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CHAPTER III

THE RISE OF ENVIRONMENTAL

MOVEMENTS IN KERALA

3.1 Introduction

This chapter is mainly a historical account of how individuals and

associations in Kerala have perceived, propagated, and acted upon their

experience of environmental decay. However, it begins with a brief

introduction to the origin of environmentalism at global and national levels,

with a special focus on major milestones in the environmental history.

Thanks to Prof Ramachandra Guha, the origin of global environmental

activism found its expression in the form of three strands of thoughts viz;

romantic environmentalism or back to the land thoughts, scientific

conservation and finally the wilderness ideas. William Wordsworth is perhaps

the most important romantic environmentalist who expressed an intimate

affinity with nature. He taught his readers how to walk with nature. He tried

to expose the darker side of the great change wrought by industrial revolution.

According to him it is in villages where lay ‘the spirit of humanity’. John

Ruskin (1819-1990), artist, art critic and sometime professor of poetry from

England focused closely on the physical consequences of the industrialization,

particularly air and water pollution, and the impact of this on human health

and landscape. He strongly opposed extension of railroad into the Lake

District. Moreover, he ran farms, craft shops, and taught his fellowmen the

lessons of simplicity and self-reliance. William Morris (1834-1896) a native

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of London wanted to turn England ‘from the grimy backyard of a workshop

into a garden’. The back to the land movement turned international by the

works of Edward Carpenter (1844-1929). His book Civilization: Its cause and

cure, is termed as the text for the back to land movement. He set up a

commune on a hill above the factory town of Sheffield where he offered a

union of manual labour and clean air as an alternative to industrial

civilization. In this regard, he received inspiration from William Morris, Walt

Whitman and Henry David Thoreau, well-known advocates of simple life.

Just like in England, the industrial revolution dramatically changed the face of

Germany where also the poets and writers were in the vanguard of the

movement to keep their land rural and their forests virgin, uncontaminated by

the greed of the cities and the excrements of their factories. The German

version of the romantic environmentalism was united with patriotism.

Interestingly, many Nazi leaders were green and were prominent in

environmental causes. But coming to power, they began industrialization and

vigorously promoted consumerism (Guha, 2000)

The second important stream of environmental thought was in the form

of a call for preserving the remaining forest in a scientific manner. It was

George Perkins Marsh the inspiring force behind American Environmentalism

and the author of the book 'Man and nature: Or, Physical Geography as

Modified by Human Action’ (1864) who pioneered the idea of scientific

preservation before the very word ecology had been invented. Dietrich

Brandies, a German botanist appointed by the Government of British India

who was in charge of country wide Forest Service ,has played a key role in

articulating the consequences of deforestation due to agricultural colonization

  50

and industrial development. He had maintained good relationship with Marsh,

which resulted in the sharing of deep concern over the pace of deforestation

and the need for applying scientific expertise to reverse it. Because of the

works of these scholars, the concept of national forest became widely

accepted followed by a large number of green enactments across the world.

However, the idea of scientific forestry is not free from criticism. It denied

natural justice to thousands of peasants and tribal communities for whom

forest was the provider of basic means of subsistence (Ibid., pp. 25-40).

Third variety of environmental thought, the quest for conserving the

wild species and their habitats, was indeed a reaction against the ‘Westward

movement of European settlers ‘in American continent and similar kind of

acts in the rest of the world. Though the idea of wilderness was prevalent

even in pre-modern literature, it became popular after the establishment of the

Yellow Stone National Park in United States in the year 1872, the first

national park anywhere in the world. The American continent has also played

a crucial role in mobilizing public opinion in favor of the wilderness idea. In

this connection, the contributions of John Muir, the founder of the Sierra

Club, the most influential conservation Society in the history of American

environmentalism was remarkable. He rejected the Christian doctrine of

man’s domination over the nature and the notion of the creation of all for the

happiness of one. Aldo Leopold a German American is also remembered in

connection with the wilderness movement particularly in relation to the

formation of wilderness Society, an autonomous society for the protection of

wild areas from mining, industry, logging, roads and such other threats. The

London international conference (1900) convened by the British foreign

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office was another important landmark in the evolution of wilderness idea.

Though there was no African present, the conference discussed the issue of

massive destruction of African wild life, and signed a ‘Convention for the

Preservation of Animals, Birds, and Fish in Africa’. This was followed by the

establishment of first multinational conservation Society; the ‘Society for the

presERvation of the Fauna and Laura of the British Empire’(Ibid.)

3.1.1 Silent Spring

As opined by Ralph H Lutts, “the land mark book Silent Spring played

a vitally important role in stimulating the contemporary environmental

movements “( Ibid). Stephen fox used to call this book as ‘the Uncle Tom’s

Cabin of modern environmentalism’ (Ibid). Silent spring stayed thirty-one

weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. In this book, Carson found that

‘the central problem of modern life is ‘contamination of man’s total

environment with substances of incredible potential for harm’. She described

in beautifully crafted prose the way that the drastic chemicals enter the food

chain with well-chosen examples and case studies. He strongly advocated

biological methods of pest control. The most important contribution of Silent

Spring was that it helped the world environmental movement to move from

the initial idea of ‘protection of endangered species or beautiful habitats’ to an

appreciation that ‘in nature nothing exists alone’. It also emphasized the fact

that ‘there are intimate and essential relations between plants and the earth,

between plants and other plants, between plants and animals’ (Ibid., p. 70).

