Environmental Movements in India:Some Reflections

This paper is an attempt to understand the reasons behind the popularity/success or failure of movements in contemporary India, which have environmental concerns as their objective at one stage or other. Against the backdrop of contemporary popular movements, this paper argues that the present trend is not healthy as the movements fail to integrate environment and development. Despite the rise in the number of movements and conflicts over environmental issues, concern for environment has remained peripheral for most of the contemporary movements. Though it is obvious that environmental issues get snowed under developmental issues at the grassischolar_mains and policy levels, the contemporary movements also seem to fail in addressing ecological aspects. The approach of these movements in India ought to be different from that of their counterparts in the developed countries. The environmental groups and the state need not always work at cross-purposes; they also can work in tandem in addressing the pressing problems.