I am starting a series of "Nature Stories" of the past from different parts of the world that would be published every fortnight on my blog http://www.speakinghistory.wordpress.com. A story or narrative is essential to our understanding of environmental history, and to figure out the human place in nature. An environmental historian is basically a storyteller.... Continue Reading →
Polluted Delhi: Why Government Needs a Policy around Beneficiary-pays Principle?
In a city such as Delhi, where there is a wide gap between the rich and the poor, poverty is glaring, and so is income inequality, a long-term policy of pollution control should be worked out. It should be based on beneficiary-pays principle. Taxpayers could be asked to pay extra environment conservation cess from the... Continue Reading →
Neo-Nationalism and Twenty Nineteen Elections
Nationalism is based on the premise that loyalty and devotion to the country are supreme and it surpasses the individual or group interests. It is one of the most powerful tools to keep people united specially in a country like India that has linguistically and culturally multiple religious and social groups. The early twentieth-century national... Continue Reading →
My Trip to Gangotri: Expanding Forest up the Hills Hint towards Climate Change
While climbing up the Gangotri hill I was surprised to see the size of the trees getting smaller and thinner, and they looked younger from the diameter of the trunks. It is an indicator of climate change. Earlier the very cold temperature did not allow any tree to grow, but over the last two decades... Continue Reading →
मेरी गंगोत्री यात्रा: गंगोत्री पर जलवायु परिवर्तन का असर
मेरी गंगोत्री यात्रा- गंगोत्री पर जलवायु परिवर्तन का असर गंगोत्री पहाड़ के ऊपर चढ़ते हुए मुझे यह देखकर आश्चर्य हुआ कि ज्यों ज्यों मैं ऊपर जा रहा था पेड़ों के आकार छोटे होते जा रहे थे और तने के व्यास से वे युवा लग रहे थे। यह वातावरणीय बदलाव का सूचक है। संभवतः पूर्व में... Continue Reading →
क्या बिना पर्यावरण को नुकसान पहुंचाए आधुनिक जीवन संभव है ?
क्या बिना पर्यावरण को नुकसान पहुंचाए आधुनिक जीवन संभव है ? पर्यावरण की हानि को रोकने के लिए साधू बनने की जरूरत नहीं है ; क्योंकि इसका अर्थ होगा अपने आप को मानव मानने से पूर्णतया अस्वीकार करना।
पर्यावरण इतिहास क्या है ?
परिवर्तन की कथा ही इतिहास है। अगर मनुष्य एवं उसके चारों ओर फैला विशाल संसार हमेशा स्थिर रहता, उसमें किसी प्रकार का बदलाव नहीं होता तो शायद इतिहास का जन्म भी न हुआ होता और न हम उसका अध्ययन कर रहे होते। लेकिन मानव सभ्यता के उदय और उसके विकासक्रम के विशाल कालखंड में आश्चर्यजनक... Continue Reading →
Indian Traditional Knowledge on Environmental Conservation
Indian religions have generally been the advocates of environmentalism. They campaigned for such guidelines to the commoners that ensured an intimate contact and sense of belonging in nature.
Why Vernacular Stories are Historically Significant?
Vernacular stories look mythical and miraculous to us today, but people believed in them during those years. That is why vernacular stories became popular in early times. These were the media of its time. People told stories to exchange information, knowledge, and experience in social contexts. But to many historians, vernacular literatures are merely fables and... Continue Reading →
Speaking History 