As an impact of this book, the US department of agriculture came up to

regulate the use of synthetic pesticides and insecticides. It also outlawed

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several dangerous chemicals. Later, the Federal Government imposed a ban

on DDT, the most deadly pesticide. The Pesticide Control Act 1972 and

Toxic Substance control Act 1974, the two important milestones in the history

of American environmental legislations are also considered as the positive

impact of Silent Spring. The influence of this book was not restricted to

United States. It was translated to a large number of foreign languages with a

tremendous impact on resurgence of environmental activism all over the

world (Ibid.,p. 71.).

3.1.2 Environmentalism: A North-South Comparison

William tucker, the US journalist once remarked, “The

environmentalists in any area seemed very easy to identify. They were, quite

simply, members of the local aristocracy… The environmental vision is an

aristocratic one…. It can be sustained by people who have never had to worry

about security.”(Quoted in Guha, 1997) This remark reflects one of the well-

publicized argument that environmental activism is a phenomenon particular

to the rich nations in the North. According to this argument,

environmentalism is a post-modern movement and a move towards post-

materialist values. Ronald Ingle Hart, Lester Thurow, Eric Hobsbawn and

Anna Bram Well were of the opinion that it is something related to affluence

and the support for environmental movement mainly come from rich

countries. However, this argument stands far away from reality.

Environmental activism has become a common phenomenon throughout the

Third world. They seem to be more genuine compared to those in the North.

Prof Guha while surveying varieties of environmentalism has identified five

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case studies exclusively from the global south with an intention to prove their

significance in the study of world environmental movement.

The Penan struggle in Malaysia for the protection of their forest home

from commercial loggers is a landmark in the history of poor peoples’

resistance against assault on nature. For them it was not mere agitation for

protecting the forest but a struggle to protect their own cultural identity. The

7000 below Penan tribe living in the forests of Malaysian State of Sarawak

has a strong cultural bond with their river and the forest landscape. Penan

movement became unique for the active role of NGOs and transnational

forums. The nontribal leadership in the area extended wholehearted support to

the movement.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan (save the Narmada Movement) in India

developed into a major environmental movement under the energetic

leadership of Meda Padkar. The unique struggle Jalasamadhi made it more

popular. It started as an agitation against Sardar Sarovar Project, which would

submerge 245 villages with a population of around 70,000. Majority of the

victims of this project were tribes. It was a clear case of development-

induced displacement. Another case was taken from Thailand where the

protest was against the decision to convert natural forest into monoculture

plantations for earning foreign exchange. Here the protest came from the side

of native farmers who found the policy detrimental to their interest. They

believed that the eucalyptus imported from Australia would destruct their

agriculture. The Buddhist priests played an active role in the agitations. The

movement against Royal Shell, an Anglo-Saxon oil drilling company in

Nigeria is another case of environmental activism in the third world. Ken

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Saro-Wiwa, a poet and playwright, was the founder of this movement. The

drilling created an atmosphere full of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon.

Land and water in the area polluted leading to an ecological disaster. Finally,

Prof Guha has taken the case of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya where the

activist planted and cared several lakhs of saplings in all most all districts in

the Country. Here also we saw nonconventional style of leadership in

Waangari Matthai, the first native woman Professor of Kenya who founded

the Green Belt movement.

These examples indicate that the people in the south have also

responded to the environmental issues. A comparison of the movements in the

North and South brings both similarities and dissimilarities. In order to

illustrate the similarities between the two movements Porf Guha refers to two

typical cases of environmental activism, one each from the respective regions.

The first case happened in Unites States in 1979, where a young

environmentalist, Mark Dubois chose a hidden spot and chained himself to a

rock in the Stanislaus River in California. The place where he lay formed a

part of the reservoir of the New Melones Dam. Dubois and his association

‘Friends of the river’ had unsuccessfully opposed the construction of this

dam. The second incident held in India in 1993, where Meda Patkar, the

leader of the Narmada Bachao Andolan which had irrecoverably lost its fight,

decided to drown herself in the dam reservoir. These two agitations seem to

be identical in nature. Both of them constitute the part of ongoing popular

movements against dams. It is only when the agitations tend to fail, the

leaders decided to offer their lives. It is also interesting to note that both the

political systems did not allow the leaders to sacrifice their lives. There were

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also some fundamental differences in between these two agitations. For

example, the underlying motivations were entirely different. Mark Dubois

and his friends were striving to protect the wilderness of the dam site.

