related to climate change.Climate
change may lead to melting of polar ice fields that leads to rise in sea
level.
• This melting of glaciers could result insubmergence of low-lying
lands as a result of rising sea level. This will lead to inundation of
large part of land thereby affecting a great mass of people.
• Another major impact of global warming would be on the rainfall
patterns of different parts of the world. It is estimated through climate
change models that there would be large increase in precipitation near
equator, Arctic and Antarcticregion. Also, the drier regions are
estimated to become even drier (CarbonBrief report, 2018).
• As climate change impacts are rising, number of people moving
internally to different cities or across border is also rising. It is
estimated that about 25-300 million people are likely to be displaced
due to the impacts of climate change by 2050 (Stern and Stern, 2007).
The international frameworks and achievements pertaining to human
mobility with regard to climate changeare depicted in Table10.2.
Table 10.2: International frameworks addressing human mobility (Adapted
from Wilkinson et al, 2016)

Year Achievement
2001 Preparation and implementation of National
Adaptation Programmes of Action
2005 Global Commission on International Migration
delivered final report
2006 Global Migration Group established
2008 Migration first mentioned in Poznán COP14
2010 Cancun COP16 established Cancun Adaptation
Framework, Advisory Group on Climate Change
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Environment and Migration and National Adaptation Plans
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Process
2012 Nansen Initiative launched
March, 2015 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
2015-2030 adopted
September, 2015 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
adopted
October, 2015 Endorsement of the Protection agenda
November, 2015 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions
submitted ahead of Paris COP21
December, 2015 Task Force on displacement established in the
Paris Agreement, Paris COP21
May, 2016 Platform on Disaster displacement launched
September, 2016 Adoption of New York Declaration for refugees
and migrants
October, 2016 New Urban Agenda adopted

Migration occurring because of climate change was first mentioned in United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) documents
in year 2008 in Poznán Conference of Parties (COP14). However, no clear
outcome of such migration was elucidated in the conclusions presented for
COP14. The concept of Climate induced migration was revisited in Paris
agreement COP21. But for some reason, the terminologies have been kept
ambiguous and there is no clear understanding of it, either to stakeholders or
policy makers. With the increasing wrath of climate change being faced by
the world, there is an essential need to define and collate the various
perspectives of migration under one framework.

2) Land degradation
• Land degradation refers to temporary or permanent decline in
productive capacity of the land and soil, which is used for production
of food and fodder (Scherr and Yadav, 1996).

• Deforestation and desertification, chemical contamination, pollution,

overgrazing, soil erosion etc. are some factors that contribute to land
degradation (Source: TAFE Queensland and Department of Natural
Resources Module ASP3056: Environmental Impacts:Issues, 1999).

• These factors that lead to land degradation may result in alteration of

physical/ chemical properties of soil, loss of biodiversity and increased
hazards to humans occupying these degrading lands.

• Over 1.3 billion lives are impacted globally due to land degradation
(UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa, 2017).
• Populations that are affected by land degradation tend to lack access to
land area as well as resources.The limited resources, thereby, leads to
180 more conflicts amongst these populations (BOGOTA: Thomson
 Reuters Foundation Report, 2018). Historical and
Social Perspectives
• A need was felt worldwide, for some agency to take charge of issues of in Environmental
Problems
migration resulting due to land degradation. International Organization
for migration (IOM) which became a subsidiary to United Nations in
2016now addresses issues related to migration resulting from land
degradation, drought and desertification.

3) Industrial Accidents
• Industrial accidents such as toxic spills from mining/non-mining
activities, oil spills or transport accidents can have severe impacts on
health of affected people and environment.

• There may be losses such as body injuries, economic loss, property

damage or environmental damage such as material/ resource loss and
pollution of air, water or soil.

• Bhopal Gas tragedy of India that occurred in December 1984 was one
of the major industrial disasters in India (ENVIS-NIOH Newsletter,
2014). There were about 3787 deaths and several permanent-disabling
injuries that occurred because of methyl isocyanate gas release.People
suffered from severe eye irritation, burning in respiratory tract,
vomiting and stomach pains. A major population living in surrounding
areas had to beextricated away from the plant.

• It is difficult to prepare for the occurrence of such accidents as they are

very different from natural hazards and one cannot be certain as to how
to handle such scenarios.

4) Natural disasters
• Natural disasters are catastrophic events, majorly caused by nature,
that cause harm to communities and loss to economy.In grave
circumstances, a need for outside assistance to displace the affected
community to a new place arises (Petrucci, 2012).
• Some of these disasters are floods, droughts, hurricanes, volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes etc (And now viruses too...).

• Loss of resources, shelter and security generally observed after a

disaster may lead to several migrations especially in developing
countries.

Other such events that lead to Environmental displacements are depicted in

Figure 10.3.

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Environment
and Social
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Figure10.3: Environmental Problems leading to displacements (adapted from Brown,

2017)

Impacts of Environmental migration

• Migration can prove to be a favorable adaptive strategyif governments
and legal institutions provide residency rights, education and
employment opportunities to the aggrieved parties. If right conditions
are set up, it can contribute to social and economic development.
Although in most cases, the outcomes of migration come with their own
associated costs.
• Migrants are prone to environmental hazards, meager access to health
services and education. Generally, they are also exploited in
employment.
• Migration also takes a toll on the mental health of individuals. They
undergo various stressful conditions in the recipient country as they
face language problems and disruption of their social network.
Frustration and loneliness is a common phenomenon amongst these
individuals.
• The migrants may sometimes carry certain infectious diseases, which
may be harmful for the host country. In other cases the migrants may be
healthy and catch diseases from host country. Thus, there are several
healthcare challenges that are faced by the migrants and host countries.
• The health impacts of environmental migration are depicted in
Figure10.4.
182
 Historical and
Social Perspectives
in Environmental
Problems

Figure 10.4: Health impacts of Environmental migration (Adapted from Schwerdtle

et al, 2018)

• Thus, the solution for all these problems lies in proper planning and
reduction in vulnerability levels of the migrant population through
enhanced livelihoods.

Policy Analysis
Rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) process/ policies should primarily aim
at helping the displaced persons who lose their lands due to developmental
activities, conflicts or natural calamities. In most of the cases, displaced
people try to go back to their original dwelling sites as and when the situation
normalizes as in case of natural calamities. But, in developmental activities,
they may have to resettle to a new place permanently.Most countries have
their own R&R policies. Based on the type of developmental project, there
are different organizations in each country that take the responsibility of
providing basic amenities to such people. World Bank and Asian
Development Bank are two of such organizations that sponsor development
projects and bear the cost for resettling people.
The history of development projects in India dates back to post independence
.There was no specific R&R policy defined for displaced persons and state
governments used to pass orders for the affected communities randomly.
Different states promulgated different policies based on type of projects
going on in that state. Though Land acquisition act had a standing, displaced
persons had to satisfy with a piece of land and their livelihood was not
guaranteed. The first for malpolicy related to R&R came up in the year 1985
when the World Bank refused to help government for Sardar Sarovar Dam
project. But this policy was meant majorly for R&R of Tribal communities
and other communities did not benefit from it . In 1993, the Ministry of Rural
Development prepared another draft of such policy but that too was
183
Environment criticized. The formal Policy on R&R that addressed many earlier
and Social
Justice
deficiencies was framed in 2007 and came to be known as National R&R
Policy of India.
The overview of policies related to rehabilitation and resettlement can be
observed in Figure 10.5.

As per Indian Constitution, responsibility of acquiring private land as per Land

Acquisition Act, 1894 lies with state governments

Resettlement & Rehabilitation policy by Govt. of India in 1985

Rehabilitation Policy by Central Ministry of Welfare for tribal displaced persons

Next draft of Rehabilitation policy by Ministry of Rural Development in 1993,

finalized in 2003 and came into force in 2004

National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy of India in 2007 entails census of

affected area with participation of local bodies

National Policy on Disaster Management in 2009 with focus on short-term and

long-term rehabilitation measures

Figure10.5: Policies related to Rehabilitation and Resettlement in India

As per the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy (2007) of India,

the R&R benefits include land for land, compensation packages,
rehabilitation grant that varies according to the type of land and purpose of
acquisition, employment for at least one person per nuclear family,
vocational training, scholarships, skill development opportunities, allotment
of outsources contracts shops/other economic opportunities and providing
labor work at the project site.
Further, the STs and SCs are accorded separate R&R benefits, aiming to
safeguard their ethnic, linguistic and cultural identity, ensuring that they be
located in similar ecological settings as their earlier place of dwelling. The
policy also has provisions for monitoring and reviewing the implementation
of the R&R plan and also a mechanism for grievance redressal. This redressal
iseither the responsibility of the Administrator for Resettlement and
Rehabilitation or of a designated R&RCommittee. It is also mandated that
there should be an R&R Committee at the state and district level. The issues
184
of grievance redressal are looked after by an Ombudsman appointed by the Historical and
Social Perspectives
state concerned. in Environmental
Problems
However, the National R&R policy lacks in the area of covering the disaster-
induced displacement. This has been seen as a major drawback. In case of
Disaster induced- displacements, there is a need to look into the policies
related to disaster in India.

The Disaster Management Act(2005) mandates the Ministries and

departments at all levels to prepare a disaster management plan. They have
the responsibility of providing relief in case of any disasters and take care of
rehabilitation and reconstruction operations if required. The financial
resources needed for carrying out the above-mentioned activities is to be
borne by National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). If mitigation measures
need to be taken, the expenses can be released from the National Mitigation
Fund. The Act does lack a definite plan for resettlement and rehabilitation
activities and thus displaced people are sometimes in distress.

The above mentioned flaws have been duly taken care of in The National
Policy on Disaster Management (2009). This policy has focused onboth
short-term relief operations as well as long-term rehabilitation measures such
as, reconstruction of houses in safer locations, provision of basic amenities
like drinking water, sanitation, roads, education, viable livelihood systems,
health care, and up gradation of farming technologies in the relocated areas.

