1 June 2022, NIICE Commentary 8023
C. Karthika Sajeev
India is a diverse country. This has led to it having a vibrant political and social life. This often makes it difficult for India, as a nation to determine what should India collectively work towards. What should be India’s top priority? Recently, India had Indian farmers protesting against the new farm laws passed by the Indian government. At the same time, India have the government of Rajasthan contemplating, and later revising, a bill that allegedly supported child marriage. It also witnessed a huge wave of protests by citizens against the Citizenship Amendment Act introduced by the state in the year 2019. These might seem diametrically opposite issues to a third party, but all these issues are connected to the most urgent challenge faced by India nation today, i.e., Climate Change.
Along with the loss of life, these events cause loss of flora and fauna or the region, crop failure, loss of infrastructure. This leads to rising poverty, food insecurity, homelessness, gender inequality, diseases and health emergencies. All these factors make climate change, an imminent threat for Indians, but unfortunately, India as a nation have showcased painful ignorance towards the matter. In India, they have some successful environmental social movements, but none of them has captured the imagination or attention of the Indian citizens as they should. Despite the vicious smogs of the capital New Delhi or the frothing rivers of Bangalore, it fail to adopt or even accept climate-conscious behaviour. Initiatives like the ‘Odd-Even’ rule by the Delhi government were often criticised and convenience often seem to triumph over an eco-friendly lifestyle. India’s southern State of Kerala gets flooded almost every year now, despite that, climate change isn’t a political issue for most of India’s leaders.
It is interesting to note that, 2019 was the first time two major political parties in India, i.e., the Bhartiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress, talked about Climate Change in their manifestos. Earlier, Climate Change wasn’t even considered important enough to merit special political consideration. Even with its passing mention in their manifesto, these clauses were never discussed in any political rally or debate. India is still discussing religion, identities, and development.
Indian government has actively engaged with the farmers during their protest. They have even agreed to continue the Minimum Support Price System for crops, which has been a long-standing demand of the farmers. But even in these discussions, they failed to recognize that it was the altered monsoon patterns and consequent delay in the agricultural process that made farmers so adamant about MSPs. A study conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare indicated that climate change is causing marginal reduction of crop yields suggesting that prospective changes in climate would significantly change the pattern of agricultural production.
The uproar on the Citizenship Bill failed to address the increasing possibility of climate change refugees from Bangladesh in states like West Bengal, Assam, and Mizoram. This inflow of refugees, coupled with the rise in the case of internally displaced people in India, would put a massive strain on India’s material wealth along with posing serious threats to the law and order situation in the region. A total of 15 million documented migrants from Bangladesh live in India as of 2021. Additionally, India also has around 14 million internally displaced climate migrants according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
Similarly, when the Rajasthan government introduced the Compulsory Registration Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021, it stated that even child marriages need to be registered. Many believed that this promotes and legalised child marriage, but the state justified it by claiming that it is to stop multiple marriages. It can be easily seen in connection to the rising cases of polygamous marriages in Rajasthan. The reason for the rise of such cases is the water scarcity of the region. Scarcity has forced women to walk for kilometres to get water across the desert. Since this task cannot be done by pregnant women, men choose to marry two women to ensure the smooth functioning of the household. A report titled ‘Composite Water Management Index’ by Niti Aayog indicates that around 600 million people are facing extreme water stress in India.
In India, people are constantly dealing with the consequences of climate change and failing to address the core issue. Climate Change doesn’t cause all these issues in isolation but it has the potential to exacerbate already existing issues faced by our society. To deal with this India need to create tiers of resolution mechanisms and work on the immediate threats, long-term impacts, and adaptation plans.