Whereas, Meda Patkar and her samarpan dal (martyr squad) wanted to save

thousands of peasants from displacement. For them, the protection of nature

was a secondary concern (Ibid.,p.115.)

A comparison of environmental movements in the North and South

further presents some valuable observations. Firstly, the movement in the

North is related to the emergence of post-materialist or post-industrialist

society. Here men get more free time and are provided with facilities to make

use of this extra time. The development in the field of transport and

communication, particularly the motor cars, has made nature accessible to

man. It is a paradox that this most modern creation of industry (cars) becomes

the vehicle of anti industry impulses. They took man from his functional

ugliness to enchanting fairy tale forests. These visits to nature gradually

generated the popular support for the protection of wilderness in the United

States. In short, it was the facilities provided by the industrialization, which

actually enabled the people of North to move closer to the nature. On the

other hand, in the South, the environmentalism emerged at a relatively early

stage in the industrial process. Nature- based conflict are at the root of

environmental movements in the south. They are the reactions against

lopsided environmentally destructive development activities carried out in

vulnerable areas. They emerge in the context of decimation of forests, drying

up of springs, the erosion of the land, contamination of water bodies or

resource shortage ( Calvert , 1999).

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Another contrast between the North and South is with regard to their

means of social action. The Northern movements rely more heavily on the

social movement organizations. These organizations have their own cadre,

leadership and properly audited source of income. They widely use methods

such as lobbying of legislators and administrations, public interest litigations,

exposure on televisions etc. Whereas, the Southern activism, it seems that, is

relatively militant in nature. People widely rely upon techniques of direct

action. Nevertheless, the recent experiences from these two areas indicate

that these differences are shrinking. The reports from the North show a

greater rely on direct actions. In South, it seems that the environmental

movements have started using the techniques like litigation and lobbying

enthusiastically. To conclude, there is a force of integration working inside

the global environmental movement, which abridges the gap between North

and South (op.cit.,Guha, pp.116-118).

The contemporary world environmental movement has also produced

another debate with a North–South dimension over the burden of adjustments

to global warming. There is an argument that the global environmental regime

is biased in the sense that its regulations would obstruct the development

activities in the south, which would further widen the gap between the North

and South. To quote the comment of former Malaysian Prime Minister

Muhammad Mahathir, “When the rich chopped down their own forest, built

their poison belching factories and scoured the world for cheap resources, the

poor said nothing. Indeed, they paid for the development of the rich. Now the

rich claim a right to regulate the development of the poor countries… As

colonies, we were exploited. Now as independent nations we are to be equally

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exploited.”(Quoted in Bello, 2001). Nevertheless, the North South disparity

in terms of economic development seems to be insufficient to object the

efforts for an effective environment regulation. A balanced view is that

whatever the real figure on carbon emission, it is inescapable that the South

would also have to adjust ,proportionately less than the North but also rather

stringently. The fight against environmental degradation would need to be

propelled mainly by an alliance between progressive civil society in the North

and mass based citizens’ movements in the South.

3.2 Environmentalism in India

In ancient India, the environment protection was a moral duty, which

was imposed on people by religion. Hinduism emphasizes the protection of

the environment and the living creatures. Some of the animals were

considered as God and some others as the vehicles of God. Certain trees like

Banyan, Tulsi etc. were given reverence as the dwelling place of the gods.

Kautilya, was against killing of animals, cutting of trees and the excess

exploitation of the natural resources. The King Asoka banned the killing of

wild animals, and later prohibited the killing of certain species of animals.

However, it does not mean that there was no kind of assault on nature during

this period. Deforestation and consequent soil erosion due to continuous

grazing was a major problem during this period. Many species of animals

were endangered by the habit of game hunting. The structural defects of the

society along with ignorance brought bulk of the people in poor and miserable

conditions, which resulted fundamental environmental issues. However, due

to lack of environmental awareness, it rarely developed into the form of a

movement in the modern sense.

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Out of the large number of contradictions in Indian society brought

about by the waves of industrialization and modern way of living, the conflict

between development and ecology deserves prime consideration. Commercial

logging, excessive and irrational use of chemicals as pesticides, insecticides

or fertilizers, unscientific emissions from industries, and construction of

Dams and consequent displacement of most deprived sections, all led to a

chain of environmental agitations across the nation.

3.2.1 Khejri movement (1726 AD)

Any debate on environment movements in India would begin with a

remark on Khejri movement. The Bishnoi people of Thar Desert in Rajasthan

are often credited for the first use of Chipko tactics in resistance to tree

felling. They adhere to a sect of Vaishnavite Hinduism that dictates a life style

of ecological awareness and militant conservationism based on 29 principles

of environmental preservation set forward by Guru Jameswarji in the fifteenth

century. Among the 29 principles, the Guru specified that animals, trees and

other wild vegetation were not to be destroyed. He found environmental

protection as the main responsibility of man and weaved his principals into

religious commandments so that people could internalize those principals

easily.