Check Your Progress 2

Note: a) Write your answer in about 50 words.

b) Check your progress with possible answers given at the end of the
unit.

1) Explain the following terms:

a) Rehabilitation b. Environmental migrant

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

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10.4 ENVIRONMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND

SOCIETY
Need of development has led to industrialization, trade and urbanization,
which are observed as symbols of national progress. Human population has
also increased over time with associated technological advancement in
medicine and related fields. The developmental needs are growing day by
day because of the increasing demands of the society and man is
185
Environment continuously encroaching upon nature for satisfying his needs of water, food
and Social
Justice
and energy.
Technology has helped humans ease out their work. Before understanding the
relationship between Environment, technology and society, there is a need to
focus on the basic definitions.

Definitions:
• Technology
Technology involves the systematic application of scientific knowledge, art,
tools and materials for the extension of human facilities. Technology is the
source of change in society.

• Environment
Environment is defined as the immediate surroundings of living organisms
that include air, water, soil etc. that supports life and sustains various human
activities. The surroundings comprises of
• Biotic/ living: Plants, animals, microorganisms
• Abiotic/ non-living: Physical phenomena such as land, water, air etc.

• Society
Society is group of people living together in communities in an organized
manner, wherein the needs and development is sustained by the community.It
is a permanent organization in which individuals are bonded together by
social relationship.
There is a significant relationship between environment, technology and
society, which can be demonstrated byFigure6.

Figure 10.6: Connection of resources, society, environment and technology

• All societies have an ecological basis. Ecology is composed of physical

as well as biological systems involving human beings.
• The term ‘ecology’ denotes the web of physical and biological systems
in conjunction with the processes involved, of which humans are only
one element.
186
• The ecology of a place is primarily affected by the interaction between Historical and
Social Perspectives
its geographical and hydrological components.Besides these, in Environmental
technological interventions also affect the ecology of a society because Problems
of which environmental problems such as land degradation and pollution
are increasing.
• Ecological changes are disturbances to the environment caused by
human interference, natural disasters or animal interventions. It is often
difficult to separate and distinguish between the natural and human
factors that bring ecological change as both cause massive destruction.
• The interaction between environment and society is shaped by social
organization/ social structure. This is discussed in the section on
Relationship between environment and society.
• Environment acts as a service provider of valuable resources to the
society without which it is impossible to address the needs of mankind.
Economic activity is supported by rules and condition created by human
societies as to how and by what process they plan to generate income.
The relationship between environment, society and economy can be
observed in Figure 10.7.

Figure 10.7: Interrelationship between Environment, Society and Economy (Adapted

from Dandabathula et al, 2019)

It can be observed that there is a continuous exchange of resources between

the Environment, society and economy as demonstrated through the arrows.
For example, measures to protect environment may lead to improved soil
fertility. This can further lead to increased food production and thus better
187
Environment food storage facilities. This shall further enhance consumption boosting the
and Social
Justice
rural economy. The boost shall lead to employment and income creation thus
generating more awareness regarding natural resources management issues.

Relationship between environment and society

• Human beings, society and Environment are mutually dependent on each
other. The relationship is represented in Figure 10.8.It can be seen that
societies are dependent on the environment for basic resources such as
food and fuel. In order to get these resources we need to work. So,
indirectly environment provides us with economic opportunities.
• These economic opportunities are constrained by social structure (Pretty
et al, 2007). Social structure is the stable arrangement of institutions
where humans interact with society in order to stay together. One
example of social structure is market behavior. These structures change
with change in environment.
• In case of some natural hazards/ calamities, the cost of materials in
market increases because of change in demand/supply ratio. This
imbalance in the ratio might bring in competition between individuals
changing their societal behavior. So, while human actions can impact
environment and society, environmental calamities can also affect social
structure leading to change in human behavior.
• Use of technological interventions such as usage of machines to ease out
work can lead to technological hazards such as pollution, which can
further harm the environment.
• Culture can also have an impact on the society and in turn on the
environment. For example, a culture that focuses on women education
makes the society more modest, caring and brings in a value system
associated with resources.

Figure10.8: Relationship between environment and society

188
Risk society Historical and
Social Perspectives
• Risk society is a sociological concept introduced by Ulrich Beck. in Environmental
Problems
According to him, technological advancements can make our lives easier
but may create a risk to the environment.
• Risk society may be considered as a society in which the future holds a
risk due to some environmental/ industrial calamities.
• For instance, incidents like nuclear disaster of Chernobyl and industrial
accidents like Bhopal depict the dangers inherent in industrial
environments and demonstrate the associated risks that human
population can be subjected to.
• We consider ourselves as living in risk societies because human relations
with the environment have become increasingly complex in modern
society due to spread of industrialization.
• The complex industrial technologies and modes of organization require
sophisticated management systems, which are often fragile and
vulnerable to error. Any error in handling or management could lead to
severe consequences. Hence, it is difficult topredict therisk involved in
any complex technology and careful handling is the only viable option.

Technology and Environment

• Technology may have positive as well as negative impacts on the
environment. If we consider agricultural production for instance, it can
impact the ecosystem in both positive and negative ways. Technologies
used in agricultural production may have impacts on soil fertility,
biodiversity, water or climate. Fertilizers may be added to improve soil
fertility but may negatively impact the health of the farmer who comes in
contact with it. These fertilizers may also be harmful for the animals
living within the agricultural land ecosystem. In such cases, doing Cost-
benefit analysis, bringing in more of traditional practices such as mixed
cropping or crop rotation can be extremely helpful.
• Another example of impact of technology can be observed in our daily
lives when we use gadgets such as smart phones, television or other
electrical appliances. Life has become easier and advanced but we do not
focus on the amount of electrical energy that is spent for functioning of
these appliances. Electrical energy needs utilization of non-renewable
resources such as fossil fuels, which are depleting day by day. Thus, it is
important that solar or wind power may alternatively be utilized for
electricity production. Understanding that development is necessary, but
it should be achieved by minimizing the negative impact on environment
is essential.
• Being aware of technological methods that can reduce environmental
impacts can further solve the problem. For example, if a new product is
to be designed, its life cycle should be assessed. The manufacturer can
consider calculating the pollution it can cause at every stage starting
from the raw materials, the energy needed for its production, industrial
189
Environment treatments, transportation technologies to take it to market and finally its
and Social
Justice
disposal. By this assessment, one can try to reduce the environmental
impacts by either utilizing eco-friendly materials or utilizing those
industrial techniques that generate lesser pollution. Thus, sustainable
practices should be followed and promoted wherever possible.

Check Your Progress 3

Note: a) Write your answer in about 100 words.

b) Check your progress with possible answers given at the end of the
unit.

1) Give some examples how technology affects the environment.

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

2) Explain how Environment and society are interrelated.

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

TERMINALQUESTIONS
1) How can women participate in order to improve the environment? Focus
on Phule’s approach.

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

2) What are the policies related to resettlement and rehabilitation in India?

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

190
3) Define the following terms: Historical and
Social Perspectives
• Risk society in Environmental
Problems
• Technology
• Migrant

……………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………

10.5 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we have discussed that the pioneering report ‘The Limits to
Growth’ published in 1972, suggested that the population growth and
resource consumption needs to be significantly reduced. The report predicted
that the resources are limited and if the current trends of industrialization stay
as such, the resources might be exhausted by next 100 years. Though there
were certain criticisms to the report as many scientists could not think that
there could ever be any limits. But, the present patterns of resource depletion
agree well with the report. If we consider facts from the history pertaining to
environment, Marx could be considered as are volutionary social thinker who
could think well ahead of his times even regarding environment. He stated
that people, especially from the labor class should stay connected with the
nature as they are an important link between nature and levels of production.
He emphasized that capitalism had created a rift between man and nature and
there was a need to heal those wounds and work towards a sustainable future.
In India, Mahatma Gandhi, a visionary leader, advocated for using only the
right amount of resources that were required. He emphasized that “Greed
could never be satisfied”. Gandhi supported the craftsmanship of tribal
communities and requested people to adopt practices such as weaving on
charkha as he felt that this would give impetus to the indigenous
technologies. It is well known that Education is the major way to get wisdom
and knowledge and another visionary Jyotirao Phule encouraged education of
Dalits, minorities and women to liberate them from conventional shackles of
society.

It has been observed that throughout history, especially through the phase of
industrialization, environmental concerns have taken a backseat and caused
major problems such a sair pollution, global climate change, water pollution
and generation of hazardous waste. This has further lead to Resettlement and
Rehabilitation of groups of people directly/ indirectly affected by these
activities and is sometimes necessary as a remedial measure of such
environmental problems. While relocating, these people should be provided
with benefits that they were enjoying earlier to ensure an easy transition.

191
Environment It is a well-known fact that society and environment are in constant exchange
and Social
Justice
of resources or energy. It is the prerogative as well as duty of society to
manage its resources wisely. Technology has benefited the society in terms of
reducing labor. However, its extensive usage has created some unforeseen
environmental problems. Thus, the key is to strike a balance between the two
to ensure a healthy society and a favorable environment. This balance could
be achieved by practicing principles of sustainability and revisiting the
thoughts of social thinkers like Karl Marx or Gandhi so that the future is
bright for the upcoming generations.

10.6 KEY WORDS

Sustainability: The ability of sustenance of future generation by wisely
using the present resources. Resources include natural, social as well as
economic resources.

Capitalism: It is an economic setup when the factors of production such as

capital goods, labor and resources lay under the private ownership. This term
is mostly used when majority of industrial sector is run by private sector,
driven by the motive of profit with less regard to a larger social good or
equitable distribution of resources as found in socialist economy.
Industrialization: It is the process in which a society or an economy
undergoes transition from agriculture to manufacturing or production of
goods. Machines that can lead to mass production replace manual labor. As a
result, there is often better economic growth, better division of labor and
better use of technology in certain sectors. However, it may lead to problems
such as environmental pollution and heterogeneous distribution of power and
wealth amongst a particular section.

