Human greed and nature’s fury Dialectics of development and ecology

Human greed and nature’s fury
Dialectics of development and ecology
by D.R. Chaudhry

NOT war, but a plethora of man made things is threatening to strangle us, bury us, in the debris, and byproducts of our technologically inventive and irresponsible age.” —Margaret Mead.
The warning sounded by Margaret Mead, a great anthropologist and humanist, more than 50 years ago has become more relevant now in the light of devastation caused in Uttarakhand recently. It is being passed off as a natural calamity by the ruling elite. It is partially true in the light of unprecedented rain and flashfloods. However, in the past as well this zone had seen torrential rains but there was no such devastation. It is the development at the cost of ecological balance which explains the present situation. Nature's fury explains that development by ignoring the eco-balance is fraught with peril.
In recent years successive governments in Uttarakhand have permitted hotel clusters, resorts and commercial complexes on river boundaries, hydel projects in seismic zones, haphazard construction of roads by blasting through the fragile mountains for short-term gains. A vast amount of debris and rubble was not disposed of properly and dumped into river beds giving rise to mudslides that swept off everything in their way. There has been indiscriminate deforestation making the soil incapable of retaining moisture which greatly contributed to flash floods.
The present developmental model in India is inspired by the insatiable urge to generate monetary wealth. Wealth has been generated but it has been garnered by a small segment of society.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), per capita income, sensex, balance of payments and such other indicators were the yardsticks to measure the progress of a country earlier. Now more reliable indicators like education, health services, sanitation, mortality rate, sex ratio and such other concepts are used to assess the progress of a country as measured in terms of Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure of indictors along three dimensions: life expectancy, educational attainment and command over the resources needed for a decent living, as reflected in the Human Development Report published yearly by the UN. However, this model too is flawed as it has created wide disparities and income inequalities.
India once had the highest rate of growth after China. We have the largest number of dollar billionaires in Asia. While out top-layer elites have acquired the living standards worthy of envy even by affluent Americans while at the base of the social pyramid are millions who find it difficult to survive.
The link between growth and human development is not automatic as is emphasised in the 1993 and 1996 Human Development Reports. The 1996 Human Development Report identified six undesirable types of growth: jobless growth which does not increase employment opportunities; ruthless growth which is accompanied by rising inequality; voiceless growth which denies the participation of the most vulnerable sections in the process; rootless growth which uses inappropriate models transplanted from elsewhere and futureless growth which is based on unbridled exploitation of environmental resources. India's present development paradigm suffers from these ailments in varying degrees.
The present development paradigm needs radical rectification not only in India but in most other countries in the world, developed as well as developing. Bhutan, a small landlocked country, provides important clues in this direction. It has developed a unique development philosophy around the concept of the Gross National Happiness (GNH). It has four pillars: economic development, good governance, preservation and development of environment and culture. The emphasis is not on GDP but wellbeing of citizens which arises in a society where sustainable and equitable development is balanced with environmental and cultural preservation and good governance.
The GNH is a holistic concept with stress on material and spiritual needs of the people. Besides conventional indicators of progress, utmost emphasis is laid on the basic tenets of the Buddhist ethics and conservation of environment, resulting in clean air, water, energy and natural resources. The use of tobacco is banned throughout the country and polluting industries are not permitted. The emphasis is on greater harmony between our internal and external landscapes. In a consumerist culture, on the other hand, happiness is to be found through lifestyles which are unsustainable.
The preservation of culture in Bhutan is best seen in the promotion of tourist industry with its motto "high value, low volume tourism" inspired by the Buddhist view of interdependence between man and nature to ensure that people maintain their dignity against the onslaught of globalisation. Thus, unlike Thailand and Nepal, there is no prostitution in the garb of massage parlours and call-girl rackets in hotels in Bhutan. The GNH fervently pursued has made the people of Bhutan relaxed and cooperative in behaviour and dealings.
"Consumer is the king", proclaims the proponents and PR minions of the consumer society. However, the consumer acquires the kingdom by selling his soul. "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself", observed Jesus Christ. As rightly stressed by Mahatma Gandhi, nature has enough for man's needs but not enough for his greed. All this is forgotten in the mindless pursuit of wealth as an end in itself. This promotes grasping and acquisitiveness, making greed an endless pit.
We have reached what environmentalists call the tipping point. There is urgent need to seriously question the development model based on the concept of perpetual economic growth to fatten the select few. This leads to the odious phenomenon of one industrial magnate having a 27-storeyed mansion in Mumbai costing eight thousand crore of rupees while almost half the population of the city lives on footpath or in jhoparpattis. This is inhuman and scandalous and breeds a variety of discontent. The satisfaction derived by the super rich through accumulation of wealth too is illusory because "the lifestyles of the rich are often absurdly and pointlessly complicated", as has righty been observed by the Dalai Lama. If the inner peace and sense of fulfillment constitute the ultimate goal of life, one has to follow the path of sensitivity and concern for others. Compassion is the ideal basis for the entire society as Jesus and the Buddha both envisioned — the great compassion, the 'maha karuna'.
One hopes that our ruling elites would learn the correct lessons from the calamity in Uttarakhand. However, this is belied by the attempt of both the major political parties of India to achieve brownie points to make political capital out of human misery. The claim of the Gujarat CM to have rescued, Rambo style, 30,000 Gujaratis stranded in Uttarakhand is too ridiculous to be taken seriously. The Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha demanding the resignation of Uttarakhand's CM at this critical stage is distressing. The level of discourse has touched such a low level that it is demoralising for the jawans of our armed forces engaged in the rescue operation by staking their lives. However, the debate must start among the thinking beings about the viability of the present development paradigm being followed in the country.
 http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130705/edit.htm