It was a decision of Maharaja Abhai Singh of Jodhpur to cut down the

sacred green Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) trees from Bishnoi villages, which

triggered the movement. The area was environmentally sensitive by the

reason that the Thar Desert surrounded it. Abhai Singh wanted the trees to

burn lime for the construction of his new palace. Amrita Devi, a woman who

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firstly resisted to the decision was killed brutally. The axes, which were

brought to cut the trees, severed her head from her trunk. Her young

daughters Asu, Ratni and Bhagu were also killed. As the brutality went on,

363 Bishnois sacrificed their lives and became the first batch of martyrs to the

cause of environment. Just before her martyrdom, Amrita Devi declared, “If a

tree is saved even at the cost of one's head, it’s worth”. Later the local

kingdom came up to honor the courage of the Bishnoi community and to

apologize for the mistake committed by the officials .The royal decree,

engraved on a copper plate prohibited hunting within the boundaries of

Bishnoi villages and violation of this was made a punishable offense (Tod,

1982).

3.2.2 Chipko Movement

Another landmark in the history of India’s environmental movement

was the Chipko Andolan movement or tree hugging movement. Like Khejri

Movement, it was also a nonviolent resistance against large-scale tree felling.

The struggle started in 1973 by Sunderlal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad from

Gopeswar in Chamoli district in Uttarkhand. Later it spread to Kumaon,

Garshwall, Nainital and Rani Khet regions. Large number of tribal women,

under the leadership of Bachani Devi took part in the movement. Their slogan

was “Chipko, Chipko” which means hug. These acts of the people finally

forced the axe men to withdraw. The Chipko movement succeeded to enforce

a stoppage of tree felling for 10 years in the region.

There are different views on the nature of Chipko movement. In her

work “Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development”, Vandana Shiva

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describes the Chipko movement from eco feminist perspective (Shiva,1989).

Whereas, Ramachandra Guha in his work “The unquiet Woods” argues that

Chipko was essentially a rural, peasant social movement. (Guha,1989).

Another perspective on Chipko movement is that it is a critique of larger

social structures. This view could be seen in Dr. P.P Karan’s “Environmental

Movements in India” (Karan, 1994). It is also interpreted as a religious or

Gandhian movement. The worship of plants and trees as deities is common in

Hindu religion. Similarly, non-violent hugging of trees is an idea closely

related to Gandhism (James, 2000).

3.2.3 Appikko Movement

Inspired by the developments in world environmental movement, the

people of Karnataka especially in North Karnataka District launched a

movement to save their forest. The agitation started in September 1983, when

a group of men, women and children under the leadership of Pandu Ram

Hegde hugged the trees in Kalase forest. This protest was a reaction against

the over exploitation of forest resources by the ‘agents of development’. At

the time of independence, the total forest area constituted nearly 80 % of its

geographical area. This area was a homeland of tropical forest, a very fragile

ecosystem known for its biodiversity. Paradoxically, the Government

agencies declared the area as a backward area in terms of industrial

development. This finally resulted in the beginning of a series of development

projects across the district. They included pulp factories, paper mills and a

chain of hydroelectric dams. When the new dams submerged huge forest area,

the paper mills and pulp factories over exploited the forest resources, the

forest shrunk to 25% of the total land area of the district. The forest policy

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also had some negative impact on natural forest. The forest department

encouraged monoculture plantations like eucalyptus and teak instead of

natural forests, which dried up the water resources. It was in this background,

the people of the area came up with alternative programmes for the protection

of their forest resources. The Appikko Movement is an effort to save the

Western Ghats by spreading its activities all over south India. It has three

main objectives; save the remaining tropical forest in Western Ghats, restore

the greenery to denuded areas and propagate the idea of rational utilization of

forest resources. The movement has used a variety of techniques to raise

awareness. They include foot marches, slide shows, folk dance, street plays,

and so on (Karan,1994).

3.3 Environmentalism in Kerala

The history of modern environmental activism in Kerala could be

traced back to those literary references to the scenic beauty of this piece of

land. The affinity with nature has been a feature of Malayalam literature since

long. The literary works of prominent writers like G Sankara Kuruppu,

Vyloppilli Sreedharan Menon, P. Kunhiraman Nair, Changapuzha

Krishnapilla, N. V. Krishna Varier, Edasseri Govindhan Nair, N.N Kakkad

etc, seem to play a key role in the making of environmental awareness among

the people of Kerala. The nomenclature Marakkavikal (tree poets) itself

indicates the dominance of environmental aesthetics in Malayalam literature.