Satyagraha: It was a tool to resist evil and injustice through non-violence. It

was introduced by Mahatma Gandhi and was frequently practiced by him
throughout Indian struggle for independence. It still hasn’t lost its
significance and is quite instrumental while raising voice against prejudices
and discrimination.

Displacement: When group of people are forced to move within or across

border due to conditions like political unrest or some environmental calamity
is termed as displacement.

Relocation: State- organized people movement undertaken with informed

consent, wherein, state takes charge of re-establishing living conditions of
affected people. This is generally done over because of an upcoming state
developmental projects and the shifting might/ might not be permanent in
nature.
Pollution: It is a phenomenon in which contamination of the entities of
environment (like land, water or air) occurs above a particular threshold level
at which they become harmful to the health of human beings. Noise and light
can also be considered as pollutants if they exceed the tolerance limits of
humans or other living organisms.
192
Global Warming: When the content of green house gases such as CO2, Historical and
Social Perspectives
increases in atmosphere, they tend to trap in frared solar radiation that is in Environmental
exiting the earth surface. The gases act as a blanket and due to this heat Problems
trapping, the temperature of earth rises further. This process is known as
global warming. Global warming is that extensive now, that the land and
ocean surface temperature for January 2020 has been observed to be 1.14°C
higher than the 20th century average(Source: NOAA-NCEI State of the
Climate: Global Analysis).

10.7 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER

READINGS
• Brown, O. (2017). Environmental Displacement: Human mobility in the
Anthropocene-Frontiers 2017: Emerging Issues of Environmental
Concern. Frontiers 2017: Emerging Issues of Environmental Concern,
pp. 70-78.
• Christensen, B. L., &Nørgard, J. S. (1976). Social values and the limits
to growth. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 9(4), 411-423.
• Ghosh, A. K., Hazra, S., &Samling, C. L. (2015). Resettlement and
rehabilitation: Indian scenario.
• Heslin, A., Deckard, N. D., Oakes, R., & Montero-Colbert, A. (2019).
Displacement and resettlement: understanding the role of climate change
in contemporary migration. In Loss and Damage from Climate
Change (pp. 237-258). Springer, Cham.
• Jaccob, D. (2013). Euro-Mediterranean Security and Cooperation:
Immigration Policies and Implications. Available at SSRN 2479970.
• Khoshoo, T. N., & John, M. S. (2009). Mahatma Gandhi and the
environment: analysing Gandhian environmental thought. The Energy
and Resources Institute (TERI).
• Longo, S. B., Clark, B., Shriver, T. E., & Clausen, R. (2016).
Sustainability and environmental sociology: Putting the economy in its
place and moving toward an integrative socio-
ecology. Sustainability, 8(5), 437.
• Matley, I. M. (1966). The Marxist approach to the geographical
environment. Annals of the Association of American
Geographers, 56(1), 97-111.
• Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. L., Randers, J., & Behrens, W. W.
(1972). The limits to growth. New York, 102, 27.
• Mechler, R., Bower, L., Schinko, T., Surminski, S., &Linnerooth-Bayer,
J. (2018). Loss and Damage from Climate Change: Concepts, Principles
and Policy Options. Springer.
• Munshi, I. (2000). Viewpoints and Comments ‘Environment’in
Sociological Theory. Sociological bulletin, 49(2), 253-266.
• Petrucci, O. (2012). Assessment of the impact caused by natural
disasters: simplified procedures and open problems. In Managing
193
Environment Disasters, assessing hazards, emergencies and disaster impacts.
and Social
Justice
INTECH, Open Access Publisher.
• Pretty, J., Ball, A., Benton, T., Guivant, J., Lee, D. R., Orr, D., ... &
Ward, H. (2007). Introduction to environment and society. The SAGE
handbook of environment and society, 1-32.
• Scherr, S. J., & Yadav, S. N. (1996). Land degradation in the developing
world: Implications for food, agriculture, and the environment to
2020 (No. 584-2016-39743).
• Schwerdtle, P., Bowen, K., & McMichael, C. (2018). The health impacts
of climate-related migration. BMC medicine, 16(1), 1.
• Sirswal, D. R. (2013). Mahatma Jyotiba Phule: A Modern Indian
Philosopher. Darshan: International Refereed Quarterly Research Journal
for Philosophy and Yoga, 1, 3-4.
• Stapleton, S. O., Nadin, R., Watson, C., & Kellett, J. (2017). Climate
change, migration and displacement: the need for a risk-informed and
coherent approach. Overseas Development Institute.
• Stern, N., & Stern, N. H. (2007). The economics of climate change: the
Stern review. cambridge University press.
• Wilkinson, E. (2016). Climate change, migration and the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development.
• https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-what-climate-models-tell-us-
about-future-rainfall

10.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Answers to Check your Progress 1

Your answers should include the following points.

Answer 1.The Limits to Growth report consisted of five variables, which
were industrialization, population, food, use of resources and pollution.
Conclusions of Report were:
1) Data was modeled till 1970 and based on the trend, the scenarios of
variables were predicted for year 2100. It was concluded that if
population increase and resource consumption occurs at the same pace,
the economy would reach a stage of collapse.

2) The only way to protect the ecological and economic entities was to
switch to sustainable practices.
3) Maintaining a balance between ecological and economic entities and
reducing the pace of industrialization was the only way to succeed.

Answer 2. Some of Gandhian perspectives on environment were:

• Wise use of resources: According to Gandhi, a man should keep limited
number of material needs and have plain living. He said that comfort is

194
 necessary but not to an extent that it becomes greed. Plain living and Historical and
Social Perspectives
high thinking of mankind was his ideology of living. in Environmental
Problems
• Stress on Environmental problems: The patterns of growth and
development followed at that time because of industrialization was
considered as a disease by Gandhi. He consistently focused on following
indigenous practices to maintain the ecological balance.

Answers to Check your Progress 2

Your answers should include the following points.

a) Rehabilitation: It is resettlement of a person that incorporates his/her
overall well-being and takes care of his/ her economic stability,
accommodation and culture.
b) Environmental migrant: A person who voluntarily resides outside or
within his/her native country for reasons of changes to the environment,
sudden- or gradually-onset.

Answers to Check your Progress 3

Your answers should include the following points.
Answer 1. Industrialization along with technology has had a negative impact
on environment. Some examples are:
• Generation of green house gases such as CO2, methane, nitrous oxide
and ozonethrough activities such as combustion of fossil fuels has led to
global warming which has resulted in major devastations of earth. Some
of the devastations include melting of glaciers, sea level rise and change
in rainfall patterns.

• Air and noise pollution resulting from industries. When coal is burnt in
thermal power plants, sulphur dioxide is released which tends to pollute
the environment.

Answer 2. Society is dependent on the environment for resources. Society

gathers its supplies from environment and in turn is responsible for its
degradation in terms of pollution of land, air and water. Environmental
calamities such as cyclones and earthquakes and phenomenon such as global
warming due to rise in concentration of green house gases can also have huge
impacts on societies. Global warming may further lead to submergence of
low-lying lands due to rise in sea levels forcing people to migrate to different
locations. Similarly, deforestation leads to disruption of ecosystems and
affects animals and biodiversity dwelling in that area.

Answers to Terminal Questions

Your answers should include the following points.

Answer 1. Women act as active agents of conservation of natural resources.
In their daily activities and responsibilities they have to work by managing
the available resources. For example, in rural areas, women are responsible
for collecting and managing drinking water. They also shoulder
195
Environment responsibilities in agriculture. Asia’s largest environmental movements such
and Social
Justice
as Chipko Movement and Green belt movement have highlighted the
participation of women in sustainable development.The social activist
Jyotirao Phule realized this and thus actively worked for women education
and empowerment. He was of the vision that an educated woman can educate
an entire family and that could further make all individuals more aware
towards the environment. These days we are able to see women leaders who
are actively working to strengthen their countries in order to halt
environmental degradation.
Answer 2. Most of the development projects in India began post
independence. There was no specific R&R policy for displaced persons and
state governments used to pass orders for the affected communities in case of
upcoming development project. Though land acquisition act had a standing
and displaced persons got a piece of land, but their livelihood was not
guaranteed. The first policy related to R&R came up in the year 1985 when
the World Bank had refused to help government for Sardar Sarovar Dam
project. But this was majorly for R&R of Tribal communities and not for
other communities. In 1993, the Ministry of Rural Development prepared
another draft of such policy but that too was criticized. The formal Policy on
R&R that addressed many earlier deficiencies was framed in 2007 which
came to be known as National R&R Policy of India.
As per the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy (2007) of India,
the R&R benefits include land for land, compensation packages,
rehabilitation grant that varies according to the type of land and purpose of
acquisition, employment for at least one person per nuclear family,
vocational training, scholarships and other skill development opportunities,
allotment of outsources contracts shops or other economic opportunities and
labor work in the project site.

Further, the STs and SCs are accorded separate R&R benefits, aiming to
safeguard their ethnic, linguistic and cultural identity, ensuring that they be
located in similar ecological settings as their earlier place of dwelling. The
policy also has provisions for monitoring and reviewing the implementation
of the R&R plan and also a mechanism for grievance redressal. This is the
responsibility of either the Administrator for Resettlement and Rehabilitation
or by an R&R Committee. It is also mandated that there should be an R&R
Committee at even the state and district level. The issues of grievance
redressal are looked after by an Ombudsman appointed by the state
concerned. The National R&R policy did not cover the disaster-induced
displacement, which was a major drawback. In case of Disaster induced-
displacements, there is a need to look into the policies related to disaster in
India.

