I was still not born when the first world environment day
was celebrated in the year 1973. Since then, it has been hosted every year by a
different city with different theme. Media and celebrities have encouraged
World Environment Day celebrations by endorsing and taking part in it. Every
year some or the other campaign is launched and celebrated, and awards given to
people who have taken part in environmental activities.
This year I have read some newspapers talking about the motor bike rally as part of world environmental day. What an irony this is! I do not
understand how the environmental day and bike rally go together.
When I was growing up there was no TV; I also do not
remember any one in our village receiving newspapers on a daily basis. My
education towards the environment is not through newspapers or TV news, but through
our daily association with nature.
We were told by our parents and elders in the family and
the village that the Mango tree gives us mango to eat and to make pickle which
can be used while eating meals, leaves to decorate the house door and branches
to cook food, stems are used to make doors, chairs, beds, and of course for shade
in the summer and for many other uses. My other best one was the “arrack tree”;
it provided natural alcohol to the villagers, succulent fruit and the leaves of
which were used to make mattress or for many other household uses including
construction. The list is endless, but what is clear is that the affiliation of the people
with the tree is not for one purposel it is multipurpose.
When we used to walk on the road even in mid-summer, the
heat would hardly hit us because both
sides of the road were completely covered by trees. When I used to come to my college
in Bangalore from my village which is 35 kms from the city in the bus, I could
feel as if I am traveling in an AC bus and the smell of different flowers from
the old tree was something else. Now, if I drive my car with full AC on, I
don’t get that effect anymore. Those days, we would take an hour to reach college
in the bus, but now a car drive on the flyover does not get me to my village in
this time.
We have many people in this country who have lost their
life while protecting the environment, and many of them are losing their life
almost on a daily basis.
We have also heard about Timmakka in Karnataka. Popularly
known as Saalumarada Thimmakka, shehas planted trees estimated to be worth Rs. 1.5
million. People like Medha Patkar have spent a number of days in different
jails in India, got beaten by the police, stood in raising water, did hunger
strikes. She has continued to do the same for many years to save forest in
middle India. Despite this, we ensure that she loses her election when she
contested this year. She is too radical, I guess, for our Parliament.
What about Bechan Lal who wants to save his home, land
and the forest from a multinational company which will displace people in the
name of development and power production in Maan forest in Madhya Pradesh. He
was sent to jail on a clearly false case and released only last evening after 28
days. Did we raise our voice against his arrest, false implication in a
criminal case, or did we even hear of him facing something like this in our newspapers
who claim to be free and fair. I guess they are too busy with Modi’s swearing
in, or Bechan Lal is too small and selfish because he merely wants to save his
forest, his land, his home, or is it because Bechan Lal is fighting against our
power supply which we use for our AC, music system, our party and our
celebration. I guess our celebration is too important than the life of Bechan
Lal and his forest, his home, his land.
It’s not just Bechan Lal; there are many others like him
in this country who are jailed, forced to sit in jail as for asking to save the
forest. But it is ironic that we are busy planting trees on the world
environment day as a mark of symbol. Of course we will not turn up until next
year, and would not bother to know what happened to the saplings that were
planted earlier.
In any case why do we have to care for world? We destroy
our parks meant for running, playing and relaxing because we have treadmill at
home, food from hotel/packets, milk from Nandini, water from taps, fruits from
shops. This is our only association with the forest. How do we engage ourselves
with the world environment day?