Dr Rathi Menon’s Nishabda Vasantham, the translation of ‘Silent spring’ was

another attraction of Malayalam literary ecology.(Madhusoodhanan, 2011)

In the field of activism, it was in 1964, the people of Vazhakkad, a

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village on the banks of river Chaliyar, who firstly registered a protest against

water pollution caused by the discharge of chemical effluents by Grasim

industries, Mavoor. K. A Rahman was the leader of this first environmental

agitation in the state of Kerala. Moreover, the traditional workers in the area

had also staged an unsuccessful struggle against the river pollution under the

banner of Chaliyar Kakka Malsya Thozhilali Union (A union for traditional

fish workers in Chaliyar). Either of these agitations produced any notable

result.(Shukur,2009)

John C Jacob played a remarkable role in the history of environmental

activism in Kerala. He started his career as a teacher at Devagiri College,

Calicut where he found himself associated with environmental issues. Early in

1960’s, he paid visits to the villages on the banks of Chaliyar and interacted

with likeminded people about environmental issues. He was also associated

with the organization of Science Exhibitions at Devagiri campus with an

intention to create a scientific awareness among the students. His role as an

environmental activist became more vibrant after joining duty at Payyannur

College in Kannur district.

John C Jacob is mainly remembered for his educational programmes

among the students. In 1972, he formed Zoological Club, the first

environmental organization for the students in entire south India. He had

maintained good relationship with World Wild Life Fund India, which helped

him to organize the first nature study camp (1974) in Kerala at Ezhimala, in

Kannur District. 40 Students and 20 teachers participated in this camp. When

his college authorities put some restrictions on the off campus programmes of

Zoological Club, Johncy went on with an idea of forming “Society for

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Environment Education in Kerala”, popularly known as SEEK which

developed into a centre of environmental activism with unique educational

programmes. People from different parts of the state were attracted to the

nature study programmes organized by SEEK. Johncy had developed his own

medium for environmental communication. There were two environment

related magazines to his account. The first one, Soochimughi, was started in

1981 and the second, Ankh, in 1986. They were simple in outlook but elegant

in content and remained as powerful channels of environmental

communication in Kerala for about three decades.

John.C. Jacob is also closely associated with silent valley campaigning.

His farsightedness actually led to the formations of large number of nature

clubs in schools and colleges. The SEEK, Zoological Clubs and newly formed

nature clubs collectively mobilized the support for the silent valley

movement. He was in the forefront of the first protest march against the silent

valley project held in 1979 at Payyannur. M.K Prasad, the well

environmentalist in Kerala, has acknowledged his role in mobilizing student

support for the silent valley movement. His image as a ‘man of controversy’

became more significant with his decision to embrace Hinduism (Civic,2008).

The formation of Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) popularly

known as Parishad was another important event in the history of Kerala

environment movement. Devagiri College in Calicut, an institution run by

Catholic Church, turned to be the birthplace of KSSP. On 10 September 1962,

Rev. Fr. Theodosius formally launched the organization in a meeting attended

by a group of environmental activists in Kerala. This meeting elected K.

Bhaskaran Nair and Dr. K.G. Adiyodi as the president and Secretary of the

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new organization respectively. It also elected Dr. K.K Nair, N.V Krishna

Varier, Dr. Santa Kumar, Dr.S Parameswaran and Dr. K George as the

members of the first executive committee. Konniyure Narendranath gave the

nomenclature Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad.

The main contribution of KSSP is in the field of science education.

The campaign programmes carried out with the strong support of art and

literature exerted significant influence on the process of political development

in Kerala. It was through these campaigning programmes, people of Kerala

conceived, the importance of environment protection, community health,

public education system, energy preservation, food security, rational thinking

and so on.

KSSP, which started functioning as an independent organization

gradually, came under the surveillance of left movements in Kerala. The pro-

left elements within the organization developed into to a dominant group

exerting undue influence in the decision making process. There was general

feeling that, in near future, KSSP would be made one of the feeder

organizations of left in Kerala. The developments in Kottayam conference

held in 1978, which had some special importance in the context of Silent

valley debate, reinforced this feeling. The environmentalist under the leader

ship of M. K Prasad moved a resolution against the Silent Valley Project. The

conference failed to adopt the resolution because of the strong opposition by

the pro-marxist group. This incident became a turning point in the history of

KSSP mainly because of two reasons. Firstly, those who could not agree with

the idea of party affiliation began to leave the organization. Secondly, it

marked the degeneration of KSSP from a genuine environmental organization

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to a buffer zone type organization playing in between the environmental

activism and left politics in Kerala. (Parannure, 2008).

There is another important criticism against KSSP, which is about its

political philosophy. Critics argue that KSSP has been playing the role of an

anti-marxist political party throughout its history. They look at KSSP as a part

of new social movement; or as a Non-Governmental Organization working

with the neo-liberal agenda to discard the process of class discourse in Kerala.

Similar to the idea of empiricism advanced by the Centre for Development

Studies (CDS), Thiruvanathapuram, the concepts conceived by KSSP like

participatory development and micro planning, seem to have far-reaching

political consequences. Firstly, it seems to reject Marxist perception on social

structure. The idea of participatory development itself is for class cooperation.