Answer 3.
• Risk society: may be considered as a society in which the future holds a
risk due to some environmental/ industrial calamities. For example,
incidents like nuclear disaster of Chernobyl, industrial accidents like
Methyl isocyanate release in Bhopal shows the dangers inherent in
196
 industrial environments and that the human population is living in a risk Historical and
Social Perspectives
society. in Environmental
Problems
• Technology: involves the systematic application of scientific
knowledge, art, tools and materials for the extension of human facilities.
Technology brings about change in society by making our work easier
and helping us connect with the outside world.
• Migrant: a person who has moved across an international border or
within a state away from his/her habitual place of residence due to some
sudden/ gradual environmental changes, thefts or terrorism.

197
Environment
and Social
UNIT 11 DEMOCRACY, CIVIL SOCIETY
Justice
AND ECOLOGY

Structure
11.0 Introduction
11.1 Objectives
11.2 Historical Development of Science and Technology
11.2.1 Industrial Revolution in Indian Context
11.3 Technology Adaptation
11.3.1 Third World Countries and Adaptation of Technologies
11.4 Let us sum up
11.5 Key Words
11.6 References and Suggested Further Readings
11.7 Answers to Check Your Progress

11.0 INTRODUCTION
Environmental governance is a grouping of ethics and morals that have been
getting illumination of their sparkle from the civil society linked with
ecological liability, governmental transparency, democratic institutions, the
rule of law and environmental integrity to ‘We, the People of India’. The
environmental governance of a system based on involvement, responsibility,
and justice confirms the broad political and socioeconomic issues of
marginalized segment of society. There is an increasing importance on
governance as a vital aspect of environmental conservation which calls for
active participation of civil society. There is an urgent need to tailor the
discussion and knowledge around these themes with a focus on rationalizing
the functional role of the civil society organizations in context of
environmental governance. It mainly underlines the need for suitable
government-civil society relations. The role of civil society is gradually
becoming prominent in context of environmental governance. Therefore,
there is a growing need for a thoughtful debate on this subject as the norms of
environmental governance express a resolution to have a charter of human
rights for human existence with pride while bringing the socioeconomic
development in the orbit of environmental justice. There are impending
challenges like the execution of environmental policies and integration of
socio-environmental concerns into sustainable development framework while
focusing on gender, human rights and rule of law in environmental
governance. Hence, the role of civil society in firming the environmental
governance, nurturing human rights, sensitizing people about the
environment, and preserving ecosystems has become more serious than ever
before. This chapter deals with historical development of science and
technology and industrial revolution in Indian context.

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11.1 OBJECTIVES Historical and
Social Perspectives
in Environmental
After studying this unit the learner will be able to: Problems

• Describe the historical development of science and technology;

• Explain industrial revolution in Indian context; and
• Describe the third world countries and adaptation of technologies.

11.2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY
The history of Indian science and technology
can be traced from the primitive human Indian civilization has
activity during the Indus Valley Civilization to a powerful institution
the early states and kingdoms. Being one of of science and
the eldest civilizations of the world, the Indian technology. India is
civilization has a powerful institution of known to be the land
science and technology. India is known to be of saints and sages
the land of saints and sages who were known who were known for
their technical
for their technical knowhow and scholastics.
knowhow and
India has been actively contributing to the scholastic approach.
field of science and technology long before the
modern laboratories were established.
The theories, procedures and principles evolved by ancient Indian saints,
scientists, physicians and mathematicians have supported the fundamentals of
contemporary science and technology. While some of the pioneering
contributions have been acknowledged, some were faded into oblivion.The
area-wise historical development of science and technology is presented in
the following paragraphs:

1) Mathematics and Physical Sciences: Vedic people had special interest

in mathematics and astronomy. The people of the Indus valley evolved a
standardized method of using weights and measures, which was evident
from the excavations made at various archeological sites. The significant
contributions which changed the scenario of science and technology as a
whole were:

• Concept of Zero: Notion of ‘Zero’, the mathematical digit, by the

great Mathematician Aryabhatt, was one of the most important
developments.

• Decimal System: The method of expressing numbers by decimal

system was given by India, which eased the calculation and made the
use of arithmetic much faster and easier.

• Numeral Notations: A system of symbols for every number from

one to nine was evolved as early as 500 BCE and was later adopted
by Arabs and western world who named it as Arabic numerals.
Numerous Vedic texts mention about the science of numbers and
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Environment other sciences, for instance, the Chandogya Upanisad and Mundaka
and Social
Justice
Upanisad.

• Binary Numbers: The concept of Binary numbers, which formed the

basics of computer programs, was first described by Pingala, the
Vedic scholar, in his book Chandahsastra.

• Chakravala Algorithms: A cyclic algorithm to solve indeterminate

quadratic equations was developed by Brahmagupta, one of the
famous mathematicians of the 7th century and later generalized and
refined by Jayadev and Bhaskara II.

• Knowledge of Measurements: The early excavations have yielded

linear measures of ivory and shell, which revealed that the
knowledge of measurement was well-developed and precise.

• Theory of Atom: Kanad, one of the distinguished scientists of

ancient India devised the atomic theory centuries before John Dalton.
He speculated the existence of anu or a small indestructible particle,
much like an atom.

• Heliocentric Theory: Mathematicians of ancient

India applied mathematical knowledge to make precise astronomical
predictions. The most significant among them was Aryabhatt whose
book represented the zenith of astronomical knowledge. He proposed
that the Earth is round, revolves on its own axis and spins around the
Sun, i.e. the heliocentric theory. He also forecasted about solar and
lunar eclipses, duration of the day and distance between Earth and
Moon.

• Kharosthi numerals: These numerals are found to occur in Asokan,

Saka, Parthian, and Kusana inscriptions from 4th century BC to 2nd
century AD. Strokes and crosses were used for the first eight digits.

• Arithmetic: The method of calculation of cube root of any integral

number was evolved by Aryabhatt.
• Algebra: The early stages of algebra, or more appropriately, the
geometrical method of solving algebraic problems, can be traced to
Sulvasutras of Apastamba, Baudhayana, Katyayana, Manava, and a
few others. The differentiation of algebra as a distinct branch of
mathematics took place from the time of Brahmagupta.

• Geometry: Like other branches of mathematics, geometry in India

was developed in the course of dealing with practical problems.

• Astronomy: There is substantial material on astronomy in Vedic

Samhitas. Much progress was made during the Brahmana period
when astronomy was considered as a separate science called
Naksatra-Vidya, the science of stars. There is mention of astronomical
phenomenon in Vedic Literature. According to Rig-Ved, the universe
comprises of prthivi (earth), antariksa (sky, the region below the
stars), and dyaus (heaven). The Satapatha Brahmana describes earth
200 as parimandal or sphere. There is evidence in Rig-Ved about the axial
 rotation and annual revolution of the earth. According to Rig-Veda, Historical and
Social Perspectives
sun is the maker of day and night, twilight, month, year and seasons. in Environmental
Problems
2) Metallurgical Science: Several advances were made in the field of
metallurgy, for instance:

• Wootz Steel: Wootz steel, a crucible steel was known to ancient

Indians, mainly the Tamils. The steel was used to make the
famed Damascus swords that could cut a free-falling silk scarf or a
block of wood with the same ease.

• Zinc Smelting: India pioneered in Zinc smelting by using the

distillation process, an innovative method of ancient alchemy. Zawar
in Tiri Valley of Rajasthan is world’s first known ancient zinc
smelting site.

• Seamless Metallic Globe: One of most remarkable feats in

metallurgy was the first seamless celestial globe of Kashmir made
during the reign of Emperor Akbar. In a major accomplishment in
metallurgy, Mughal metallurgists established the method of lost-wax
casting to make other globe masterpieces.
• Iron-Cased Rockets: The first iron-cased rockets were developed by
Tipu Sultan of Mysore in 1780s. These were effectively used against
the British East India Company during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. He
manufactured long iron tubes, filled them with gunpowder and
fastened them to bamboo poles to create the precursor of present day
rocket. With a range of about 2 km, these rockets were the finest in
the world at that time and caused fear and confusion.Archaeological
diggings have revealed that Harappan people were master craftsman
and had knowledge of metallurgy. Even they made bronze by mixing
copper and tin. India has ancient gold mines in Maski region of
Karnataka. While the Indus Valley civilization belonged to the
Bronze Age, its descendant, the Ganges civilization, which arose in
the first millennium BC, belonged to the Iron Age. Right from the
17th century, several European travellers documented India’s iron and
steel-making furnaces. Most of India’s metal was confined to the
tribes, for instance, the Agarias of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh
were reputed ironsmiths. Many ancient texts, for example, Kauṭilya’s
Arthasastra refer about the metals. Metal currency was minted in
India before 5th century BC, with coinage of silver and copper,
bearing animal and plant symbols on them.