Climate Change isn’t a national phenomenon, it is a global issue. Hence, there is a need to work towards greater collaboration and partisanship, especially with neighbouring nations. As discussed before the threat of climate refugees requires our immediate attention. It is not just Bangladesh, but also other neighbouring states like Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan to name a few that can lead to more such refugees in India. India has taken steps to provide aid to the island state in the Indian Ocean Region but that hardly seems like a sustainable plan if we take into account the rising sea level. Many reports suggest that such island states might not last until the end of the 21st century. There is a need for India and the global community to accept the inevitable and prepare for the future that is waiting for them. Anticipation of such events and timely preparation can go a long way in helping us tackle climate change. We should start by creating a structural mechanism that will monitor and regulate the movement of such refugees at a national level. Whether one should or should not allow the incoming of such refugees is a different philosophical and political dialogue altogether.
Globally, there is a need to advocate for Common but Differentiated Responsibilities, as developed nations must continue to support developing nations in the fight against climate change. Prime Minister Modi’s statement urging developed states to increase the contribution from USD 100 billion to USD 1 trillion to help developing nations tackle climate change in the Leadership Summit at Glasgow, reaffirms India’s commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. At the same time, India mustn’t subvert its responsibility as global actors. India is considered to be the third-largest carbon emitter in the world, 70 percent of its energy production is through coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. At the same time, India also possesses huge potential in developing and utilizing renewable energy sources. Despite, the obvious potential, it is important to note that the economies of many states in India along with many local communities are powered by coal production. Hence, radically shifting to renewable energy isn’t the answer. Today, many households in India cook with coal, derive their employment with fossil fuels. People need to ask themselves, what would happen if they close down all coal factories in India? What happens to India’s famous coal belt? People need to initiate a dialogue where they can provide alternatives to such coal-dependent communities and make a gradual shift.
India should base its policies on the Ecological Modernisation Theory which aims to redefine development and use modernization as a means to combat the new realities of climate change. An ideal example of the same would be the National Innovation in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) Project by the Indian government. This project encourages citizens to employ creative solutions to deal with the changing patterns of agricultural production. This doesn’t just increase engagement with Climate Change but also encourage people to understand the linkage between environmental and social changes in society and provide structural support to the affected in a timely fashion. If Indians reorient their definition of development, they can collectively focus on creating an India which isn’t just advanced but also better suited to face the challenges of the future. Currently, its reductionist notion of development is doing more harm than good. They should adopt Human Development as a matrix of progress, the Capability approach propounded by Amartya Sen can help us understand the need of Indian society holistically. To add to that, focusing more on the environment would also help India project itself as an attractive destination for foreign investments, as India large amount of renewable energy like solar and tidal energy.
India should also work to ensure that free speech and expression is upheld. This is because it opens avenues for civil society to take action and voice their grievance in times of state negligence. Social Movements like Jungle Bachao Adolan have played an important role in forcing the state to recognise the issue of climate change and environmental degradation. This movement has shed light on marginalized tribal identities and the dangers climate change has posed to their existence. This helps us identify and acknowledge the often-marginalised sectors of society and ensure that the fight against climate change is multisectoral and representative of all interests. It also helps to understand alternate lifestyles, which could prove to become a better alternative to environmentally conscious individuals who find the western version of the climate-conscious lifestyle unattainable and expensive. For instance, the trends of veganism, though sounds appealing often is difficult in a nation like India which suffers from food insecurity, high rates of child malnutrition, lack of affordable vegan products and/or their awareness in the market. But western environmental movements have done some good in Indian societies.
Movements like Fridays for Future helped make the fight against climate change ‘fashionable’, pushing states and multinational companies to adopt reforms that suit the interest of the new climate-conscious public. Now we have McDonald’s using energy-efficient machines in their outlets, Dell formulating plans for safe disposal of technology, and Tesla’s entire business model is based on creating eco-friendly vehicles for the people. Some companies have chosen to make significant changes in their operations or invest in the fight against climate change. But it is important to note that it is not just significant changes, but also small ones, like changing plastic straws with paper ones that have the potential to ignite conversations regarding climate change. There is a lot we can do as a nation, as a community and even as individuals, but before we can do that, we need to make climate change part of the mainstream dialogue.
C Karthika Sajeev is a student at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi, India.