Its ultimate aim is to dilute class conflicts, which would in turn avoid

revolution. Moreover, the over importance given to post-modern issues such

as as ecology, gender, human rights etc would cause irrecoverable damages

on working class unity. Secondly, Parishad seems to promote apolitical

attitudes. The studies carried out by KSSP were unnecessarily scientific in

nature, whereas their political aspects were purposefully neglected. They

conclude that KSSP is a rightist NGO with a false image of a true

revolutionary force. ( Somashekaran, 2008)

3.3.1 Silent Valley

“People’s struggle against big dams has been one of the most

prominent phenomena on the socio cultural and political canvas of the

country during the past two decades. The strength of the movement is that it

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has attracted support from a diverse audience – the displaced, economists,

experts, national media, and international support groups. Anti-dam struggles

have managed to create an atmosphere that is more receptive to issues like

displacement and environmental impacts.”(The Citizen’s Fifth Report,

1999.,p.132.)

In 1976, the Government of Kerala government decided to construct a

dam in Silent Valley across Kunthipuzha to generate 120-mw hydropower as

strategic decision to resolve the shortage of power supply in Malabar region.

The per capita consumption of electricity power in Malabar was only a

quarter of the statewide figures. A drop of 857 meters, the highest in the

state, made it an ideal site for a hydel project. Another attraction of the project

was that it would create employment opportunities in this backward region

(Swaminathan, 1979).

Unfortunately, it also happened to be one of the few tropical rain

forests in the country left undisturbed by the onslaught of modernization.

Silent vaLley, a pristine 9000-hectare forest at an altitude of 900 m in the

Western Ghats in Palakkad district, is a precious gene pool and an immense

rich reservoir of vast bio-diversity, which has not been fully explored so far.

To quote Botanical survey of India, “Even a preliminary study of the

peripheral areas of the valley has yielded information on over 900 species

flowering plants and ferns. Several specimens that have become extinct

elsewhere are found in the silent valley. Similarly, the Zoological Survey of

India has identified several rare and endangered faunal species including

butterflies, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals in the silent valley.

Three amphibians were previously unknown. Many insects and birds like the

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black orange flycatcher, the white browed bulbul, the hill myna and hornbills

are endemic to this area. Three endangered mammals: the lion tailed

macaque; the tiger and the Nilgiri tahr are also found here. The lion tailed

macaque is one of the most endangered mammals in the world” (First

citizen’s report, 1982.,p.64.). It was in this context Silent Valley controversy

developed into a classic case study in the environment versus development

debate.

It was M.K Prasad, a teacher of Botany and an active member of

KSSP, who spearheaded the Silent Valley movement. He had realized that

many of Kerala’s environmental problems were the result of cutting down of

trees in the Western Ghats. In 1978, he unsuccessfully moved a resolution

against the proposed Silent Valley Project in the annual conference of KSSP

held at Kottayam. It was in this crucial juncture he built up an alliance with

his fellow activists outside KSSP like John C Jacob for launching an effective

campaigning against the project. He was successful in using the

organizational framework of Zoological Club, SEEK and various nature clubs

in different parts of the state. The first demonstration against Silent Valley

project was organized at Payyannur under the leadership of Johncy Jacob.

This was followed by s series of protest movements across the state.

Meanwhile, a section of Marxist theoreticians like C.P Narayanan and M. P

Parameswaran came up to support the environmentalist and produced

literature on Marxian ecology. It was in this context, in spite of the difference

of opinion within the organization, the KSSP decided to go ahead with its

campaign against the project. It had an impressive membership of 7000

thinking people, which was effectively used for mobilizing public opinion on

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the need to save Silent Valley. In this connection, it collected signature of

teachers, prominent citizens, students and send a memorandum to the

government of Kerala. The street plays, exhibitions, seminars, discussions and

debates became common in the state. The jatha organized by KSSP covered

about 400 villages and the way it interacted with the common people added

another chapter in the history of environment communication in Kerala.

Influenced by their teachers who constituted a major part of the KSSP

membership, teenagers in large number came out on the street to protest

against Silent Valley project. It also succeeded to mobilize the support of

opinion leaders like Dr. Salim Ali, eminent ornithologist and personal

acquaintance of Mrs. Indhira Gandh ; K.P.S Menon, former ambassador to

the Soviet Union, M.G.K. Menon, Dr Swaminathan and several others. M.K

Prasad has acknowledged the role of these prominent individuals in the

success of Silent Valley struggle. The Swaminathan committee, appointed by

the central government, finally recommended abandonment of the project,

which the state government accepted in 1983(Prsad, 2011).

It is interesting to note that the Malayalam poets had played a very

active role in the Silent Valley movement. They formed an organization

called “Prakrthi Samrakshana Samithi” (the organization for conservation)

and requested the government to stop Silent Valley project. As they went on

with their protest, those who supported the project described them

Marakkavikal (tree poets) as if the poets were idiots and had ‘marathala’ (tree

head that is pig headed). Atmaraman, a Malayalam poet and conservation

activist, finds that the Silent Valley movement as the commencement of neo-

ecological awareness in Kerala and literary ecology in Malayalam. Poets

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appeal to preserve the Silent Valley Forest was mainly based on ethical and

aesthetic values, not on scientific or economic. By the time of Silent Valley

controversy a new ecological awareness has been well establishe

(Madhusoodanan, 2011).