3) Medical Sciences: Even before the birth of Hippocrates, Charak

authored an introductory text, Charka Samhita, on
Ayurved. Charak was the first physician to give the concept of digestion,
metabolism and immunity in his book, which was later translated into
many foreign languages. The scope of Ayurved is not limited to physical
health alone. It seeks to stimulate physical, mental, and spiritual health in
context of man’s interaction with his environment. The scope of
Ayurved, in general, covers:

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Environment a) Cosmological suppositions about the basic link between matter and life;
and Social
Justice b) Biological theories concerning:
• embryonic conception,
• body, life, and soul, and
• rules of genetics;

c) Physiological and pathological concepts;

d) Food and rules of health and long life;

e) Diseases, their diagnosis and treatment;

f) Poisons and antidotes; and

g) Ethics

The humeral theory of Ayurved propounds that Vayu (wind), Pitt (bile), and
Kapha (phlegm) are the three basic elements stimulating, supporting,
nurturing, and upholding the life-principle. Ayurved deals with:
• Kaya cikitsa (therapeutics)
• Salya tantra (major surgery)
• Salakya tantra (minor surgery)
• Bhuta vidya (demonology)
• Kaumarabhrtya tantra (pediatrics)
• Agada tantra (toxicology)
• Rasayana tantra (geriatrics)
• Vajikarana tantra (virilification)

Rasacikitsa was later incorporated in Ayurved in 1300 A.D. Numerous

preparations of mercury, iron, copper, and other metals as formulated in
alchemy were used in Ayurvedic treatment. Written by Sushrut in 6th
Century BC, Sushrut Samhita is one of the most comprehensive textbooks on
ancient surgery. The text mentions various illnesses, plants, preparations,
cures and complex techniques of plastic surgery. The Sushrut Samhita’s most
famous contribution to plastic surgery is the reconstruction of nose, known
also as rhinoplasty. The first cataract surgery is said to have been performed
by ancient Indian physician Sushruta, way back in 6th century BC. To
remove the cataract from the eyes, he used a curved needle to release the lens
and push the cataract out of the field of vision. Sushrut’s surgical works were
translated to Arabic language and later introduced to the Western world.
4) Engineering and Architecture: The accomplishments in the field of
engineering started in the proto-historic times, from the 3rd millennium
B.C. during Harappa period. A number of towns and cities, called
janapadas, of great significance were developed before the 7th century
BC. Noteworthy among them were Ayodhya, Varanasi, Kampilya,
Mathura, Mithila, Sravasthi, Ujjayini, and Vaisali. There is mention of
dams and bridge construction in Kautilya’s Arthashastr. The
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 construction of suspension bridges using interwove bamboo and iron Historical and
Social Perspectives
chain was evident during the 4th century. The Buddhists presented their in Environmental
engineering skill in the construction of religious edifices like Stupas. The Problems
spread of Buddhism motivated the setting up of monasteries. The design
of a rock-cut vihara was the first planned work by an architect or master
craftsman. Gupta period (A.D.300-600) viewed the early stages of
systematic temple construction. The rock-cut temples, excavated by
Asoka in Barabar and Nagarjuni hills, illustrate the basic procedures of
rock-cut architecture. The Kailasa temple at Ellora stands matchless as a
monument to the creativity and expertise of Indian rock-cut architecture.
5) Agriculture: Farming came into being when the early man gave up the
nomadic lifestyle and started a settled life in the favorable climate and
topography. Although it has not been well-established when the natives
of India opted for farming as the primary occupation; but, the origin of
agriculture can be traced back to the Indus valley civilization. Thus, at
least for the last 4,500 years, the Indian society has mainly been agrarian.
There is archeological evidence of animal-drawn plough which dates
back to 2500 BCE in the Indus Valley Civilization.
Innovative irrigation and water storage systems including artificial
reservoirs were developed by during the Indus Valley Civilization, for
instance, Girnar dated to 3000 BC, and early canal irrigation system
from 2600 BC.During the medieval period, the agriculture pattern was
more or less the same as that of primitive India; however, some
significant changes occurred with the introduction of new crops, trees
and horticultural plants by the foreign traders. The main crops were
wheat, rice, barley, millets, pulses, oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and
indigo. The Western Ghats continued to yield black pepper of good
quality and Kashmir maintained its tradition for saffron and fruits.
Ginger and cinnamon from Tamil Nadu, cardamom, sandalwood and
coconut from Kerala, gradually became popular. During the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, tobacco, chilies, potato, guava, custard apple,
cashew and pineapple were introduced in Indian Sub-continent. Later,
the production of opium started in Malwa and Bihar regions. Likewise,
there were new innovations in agricultural practices, which were adopted
successfully, for instance mango-grafting was introduced in Goa in the
mid-sixteenth century. Wells, tanks, canals, rahat, charas and dhenkli
charas were used for irrigation. Cultivation of fruit trees was promoted
in the imperial Mughal gardens.

6) Biodiversity and Environment: Ancient Indian insight of ‘life’

revolves around all biotic and non-biotic components of environment.
According to ancient Indian thought, the nature is composed of five basic
elements, i.e., earth (shristi), water (apah), fire (teja), air (vayu) and
space (vyoma). The five elements are all the facets of divinity. Since the
five elements are of divine origin, our forefathers have adored them as
the personifications of divinity. They worshipped them as goddess earth,
many goddesses signifying rivers, the fire god, the wind god, and the god
of ether. Primarily, our ancestors venerated earth as Bhu Mata (Mother
Earth). Since the food obtained from its lap helped in continuing the life,
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Environment they worshipped it first. The nature or prakrti, as known in Indian
and Social
Justice
context is believed to be the supreme mother of entire creation. Ever
since the advent of life on the planet earth, water is the source of life and
is most indispensable for survival. Even the life is believed to have
originated in water itself. Presence of life on earth was responsible for
origin of life. In Rig Ved, water is placed in the category of nectar. In
Vedic literature, the term ‘Arankaya’ is used for forest, which signifies
hermit of peace. Vriksh Ayurved, the science of plant life, scripted in
ancient India as a special branch of knowledge, primarily describes the
useful features of plant science. Forests of different types have been
described as:
• Shrivan, the forest accountable for prosperity;
• Tapovan, the forest meant for contemplation by seers and sages; and
• Mahavana, the big forest where all species find shelter

Plants and animals find mention in Vedic literature. Plants are categorized
according to their morphological characters, medicinal and food value.
The sequence of Dashavatara, ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu explains
Darwin's theory of evolution. Like the evolutionary progression, the first
incarnation of God is Matsya, a fish, followed by Kurm, the turtle,
laterVaraha, the boar, Narasimh, a man-lion being, Vaman, the dwarf and
rest four the human forms. While comparing the biological events at different
geological time scale, it is seen that the life first originated in ocean in the
form of fish during the Cambrian period. In geology, the reptiles come at
second place in evolution which is believed to be originated in Mississippian
period just after amphibians. In tertiary period, all mammals originated. The
incarnation of Vaman may be related with the first human being who
originated during the Pliocene period. Parsuramhas similarities with the first
modern man who originated during the quaternary period or the man of Iron
Age. While comparing Darwin theory of evolution with ten incarnations,
similarities can be seen. Some contemporary interpreters talk about Lord
Vishnu's ten incarnations in an ultimate order, from simple life-form to more
complex, and view these incarnations in light of modern theory of evolution.
Such explanation was first proposed by Theosophist Helena Blavatsky.

After deriving motivation from the mythology, rulers selected animals and
plants as the insignias of their dynasties and used them in art and architecture.
Indian mythology has deep influence of Hindu-Buddhist theory which asserts
that soul passes through different stages or modes of existence, i.e. animals,
human and superhuman. The place of plants & trees in ecology has been well
understood by the Indians, which is evident from mythological literature.

Later during the medieval period, Science and Technology in India

developed two aspects: one based on the earlier traditions and other with new
influences which were consequent of Islamic and European impact. With the
passage of time, the primitive Sanskrit manuscripts were translated during the
Muslim period. The intellectuals like Govinda, Sankaranarayan, Aryabhatt II,
Sripati, and Satanand flourished and created an intellectual atmosphere for
the growth of astronomy in India. South India played a significant role in
204
refining astronomy. Mughal metallurgists initiated the method of wax Historical and
Social Perspectives
casting. The instruments and observational systems used at Mughal in Environmental
observatories were mostly derived from the Islamic tradition, with Problems
computational techniques derived from Hindu tradition. Chemistry during the
medieval India was closely linked with alchemy which was an important part
of Tantric cult. The alchemical philosophies and discourses of India found
their way to China and Tibet. There is sufficient of evidence about
application of chemical knowledge and processes during the medieval period,
mainly in the fields of metallurgy and metal work. During the medieval age,
Indian medicinal science which was dominated earlier by Ayurved, observed
changes. New medical practices, such as Unani system of medicine, reached
India with Arabian, which brought changes in medical systems and
pharmacology. During the medieval period, the study on fauna also made
progress. The Mughals showed interest in animals, their habits, modes of life
and their ecological distribution in and around the country.

During the Mughal Era substantial work was done in the field of
mathematics, medicine, astrology, astronomy, and translations of various
texts. Science was not patronized and chased thoroughly as a state policy by
the kings as it was developed in Europe. Scientific institutions were not set
up, nor were the students encouraged to go out for higher studies. The money
was spent on constructing monumental structures, rather than creating
scientific institutions. There was a significant change in the education system.
The Arabic system was introduced and Madrasas were opened all over. The
Mughals tried to introduce reforms. Later, several works were written in the
fields of mathematics, chemistry, biology, astronomy and medicine. Most of
the scientific work in this period was commentaries or explanations of earlier
manuscripts. Several scientific works of astronomy, medicine and other
sciences were translated from Sanskrit to Persian/Arabic and vice-versa.

Check Your Progress 1

Note: a) Write your answer in about 100 words.

b) Check your progress with possible answers given at the end of the
unit.

