GANDHI AND ENVIRONMENT

Mahatma Gandhi is regarded as one of the world’s most influential and powerful leaders, who helped India gain independence through his non-violent yet powerful means. He worked tirelessly to ensure that India became free from the clutches of the colonial powers and wanted to establish a free and independent India, not only in terms of economy and polity but socially and culturally as well.

Mahatma Gandhi was a firm believer that India’s physical environment needed critical and immediate attention. Towards the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century, due to technological and scientific advancements, there was an increase in pollution levels and there was a subsequent increase in demand for those products as well. The word “environment protection” was not used very frequently during that time, but Mahatma Gandhi with his amazing foresight and insight, predicted that things were moving in the wrong direction. As early as 1909, in his book ‘Hindu Swaraj’ he cautioned mankind against unrestricted industrialism and materialism.1 He did not want India to follow the west in this regard and warned that if India, with its vast population, which was growing at an unprecedented rate of 1.01% every 2 years, tried to imitate the west then the resources and minerals of the earth will not be enough. He was of the opinion that rapid industrialization and continuous use of machinery had an adverse effect on the minds and health of the people. He knew that machines would be used by mankind all over the world due to increased dependency of man on machines but was vehemently opposed the use of large scale machines on a daily basis. He thought that machines should not be controlling men and that men should have a firm control over their machineries. He criticized people for extensive use of artificial goods and minerals and thereby, polluting the rivers and other water bodies. He criticized mills and factories for polluting the air with smoke and noise.

Instead of large scale machines, he wanted the people of India to lead a simple life based on physical labour and advocated for this life replacing industrialism and consumerism. He believed that the earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed and so the rich must not only restrict their wants but must also treat their wealth as ‘trust’ for poor and use it for the welfare of the poor. This could be done only if people would distinguish between their real needs and artificial wants and control the latter. To Mahatma Gandhi, the real need meant to possess only that which is absolutely necessary at the moment. To him this would not only help the underprivileged, but would also help protect the environment.

However, he did not equate simple living with abstract poverty. He believed that to deny a man the ordinary amenities of life was far worse than starving the body. To him poverty was the most severe polluter. Hence, poverty should be eradicated and only when everyone would concentrate on their own share and not grab others’ resources and limit their needs, would humankind be able to save and conserve the earth’s natural resources for the future generations.

However his concerns were not limited to human beings alone as he had a very strong sense of the unity of all life. He believed that all creatures had the right to live as much as human beings and felt a living bond between humans and the rest of the animate world. He believed that humans should live in harmony with their surroundings.

Gandhi’s ideas were influential and symbolic, so much so that they empowered the individual. It was upto each individual to simplify his or her life; to share his or her resources and to care for his and her surroundings. He felt that there should be strict laws and their effective implementation to make sure that the earth’s physical environment and its resources are in check and also to ensure that each individual looks after his and her environment.

Dhruvi Shah

Intern