Speaking with Nature

The Origins of Indian Environmentalism

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Speaking with Nature

Written by: Ramachandra Guha

Narrated by: Neil Shah

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About this listen

By the canons of orthodox social science, countries like India are not supposed to have an environmental consciousness. They are, as it were, "too poor to be green." In this deeply researched book, Ramachandra Guha challenges this narrative by revealing a virtually unknown prehistory of the global movement set far outside Europe or America. Long before the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and well before climate change, ten remarkable individuals wrote with deep insight about the dangers of environmental abuse from within an Indian context. In strikingly contemporary language, Rabindranath Tagore, Radhakamal Mukerjee, J. C. Kumarappa, Patrick Geddes, Albert and Gabrielle Howard, Mira, Verrier Elwin, K. M. Munshi, and M. Krishnan wrote about the forest and the wild, soil and water, urbanization and industrialization. Positing the idea of what Guha calls "livelihood environmentalism" in contrast to the "full-stomach environmentalism" of the affluent world, these writers, activists, and scientists played a pioneering role in shaping global conversations about humanity's relationship with nature.

Spanning more than a century of Indian history, and decidedly transnational in reference, this book offers rich resources for considering the threat of climate change today.©2024 Ramachandra Guha

Ramachandra GuhaNeil ShahTantor MediaPolitics & Social SciencesLength: 13 hrs and 25 minsRelease Date: 07-10-25Unabridged AudiobookLanguage: English

Asia

Environment

Environmental

India

Nature & Ecology

Outdoors & Nature

Politics & Government

Public Policy

Science

South Asia

Asia Environment Environmental India Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Politics & Government Public Policy Science South Asia

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Was looking forward to an exciting read, only to be confronted with a very poor rendition of the book. I wish Amazon had taken care, as it is impossible to get over the mis-pronunciation of Indian names and places. This book was supposed to be a reclamation of Indian environmentalist.

Mangled pronunciation

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