1) What is the contribution of mathematics and physical sciences to the modern world?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………

11.2.1 Industrial Revolution in Indian Context

Industrial revolution is the process of transformation from a farming and
handicraft-based economy to industrial production. Industrial revolution
started in Britain in 18th century and later spread to rest of the world. The
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Environment term Industrial Revolution was first proposed by the English economic
and Social
Justice
historian Arnold Toynbee to define Britain’s economic development from
1760 to 1840. The main characteristics of Industrial Revolution were
technological, socioeconomic, and ethnic. The technological changes
included:

1) Use of new materials, mainly iron and steel;

2) Use of new energy sources, including coal, electricity, petroleum, etc.;

3) Discovery of innovative machineries, for instance power loom, which

increased the production with a smaller expenditure of human energy;

4) Introduction of factory system with division of labor;

5) Development in transportation and communication, including the
steam locomotive, automobile, airplane, telegraph, radio, etc.; and

6) Increased application of science in industry

The technical revolutions made • Industrial Revolution is

possible the increased use of natural the process of transformation
resources and production of from a farming and handicraft-
manufactured goods. Besides this, based economy to
there were new developments in industrial production.
non-industrial domains, viz.: • The period of First Industrial
1) Improvement in agriculture; Revolution (1760 to 1830) was
largely confined to Britain.
2) Economic transformations that
caused broader distribution of • Two
wealth; Englishmen, William and John
Cockerill, brought the Industrial
3) Political changes revealing the Revolution to Belgium
shift in economic power,
besides new state policies matching the requirements of an industrialized
society;
4) Comprehensive social change, comprising of growth of cities,
development of working-class movements, and rise of new arrangements
of authority;
5) Cultural change, where workers acquired new and unique skills and their
relation to occupations transformed; rather than being craftsmen working
with hand tools, they became machine operators; and
6) Psychological change, which improved the self-confidence to use the
resources
The period of First Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1830) was largely confined
to Britain. Aware of their head start, the British banned the export of
machinery, skilled workers, and manufacturing methods. The
British domination could not last forever, as some people saw lucrative
industrial breaks out of country, while mainland European businessmen
sought to attract British know-how to their countries. Two
206
Englishmen, William and John Cockerill, brought the Industrial Revolution Historical and
Social Perspectives
to Belgium and it became the first country in Europe to be economically in Environmental
reformed. Like its British predecessor, the Belgian industrial revolution Problems
focused on iron, coal, and textiles. France was more slowly and less
systematically industrialized than either Britain or Belgium. France was
engrossed in its revolution, and the ambiguous political situation
disheartened large investments in industrial revolution. By 1848, France
became an industrial power, but, despite excessive growth under the Second
Empire, it remained behind Britain.

Other European countries lagged far behind. Political situations in other

countries delayed the industrial expansion. The rise of US industrial power in
19th and 20th centuries outshined European efforts and Japan joined the
industrial revolution with outstanding success. Mid-20th century viewed the
expansion of industrial revolution into previously non-industrialized areas
such as China and India.

Despite substantial overlying with the “old,” there was increasing indication
for a “new” Industrial Revolution in the late 19th and 20th centuries. In terms
of basic materials, modern industry started to exploit natural
and synthetic resources not utilized yet. Together with these, there were
improvements in machines, tools, and computers which gave rise to
automatic factory.
Industrial revolution, a period from 1770 to 1850 is described by a change in
the manufacturing process through the use of machinery and other
inventions. Great Britain was the hub of industrial revolution. Britain's East
India Company collected revenue and raw material from affluent areas of
East India and sent money and material to Britain. Moreover, after goods
were manufactured in Britain, these were brought to India for sale. Thus,
India served to expand Britain's sale market for manufactured goods. India,
however, was not benefited from industrial revolution in the manner the
Great Britain was. Indeed, the Indian economy, which was once prosperous,
was shattered by industrial revolution. Before industrial revolution, India was
world’s leader in manufacturing and exporting textile. All through the
industrial revolution, Great Britain subjugated India till India's economy
collapsed. Although India had numerous economic activities that added to its
economy, the textile industry was a leading contributor. Prior to industrial
revolution, India had globally acclaimed cotton textile industry and shipped
the same to different parts of the world. India’s textile industry flourished
because it had access to cheap labor. From 1750 to 1947, India experienced
modernization of its economy in various areas including agriculture, factory
production, finance, and even film production. Industrialization based on the
modernization of India's economy can be understood in four phases:
• Primary phase, linked with the extraction and production of raw
materials, and involves farming and mining;
• Secondary phase, which takes the materials obtained from the primary
sector and converts raw materials into final goods for example textiles
and automobiles;
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Environment • Tertiary phase includes the provision of services such as banking,
and Social
Justice
finance, and cinema to consumers and businesses; and
• Quaternary phase, which appears recently in the modernization process

I) Development of Primary Sector

Agriculture: As compared to other countries, India had more arable land
reserved for main food crops, including wheat, barley, maize, millet,
sorghum, and rice. The increase in available farmland was mainly due to the
development of irrigation and canal networks. During the period between the
two world wars, i.e. 1918 to 1939, agriculture declined. During the post-
World War I, India started to produce more cotton that before. British
exploitation of Indian raw materials, as cotton increased radically during the
1930s when the British economy suffered from great depression. At the
beginning of 19th century, India became the supplier of cotton, for England's
Lancaster cotton textile industry. India's cheap cotton and other raw materials
were exported to Britain to help produce final goods in British factories.
Livestock, Meat, and By-Products: There was no significant change in the
number of livestock in India from the late 1800s to 1947. From 1895 to 1947,
the number started increasing. There were no systematic records of meat and
byproduct outputs in India till the 1950s, but dairy products were produced in
large quantities.
Mining: Coal mining was a profitable business during the colonial times.
However, the British executed the Arms Act in 1878 to outlaw India’s
ownership of firearms and limited Indians from mining and several mines
were closed during the British rule. Large-scale commercial coal mining in
India started in 1774 under the East India Company in the Western bank of
Damodar River. The introduction of steam locomotives in 1853, made
possible the effective transportation of coal from the mines to urban centers
and ports. This increased India's output of coal from 2,203 thousand metric
tons in 1890 to 30,695 in 1947. Coal mining thrived during and after World
War I. Likewise, India's output of iron ore increased significantly during the
British rule.

II) Development of Secondary Sector

Textile Industry: India had to struggle against cheap British textiles before
independence. Prior to British rule in the eighteenth century, Indians
dominated the world textile trade. However, along with industrial revolution,
the advent of spindles, looms, and new spinning processes made better textile
producers out of the British. In India, the textile industry evolved from being
a mere domestic industry to a top national industry far before the industrial
revolution. Meanwhile, after the opening of looms and spinning mills,
Lancashire was the center of cotton and fabric industry in Great Britain, out-
competing India though lower production costs, larger supplies, and forced
prices. Thus, the traditional textile industry of India underwent de-
industrialization during the British rule. However, modernization of India's
textile industry took place during the early 19th century; the first textile mill
in the country was established in Calcutta in 1818. A few years later, the first
208 cotton textile mill of Bombay was established in 1854. In 1861, the first
cotton mill was established in Gujarat region. By the end of the 19th century, Historical and
Social Perspectives
there were 178 cotton textile mills in India. Today textile industry is one of in Environmental
the biggest industries of Indian economy with huge production capacity, and Problems
large pool of skilled and low-wage workers.

Automobile Industry: India's automobile industry did not flourish until after
independence, the foundations of domestic carmakers such as Tata Motors
and Hindustan Motors were set up prior to 1947.

Iron and Steel Industry: In 1870, James Erskine founded the Bengal Iron
Works, the first step towards an iron/steel smelting industry ever taken in
India. The two historic iron and steel industries of colonial period that still
exist are Tata Iron and Steel Company, Ltd (TISCO) and The Indian Iron and
Steel Company, Ltd. (IISCO)

III) Development and Tertiary Sector

Cinema: India is famous for its cinema industry, known as ‘Bollywood’. The
first motion pictures received by Indians were soundless short films, which
were shown at the Watson Hotel, Bombay in 1896. Hiralal Sen and
Thanawalla were the two pioneers of Indian cinema, producing short films in
Calcutta and Bombay in 1900. But, the turning point came in 1913, when
Dada Phalke produced India's first silent film Raja Harish Chandra. During
the 1920s, Indian cinema became a regular industry and came under business
laws and regulations. New film makers gained fame during 1920s and the
Indian sound films replaced the silent films in 1930s.

Banking and Finance: Modern banking systems and institutions developed

in India in the late 18th Century. Allahabad Bank established in 1865, was
the first fully Indian owned bank. This initiative was one of many to finance
the profitable Indian cotton trade. During the early 20th century, the banking
market expanded to include Punjab National Bank in Lahore and Bank of
India in Mumbai. The Swadeshi movement was effective and influential
during the early 20th century, and local Indian businessmen and political
figures established indigenous banks for Indian community.

IV) Development of Quaternary Sector

Prior to British rule, there education system was good and students from all
classes of society attended schools. Pre-British schools did not have to pay
land taxes, but after the East India Company took over, Indian education
system suffered a lot. During the 19th century the higher education and
western universities emerged. These universities were however, truly the part
of British struggles for efficient colonization. Although the British
established many higher education institutes, the Indian public was ignored
and literacy among the Indians was very low during British
colonization. Thus, the quaternary phase was unsuccessful under British
administration, whose educational policies were short-term, biased,
restricted, and accessible only to the elite class. Before the industrial
revolution, India was known for its cotton textile industry; but, the things
changed after the industrial revolution. Some of the impacts of industrial
revolution were:
209
Environment • Discovery of steam power from the year 1815 threatened the Indian
and Social
Justice
textile industry.
• The inventions of efficient and effective power loom abridged the cost of
production and increased the competition.
• Indian farmers were forced to cultivate cotton and cash crops in place of
food crops so that it can provide raw material for industries as India was
under British rule. This resulted in deadly famines in India.
• Industrial revolution had severe consequences on society. Due to
industrial revolution, cities started getting overcrowded gradually.
• For increasing production, the factory owners used to hire unskilled
labor, and hence in tender age many children were forced to work in the
factories.

There were some positive effects of Industrial Revolution, for example, the
introduction of assembly line and factories, electricity development, and
railroads which contributed to faster and more efficient production of goods
and materials. There were charitable funding of schools and the enactment of
child labor laws. Thus, the industrial revolution improved both economic
production and the introduced new lifestyle among common people.

Check Your Progress 2

Note: a) Write your answer in about 100 words.

b) Check your progress with possible answers given at the end of the
unit.

1) What are the technological impacts of Industrial revolution?