3.3.2 Anti Endosulfan Movement

“When Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published in 1962, many

did not believe her revelations on the effect of the dumping of chemicals.

Decades later, her findings are similar the happenings in the highly literate

state of Kerala. Poor scientific research, ignorance, and a mindless

administration dumping piousness pesticides have all collectively caused

irreparable damages to the environment, and generated paltry economic gains.

Developing countries are becoming the dumping yard for pesticides that have

been banned in developed countries” (Rajendran. S, 2002.,pp.2206-2207.).

The movement against Endosulfan in Kerala seems to be a relevant

topic in this study for the reason that the trade unions in Hindustan Pesticides

limited (HPL), one of the factories producing this most dangerous pesticide,

have come forward to resist the movement. Leelakumari, an agricultural

assistant, firstly started the struggle against Endosulfan. The agony caused by

the premature death of her elder brother, due to exposure to Endosulfan

induced her to work for hundreds of people poor villagers living in worst

affected areas in Kazargode district. Her main contribution was in the field of

litigation in which she received unprecedented support from SEEK and

Thanal, two important nongovernmental organizations working in the field of

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environment protection. The movement in this stage is also indebted to

Adv.Daisy for her free legal aid(John,2011.,p.38.).

Sree Padhre, a freelance journalist, is another important person

associated with Endosulfan movement. By working as a link between the

victims and the mass media, he made valuable contributions to environment

communication. Padhre collected information from the local people and made

available for reference. He published several articles in Kannada and

Malayalam languages. ‘Why this negligence’ (Udayavani), ‘Cow born

handicapped due to pesticides’ (Sudha Weekly) and ‘Life is cheaper than

cashew’ (Evidence Weekly) are his important articles on Endosulfan issue.

Moreover, he provided all kinds of assistance to Nupur Basu, a reporter from

NDTV for preparing a story on Endosulfan, later telecasted as breaking

news. Sree Padhre has been an inspiring force behind the formation of

Endosulfan Spray Protest Action Committee (ESPAC), the first organization

of Endosulfan movement. It was his email messages that inspired people like

Anil Agarwal, the director of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE),

New Delhi and C. Jayakumar, Founder Director, Thanal, Thiruvanathapuram

to act as a part of the movement. The role of Dr. Y. S. Mohan Kumar, a

medical officer with professional ethics, deserves a special reference. An

exception to the so-called ‘commercialization of medical profession’, a man

of social commitment, Dr Mohankumar used his knowledge in Medical

science to strengthen the movement against chemical pesticides(Ibid.,pp.45-

47.)

The unreceptive attitude of scientific community towards the health

hazards, reported from the affected areas, and the absence of an effective legal

  71

framework to deal with the environmental impact of human activities seems

to be the main problems in managing the Endosulfan issue. Sree Padhre is of

the opinion that entomologist generally support industry. When the village

people formed ‘Endosulfan Spraying Protest Action Committee’, for

registering their protest, the entire Pesticide industries came together to form a

common platform called Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulated

Association of India (PMFA). The influence exerted by this powerful pressure

group seems to delay the rehabilitation process(Sreedhar, 2011).

The anti Endosulfan movement has explored the vulnerability of state

when it exposed to capitalism. The response of Plantation Corporation

(PCK), a public sector undertaking fully controlled by the government of

Kerala, towards the agitations was suspicious. The negative attitude of many

government agencies, at regional and national levels, strongly supports this

argument.

3.3.3 Industrial Pollution in Eloor-Edayar region

“The river systems are in real danger of being irrecoverably polluted

due to heavy discharge of industrial effluents and other factors”

(Thamarakshan, 1998). This remark by A.V Thamarakshan, the Chairman on

Kerala Legislative Committee on Environment seems to be a truth in Eloor –

Edayar region, one of the most toxic hot spots in the world. The unscientific

discharge of industrial waste by nearly 300 factories in and around Eloor has

caused severe contaminations of soil, air and water in the region. The major

industries in Eloor –Edayar region ( Ernakulum District)are –Travancore

Cochin Chemicals Ltd (TCC), Fertilizer and Chemicals Travancore Ltd

  72

(FACT), Indian Rare Earth Ltd, Hindustan Insecticides Ltd, Binani Zinc Ltd,

Merchem Ltd and Indian aluminum Company Ltd. The industrialization

process in Eloor led to severe land, air and water pollution in the area. Many

factories belong to the category of worst polluting types like pesticides

manufacturing, fertilizers, raw materials etc (Purushan,2011).

Table 3.3.3.1: Details of Surveys conducted in Eloor-Edayar Industrial Area during 1999-2011

Sl No.

