Namaskaram! Your reply depicting the stance of India towards the climate change discussion at St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russia gave hope to every Indian who dreams of a Bharat where there is harmonious co-existence between nature (prakruti) and man (purush). You have reiterated the Vedic philosophy that emphasizes the underlying unity between all living and non-living forms of life. However, there are certain measures, policies, and initiatives taken back home in India by the Government of India which are a stark contradiction to the Vedic way of living which you were referring to in your reply to US news anchor.  The top three of these areas are mentioned below that require your immediate attention:

1.    Agriculture- GM Seeds:

While the West has a different approach to solving problems that involves scientific experiments based on hypothesis; India can turn to its ancient wisdom of Vedas that provides insights into problems faced by the human race. For example, scientists invested enormous funds in building a Large Hadron Collider at CERN research institute near Geneva, Switzerland to detect a particle that is responsible for all the physical force. In Vedas, this particle was referred to as Hiranyagarbha (Golden Embryo) which appear in the womb of an atom and is believed to constitute the foundation of the creation by imparting mass to elementary particles. Scientists named their ‘discovery’ as Higgs Boson particle or the god particle.

Analogous to the above incident, there is a challenge faced by the world to increase the productivity of agricultural produce to meet the burgeoning demand of food of the ever increasing world population. The West resorted to its scientific experiments and produced GM (Genetically Modified) seeds which are resistant to worms. But this invention has its own adverse effects that include crop contamination, the formation of superweeds, decrease in fertility of soil over a period of time and breaking the indigenous farming culture of India. The WHO has already declared that five of the major chemical herbicides used to grow GMO crops are either likely or definitely cancerous. Thirty-eight (38) countries worldwide have officially banned the cultivation of GM crops. Many other countries have started to put in place regulations to protect their population and environment from the environmental and health damage caused by GM crops.  But India is eyeing on GMO foods as a solution to tackle probable food crisis within the country. When India has its own ancient wisdom of ‘Rishi Krishi’, an ancient farming technique proposed by Rishis thousands of years ago to improve crop yield and its quality, why should India ape the solution that West designs for its problems? Rather, India should resume its position of Jagadguru where it can provide solutions to the world to end food crisis by means of divine farming, permaculture, eco-agriculture, all of these have been a part of Indian lifestyle for centuries together.  The GM food is the perfect recipe to destroy the Indian culture that promotes sustainable farming. Thus, the introduction of GM seeds is directly antagonist to the Vedic Philosophy that you were proposing in Russia. Encouragement of GM crops in India by the government contradicts the commitment of the government of Conservation (Savrakshan) & Development (Savardhan) of natural resources within the country.

2.    Deforestation:

The infrastructure development (roads, bridges, ports, power plants, real estate) serves as a driving factor to nation’s economy only as long as it maintains the sovereignty of nation’s natural resources without causing adverse climate implications. The depletion of natural resources due to rampant industrialization, urbanization, mining and infrastructure development is turning out to be a huge cost to the nation. Our country is paying a heavy price of deforestation in the form of heatwaves, draughts, floods, imbalanced eco-systems, loss of natural habitats and extinction of many species.

India can learn from Vedas, Manusmriti, Arthshahtra and several ancient texts about sustainable infrastructure development. Vedic philosophy propagates the interdependence of five elements of nature – earth, fire, water, air and ether (panchmahabhut) and human life. All the developmental activities during Vedic era right from agriculture to construction took into consideration these five elements before planning their execution.  The consequences of this type of development were clean air, fertile soil, unpolluted water and overall happy beings.

The rapid depletion of forest cover in Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and many other states of India contradict the promise made by the Honourable Prime Minister during St Petersberg Interview of delivering a beautiful earth to the future generations. In Mumbai, the state government has ambitious plans to destroy its only surviving green lungs of Aarey Colony and Sanjay Gandhi National Park by building metro car shade and tunnels respectively. The mindless infrastructure development without considering the environmental impact suggests that the decision makers are completely naïve about the environmental consequences. There are two ways to tackle the above problem of unsustainable infrastructure development in India:

a.    Sensitizing the bureaucrats/public servants through compulsory course training which involves developing a holistic approach to infrastructure development by understanding scientific, socio-economic and policy aspects related to the environment and the resource management.

b.    India needs a social audit department independent from the state pollution boards and environmental committees comprising of environmentalists, scientists, local tribes, citizens, bureaucrats that identifies and assesses environmental risk in a given infrastructure project and grants sanction to the project only if the project meets the required environmental guidelines.  

In absence of proper framework to check the rapid deforestation occurring in India, India will be epitomized as a country that doesn’t simply milk the nature but exploits in its full might.

3.    Education– The promise of gifting our future generations, a beautiful earth shall not be fulfilled till we imbibe within the current generation the fundamental philosophy that has governed this land since ages. This is the philosophy of deeper understanding of body, mind, and soul and its connection with the universe. Popularly called as Spiritual wisdom, this knowledge is very fundamental to any form of education. Children are taught about the mechanism of machines but not about the most indigenous machine they have within themselves- their own body and mind. Vedas, Yogsutra, and Upanishads are replete with the secrets of human as well as the universal constitution that gives a deeper understanding about interdependence between nature (jad) and living beings (chetan). This knowledge develops scientific attitude (vigyaan) and creativity that is the seed for an innovation-driven progressive economy. Most importantly, this ancient wisdom produces bright, sharp, enthusiastic and happy children who will be the foundation of a beautiful future of the earth.

Thus, the introduction of Vedic education within the regular school curriculum becomes of utmost importance if India has to grow as an ecologically and environmentally strong nation.

The above insights from me can be considered as a part of people’s participation in the growth of our nation which marks the success of a democracy as propounded by you.

I Thank You for your time.

Yours Sincerely,

Nirali Vaidya

An Indian citizen