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

11.3 TECHNOLOGY ADAPTATION

Technology Adoption is a term that refers to the support, inclusion and usage
of new technology in society. The process involves several stages, usually
characterized by the group of people who use the technology. It provides
prospects for governments to advance and modernize the delivery of public
services. Certainly, the technological advancement is linked with
globalization. The technological advancement has increased the rate of
globalization, as the rapid development of internet produced an enduring
networked globe. The technology adoption by the developing nations has had
deep impacts on their economies, for instance, it has reduced national costs of
production, created quality standards, and permitted people to communicate
210
from a distance. The spread of technology powered by the internet has Historical and
Social Perspectives
resulted in positive cultural changes in developing nations. Faster in Environmental
communication has helped in improving the democracy and poverty Problems
alleviation. In order to compete in a high-tech marketplace, the developing
countries need individuals with technical expertise. Technological
innovations and new technologies are having major impact on production in
the industrialized countries. However, the inadequate transfer of such
technologies to developing nations can increase the technology gap and
reduce their competitive capability. Hence, far-reaching policy changes and
emphasis on technological development must be evolved by the developing
nations to benefit themselves of the increasing prospects of innovative
technologies.

11.3.1 Third World Countries and Adaptation of

Technologies
The term Third World was originally
coined at the time of Cold War to The term Third World
differentiate those nations that were neither is used to describe
associated with the West (NATO) nor with the developing
the East. Presently, the term is used to countries of Africa,
describe the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America
Asia, Latin America and Oceania. and Oceania
Technology has shown an important role in
the development of the Western World, though the Third World nations are
still waiting to incorporate advanced technologies into their system. With
globalization and cooperation from the developed nations, advanced
technologies can be permeated into the Third World countries, which can
help in their economic growth and development. By adopting new
technology, Third World nations will have the chance to have a better link
with rest of the world. During the last two decades, there has been a major
technological innovation in the field of:
• Electronics and informatics (i-pads, mobile phones, laptops, wireless ear
buds, micro-blogging, apps, smart TVs, android phones, drones, etc.)
• Biotechnology
• Genetic engineering
• Lasers and remote sensing
• Virtual payment systems
• Virtual shopping
• Virtual home assistance
• Self-driving cars

Case Studies
I) Breakthrough in Biotechnology: A critical field in new technologies
which is having a considerable, positive impact on developing countries
is biotechnology. This involves the manipulation of micro-organisms to
produce a range of products, including foods, chemicals, medicines and
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Environment industrial enzymes. Biotech applications have developed widely in
and Social
Justice
numerous fields, particularly in genetics, with groundbreaking
developments in DNA structure and recombinant DNA technology.
These developments have opened up enormous avenues for large-scale
manufacturing of genetically engineered products and materials.
Development in biotechnology is certainly having a significant impact in
the developing countries and biotechnology is contributing to
agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, industry and mining, etc. In
agriculture, major enhancements in plants and crops can be realized
through genetic engineering, including the implantation of nitrogen-
fixation genes. Tissue culture and related techniques have brought about
significant improvements in plant breeding and production capability.
Modified species of plants have been developed which could survive in
adverse climatic conditions. Livestock breeding has improved
significantly through genetic applications. The production of proteins,
conversion of biomass to food products and increase in food production
has been achieved through biotechnology. Biotechnology applications in
the developing nations would depend on the extent to which the local
resources and aptitude directed for the purpose. There is scope and
potential for each nation to undertake biotech research and tissue culture
with regard to its own production urgencies and to link local research
and production competence with those accomplished in other nations.
For this purpose, it is important to create and sustain an environment that
fosters indigenous creativity and innovation.
II) Information Technology: The use of Information Technology (IT) in
developing nations has caught the attention of many in the recent years.
However, the research in this area is largely uneven, and there is a need
to combine efforts to make research more effective. While technology
continues to thrive in the Western World, Third World and
underdeveloped countries continue to struggle with the idea of
integrating such technology into their culture. After radio and television,
which took decades to permeate across the globe, the internet has
boomed into the society within few years. Many developing nations
don’t welcome the idea of internet in their nations and have a negative
view toward the impact of media on their society. Many nations don’t
have the resources to acquire such technology. With cooperation and
regulation, the Third World and developing countries can use IT to their
advantage. Developed countries will only benefit from global interaction.
Bringing IT into Third World countries is not only useful for those
countries; but, it is helpful for entire world. With increase in
communication, these countries are able to advance their knowledge of
medicine and other knowledge to help their cultures and communities
survive. Brining IT into the Third World countries is helping them
strengthen their economic status.

These have increasingly been applied to a wide range of economic

activities. With the ongoing technological revolution, new needs and
demands are emerging and the structure of production and services is
undergoing rapid transformation in the industrialized economies. Modern
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 technologies are both knowledge and research-intensive and have inter- Historical and
Social Perspectives
sectoral application. There is a close relationship and interface between in Environmental
these technologies, mainly because of the links through microelectronics, Problems
and the impacts of these technologies are probably very extensive in the
field of production and services in the next few years. Though these
expansions have taken place mainly in the industrialized economies,
their universal nature will have a substantial consequence on all
economies, including those of developing nations.
III) Mobile Phones: Dealers are continuously searching for the innovative
ways to send the marketing messages. Their attention changed towards
mobile phones as an innovative medium for marketing, owing to their
mass usage. Mobile phone reached billions of people around the world.
This facilitated use of short messaging, social networking, mobile
advertising, and media sharing as advertisement podiums for reaching
the consumers. Mobile phone advertising has turned out to be better
marketing platforms. Thus, the Mobile phone not only provided
opportunities for marketing but also the means of communication.
IV) Skype: Skype technologies offer VoIP services, which has
revolutionized the VoIP market by offering free internet telephony to the
customers. Skype offered its services based on the P2P technology which
removed the brokers and the profits thereof were confined to the
customers. Since its launch, Skype’s software had been used by the
people for various purposes.
V) E-Choupal: It is an innovative initiative of ITC Limited, an Indian
corporation, to improve its marketing channel in agriculture. The
business model was planned to accommodate farmers, mediators in the
traditional model through IT. The main objective of e-Choupal is
dissemination and disintermediation of price information. E-Choupal
deals with various agriculture products, marine products and extended
the basket to horticulture and spices. E-Choupal operates in Indian states.
Later, ITC launched Choupal Sagar, a multipurpose retail outlet in the
rural areas to open rural malls.

Thus, technology in the 21st Century has turned out to be vital for every
individual and organization in the Western World; however, the Third World
countries are looking for including the technology in their policy and culture.
Indeed, the incapacity of evolving a policy to incorporate technology in the
system is one of the main reasons for the weak economy of those nations.
Technology transfer has taken place mainly among the enterprises in
industrialized countries, and has mainly been limited to computers,
semiconductors and other electronics and telecommunications. The transfer
of such technologies to developing countries has just started because of small
markets for electronic products and their limited usage in the developing
nations. In the field biotechnology, technology transfer has taken place
mainly regarding the high-yielding varieties of crops. Biotechnology
developments, which were formerly in the public domain, are gradually been
privatized, through registration of patents and industrial property rights on
new developments. Biotech developments are of great value and interest for
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Environment the developing countries, mainly in agriculture and allied sectors. So far,
and Social
Justice
there has been little biotechnology transfer, though some multinational
corporations are getting involved in the same in many developing nations. In
the area of new materials, there has hardly been any transfer of technology to
the Third World nations, except for the production of chemicals. Largely, the
transfer of new technologies to the developing nations has been very limited.
It is only in some South East Asian economies that offshore production of
electronics products has been initiated.

A classification can be done with regard to applications and usage of new

technologies in the developing countries. The first group comprises of
countries of South East Asia, which have fairly adjusted to the technological
developments and have achieved substantial export capability in electronics
goods, like desktop computers, digital exchanges, etc. The second group
comprises some of the larger developing countries, including Brazil, China,
India and Mexico, in which there has also been considerable growth of
indigenous electronics production, and research in biotechnology. Among
these countries, the development of informatics and biotechnology is taking
place gradually and successfully. The third group comprises of a large
number of developing countries, including most other Latin American, Asian
and North African countries, in which there has been limited application or
development of new technologies in terms of use or production and research.
Lastly, the least developed countries, which have not experienced much
impact of new technologies, except where offshore production facilities for
electronics.
Presently, technology with its progressive characteristics is used as the
primary source to keep people linked across the globe. By integrating the
World Wide Web and permitting the communication, the developing nations
will improve their economy and raise the standard of living. It is important
that the people living in the Third World countries understand that
incorporating technologies into their system will be beneficial for them.
Technology adoption will help in:

1) Economic Growth: The technology will support growth theory in

economics and will be one of the greatest solutions to improve the
current economic situations of Third World countries.

2) Employment generation: In many Third World countries the

unemployment rate is very high. Technology adoption can decrease the
unemployment rate by creating more job opportunities in these countries.
Moreover, by integrating technology in the Third World countries more
IT companies will be opened and this will increase the job opportunities.
With the help of technological transformation, the benefits will be
amazing and it will create local technical skills in the Third World
nations. Today’s technology and its modern features can be utilized by
each industry. The rise of new services is one of the benefits the
advanced technologies offers to different industries. Nowadays, mobile
phones and other computer software make those services accessible
online for everyone. Third World countries can benefit from these

214
 services through advanced technologies in diverse fields such as farming, Historical and
Social Perspectives
healthcare, and education. in Environmental
Problems
3) Globalization: One of the main aims to adopt technology by the Third
World nations is that the present technologies have already been
developed by other countries and the Third World countries have to
acquire, integrate and operate them. Consequently, with technological
adoption, the Third World countries will be able to develop and share the
same conditions as the Western World. However, different techniques
must be determined for this phenomenon to happen. One of the possible
ways to infuse technology to Third World nations is globalization, which
can be extended by advanced technological advent. Globalization can be
achieved through communication, technical and scientific workshops
that will provide the Third World countries a chance to adopt the current
advanced technologies.

4) Infrastructure Development: One of the most common challenges that

Third World Countries face while incorporating technology, is the lack
of infrastructure that might affect the technology adoption. Thus,
before instilling technology in the Third World Nations a sustainable
infrastructure plan must be evolved that could support the advanced
technologies. With planning and developing infrastructure, technology
will help in achieving the sustainable economic growth and development
in diverse fields, for instance education, industrial units, and roads.

5) Better Education: While integrating technology in the Third World

Nations for economic development and growth, it will improve the
education. In fact, education must be a priority that the Third World
Nations require today to go to the next level and even eventually in
achieving the status of developed countries. Better education can benefit
the nations in improving healthcare services, political stability, and
economic growth that will ultimately alleviate poverty. By integrating
advanced technologies education can have superior outcomes. A number
of students in the developing nations don’t attend school due to lack of
resources. Luckily, with the advent of technology in the education
system those resources can no longer be an issue. While integrating
technology in the education system, particularly in the Third World
countries, it is essential to create a curriculum that will satisfy the needs
of the students.

6) Political Challenges: As the adoption of technology seems to be viable,

various challenges may be encountered that might avert this strategy.
One of the possible challenges is that the people living in Third World
Nations do not accept the influence of the Western World. Many of them
resist the plan of technology adoption. Indeed, they find that technology
adoption will have an impact on their culture and society. This can be
handled by identifying suitable ways to help those nations realize the
global benefits of integrating technology. While integrating technology
in nations where the cultural heritage is important, ethical factors must
be considered.

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Environment In brief, to infuse technology into the Third World nations, it is important to
and Social
Justice
take socioeconomic and political factors into consideration. Technology
adoption by the Third World nations can make a positive difference. With
globalization and help of developed nations, the Third World countries can
achieve economic development and growth. This suggests that despite
various upcoming avenues and benefits, with the exception of some nations
in South East Asia and large developing nations, the impact of technological
developments and its adaptation is still in the budding stage in the Third
World nations.

Check Your Progress 3

Note: a) Write your answer in about 100 words.
b) Check your progress with possible answers given at the end of the
unit.

1) Enlist various technological developments in the last two decades.

…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….

11.4 LET US SUM UP

There is an increasing importance on governance as an important aspect of
environmental conservation which calls for active participation of civil
society. The history of Indian science and technology can be traced from the
primitive human activity during the Indus Valley Civilization to the early
states and empires. The theories, procedures and principles evolved ancient
Indian saints, scientists, physicians and mathematicians have supported the
fundamentals of contemporary science and technology. The historical
development of science and technology is in the fields of:
• Mathematics and Physical Sciences
• Metallurgical Science
• Medical Sciences
• Engineering and Architecture
• Agriculture
• Biodiversity and Environment

Later, during the medieval period, Science and Technology in India

developed two aspects: one based on the earlier traditions and other with the
new influences which were consequent of Islamic and European impact.
During the medieval age Indian medicinal science dominated earlier by
Ayurved, observed changes. Afterwards, several works were written in the
216
fields of Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy and Medicine. Historical and
Social Perspectives
Several scientific works of astronomy, medicine and other sciences were in Environmental
translated from Sanskrit to Persian/Arabic and vice-versa. Problems

Industrial Revolution is the process of transformation from a farming and

handicraft-based economy to industrial production. Industrial Revolution
started in Britain in 18th century and later spread to rest of the world. The
technical revolutions made possible an increased use of natural resources and
mass production of manufactured goods. The period of First Industrial
Revolution (1760 to 1830) was largely confined to Britain. Britain's East
India Company collected revenue and raw material from the affluent areas of
India and sent the money and material to Britain and after the goods were
produced, these goods were brought to India for sale. India was not benefited
from the Industrial Revolution in the manner the Great Britain was. Indeed,
Indian economy, which was once affluent, was shattered by the Industrial
Revolution. Industrialization based on the modernization of India's economy
can be understood in four phases, viz. primary, secondary, tertiary, and
quaternary.

The technology adoption by developing nations has had deep impacts on

their economies, for instance reduced national costs of production, creating
quality standards, and permitting people to communicate from a distance.
Faster communication has helped in improving the democracy and poverty
alleviation. However, the inadequate transfer of such technologies to
developing nations can increase the technology gap and reduce their
competitive capability. By adopting new technology, Third World nations
will have the chance to have a better link with rest of the world. Technology
has shown an important role in the development of the Western World, but
the Third World nations are still waiting to incorporate advanced
technologies into their system. During the last two decades, there has been a
major technological innovation in the field of electronics and informatics,
biotechnology, genetic engineering, lasers and remote sensing, virtual
payment systems, virtual shopping, virtual home assistance and self-driving
cars. Technology in the 21st Century has been a vital for every individual and
organization in the Western World. Technology transfer has taken place
primarily among enterprises in industrialized countries, and has mainly been
limited to computers, semiconductors and other electronics and
telecommunications. It is important that the people living in Third World
countries understand that incorporating technologies into their system will be
beneficial for them. This will help in:
• Economic Growth
• Employment generation
• Globalization
• Infrastructure Development
• Better Education
• Political Challenges

In short, to infuse technology into Third World nations, it is important to take

socioeconomic and political factors into consideration. 217
Environment
and Social
11.5 KEY WORDS
Justice
Industrial Revolution: It is the process of transformation from a farming
and handicraft-based economy to industrial production. Industrial Revolution
started in Britain in 18th century and later spread to rest of the world.

Third World Countries: The term is used to describe the developing

countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.

Technology Adoption: Technology adoption refers to the appreciation,

inclusion and usage of new technology in society. The process involves
several stages, usually characterized by the group of people who use the
technology. It offers prospects for governments to advance and modernize
delivery of public services.

11.6 REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED FURTHER

READINGS
Agrawal, D. P. (2000). Ancient Metal Technology and Archaeology of South
Asia. New Delhi: Aryan Books International.

Archibugi, D. and Pietrobelli, C. (2003). The globalization of technology and

its implications for developing countries. Technological Forecasting and
Social Change; 70(9): 861-883.

Blueford, J. R., and Rosenbloom, O. A. (2003). Making Science and

Technology Education accessible to children of all horizons. UNESCO
International Science, Technology & Environmental Education Newsletter,
28(1/2), 17.

Bose, D. M., Sen, S. N. and Subbarayappa, B. V. (1971). A Concise History

of Science in India. Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi.

Chattopadhyaya, D. (1982). Studies in the History of Science in India. New

Delhi: Editorial Enterprises.

Datta, B. and Singh, A. N. (1962). History of Hindu Mathematics: A Source

Book. Asia Publishing House, Bombay.

Jaggi, O. P. (1977). Science and Technology in Medieval India. Atma Ram &
Sons, Delhi.
Kuppuram, G. (1990). History of Science and Technology in India. South
Asia Books.

Mukhopadhyaya, G. N. (1923). History of Indian Medicine. Calcutta

University.

11.7 TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1) What are the benefits of technology adoption on Third World nations?

2) What are the advantages of Industrial Revolution?

218
3) What are the four phases of Industrialization? Historical and
Social Perspectives
in Environmental
11.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Problems

Answers to Check your progress 1

Your answers should include the following points

1) The significant contributions which changed the scenario of science and
technology in the field of Mathematics and Astronomy as a whole were-
concept of zero, decimal system, numeral notations, binary numbers,
Chakravala algorithms, knowledge of measurements, theory of atom,
heliocentric theory, Kharosthi numerals, arithmetic, algebra, geometry
and astronomy.

Answers to Check your progress 2

Your answers should include the following points

1) The technological impacts of industrial revolution included:
• Use of new materials
• Use of new energy sources
• Discovery of innovative machineries
• Introduction of factory system and division of labor
• Development in transportation and communication
• Increased application of science in industry

Answers to Check your progress 3

Your answers should include the following points
1) By adopting new technology, the Third World nations will have the
chance to have a better link with rest of the world. During the last two
decades, there has been a major technological innovation in the field of
electronics and informatics, biotechnology, genetic engineering, lasers
and remote sensing, virtual payment systems, virtual shopping, virtual
home assistance and self-driving cars.

Answers to Terminal Questions

Your answers should include the following points

1) Technology adoption will help in:

Economic Growth: The technology will support growth theory in economics

and will be one of the greatest solutions to improve the current economic
situations of Third World countries.

Employment generation: In many Third World countries the unemployment

rate is very high. Technology adoption can decrease the unemployment rate
by creating more job opportunities in these countries.

219
Environment Globalization: Globalization can be achieved through communication,
and Social
Justice
technical and scientific workshops that will provide Third World countries a
chance to adopt the current advanced technologies.

Infrastructure Development: With planning and developing infrastructure,

technology can help in achieving the sustainable economic growth and
development in diverse fields for instance education, industrial units, and
roads.

Better Education: While integrating technology in the Third World Nations

for economic development and growth, it is also important to improve the
education. In fact, education must be a priority that the Third World Nations
require today to go to the next level and even eventually in achieving the
status of developed countries.
2) Some of the impacts of industrial revolution are:
• Discovery of steam power
• Inventions of spinning and power loom which abridged the cost of
production and increased the competition.
• Industrial Revolution had severe consequences to society. Farmers
were forced to cultivate cash crops in place of food crops, which
resulted in deadly famines in India.
• Due to Industrial Revolution, cities started getting overcrowded
gradually.

There were some positive effects of industrial revolution, for example, the
introduction of assembly line and factories, electricity development, and the
railroads contributed to faster and more efficient production of goods and
materials. There were funding of schools and the enactment of child labor
laws. Thus, the industrial revolution improved both economic production and
the introduced new lifestyle among common people.
3) Four phases of industrialization are.
• Primary phase is linked with the extraction and production of raw
materials, and involves farming and mining;
• Secondary phase takes the materials obtained from the primary
sector and converts raw materials into final goods for example
textiles and automobiles;
• Tertiary phase includes the provision of services such as banking,
finance, and cinema to consumers and businesses; and
• Quaternary phase which appears recently in the modernization
process

220