Agency Year

1 Green Peace 1999, 2003

2 Periyar Malinnekarana Virudha Samithi 2000

3 Department of Toxicology, Government Veterinary College, Mannuthy

2001

4 Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on hazardous waste

2004-06

5 Thanal 2005

6 Department of Chemical Oceanography, Cochin University of Science and Technology

2005-06

7 Department of Health, Government of Kerala 2008

8 Department of Forest and environment, Government of India

2009-10

9 Advocates Commission, High Court of Kerala 2010-11

Source: Periyar Malinnekarana Virudha Samithi, 2012

The results of the surveys mentioned in the above table indicate that

most of the families in the area are suffering from serious health problems

like cancer, congenital birth defects, bronchitis, asthma, allergic dermatitis

and stomach ulcers. This means that most of the earnings are being spent on

  73

medical expenses. The food samples collected from this area have showed

dangerous levels of contamination higher than what has been prescribed by

FAO, heavy zinc contamination has been found in coconut and DDT in

bananas. The Chicken eggs tested from Eloor were contaminated with

dioxins, Endosulfan and DDE. The riverbed in the region seems to be

completely covered by heavy metal deposits from the polluted wastewater.

The fish catch in the river has gone down drastically from 7kg to 300 gms.

Out of 35 species of fish, only 12 could be found now. Ambient air quality

test have shown the presence of known carcinogens like carbon disulfide,

benzene, chloroform, carbon tetra chloride and Hex Chloro butadiene

(Diwedi, 2011.,pp.29-38.).

The associations like Periyar Malinnekarana Virudha Samithi, People’s

Council for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Green Peace etc are the important

organizations involved in this issue. The Supreme Court of India has played

an active role in this issue. Firstly, in 1997, it appointed a High Power

Committee with Prof M. G. K Menon as its Chairman to examine all matters

in depth relating to hazardous waste and violation of environmental laws.

Secondly, it constituted a monitoring committee to oversee that the directions

issued by the apex court are implemented without laxity or delay. This

committee was also empowered to co-opt or constitute any authority, as

committee may deem fit and proper to make its task easy. The Supreme

Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous waste, in this connection has

directed the Pollution Control Board in Kerala to constitute a Local Area

Environmental Committee (LAEC) for Eloor–Edyar Industrial Belt. The

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environmental assessment report prepared by the LAEC shows the deplorable

conditions of the region and it demands immediate action (Ibid).

3.3.4 River Pollution in Kathikudam

Kathikudam is a village in Kadukutty Panchayath in Thrissur district in

Kerala. This village is located on the banks of river Chalakkudy, the fifth

largest river in Kerala famous for fish diversity. Experts have indentified

more than 100 fish species from this river. Chalakkudy river basin is the only

home to Kadar, a primitive hunter-gatherer tribal group in Kerala. The

National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow has recommended to

declare the upper stream of Chalakkudy river as a fish sanctuary. The

establishment of Nitta Gelatin India Ltd (NGIL) in 1975 became a turning

point in the history of this small village. When the production started in 1979,

the people of Kathikudam realized the consequences of unplanned and

unregulated industrialization. On the one side, it extracted large quantity of

water from Chalakkudy River without any permission from any relevant and

authentic government agency. On the other side, it carelessly discharged the

industrial waste into the same river without proper treatment. The leaching of

wastewater, acid and heavy metals from the solid waste has contaminated the

soil and ground water of the village. The air pollution and discharge of of

toxic gas emissions from the factory has lead to several diseases in the village

like breathlessness, suffocation, dizziness , nausea, asthma and lung infection.

The environmental damage has lead to the contamination of water for

drinking and domestic use, irrigation, fishing etc in the village. The people of

the village feel sad about the damage caused to the river. The farmers of the

area are afraid of to carry on cultivation and farming due to toxicity in the soil

  75

and quite a few of them have stopped farming. Due to soil toxicity, the paddy

fields have become barren and walking in the fields gives rise to itching and

other skin diseases. On the social side, the local people are facing social

ostracism in the sense that people from other communities resist visiting their

relatives in Kathikudam because of the poor quality of environment. There is

a growing tendency to avoid marriage from this village. There are claims that

the case of unmarried youth and long wait for marriage are increasing

(Solidarity,2012).

The agitations against factory, which had started during 1980s, did not

produce any positive results due to the pressure and inducement from the

management. In 2003, the Malinnekarana Virudha Samithi in Kathikudam

came forward to convene a meeting at Kathikudam Upper Primary School.

Organizations like KSSP, Chalakkudy Puzha Samrakshana Samithi, and

functionaries of local self-government institutions attended the meeting. This

meeting provided the victims an opportunity to share their bitter experiences

with a group of environmental activist. The KSSP and Jananeethi have done

commendable work in preparing scientific reports on this issue.

In 2008, the agitators formed an action council and decided to intensify

the struggle against the company. The action council made it clear that they

wanted the industry shut down permanently. Realizing the fact that no

political party has a genuine interest in resolving the problem, the Action

Council took a historic decision to participate in the Panchayath elections held

in 2010. One of its candidates turned elected from the ward where NGIL is

located. This shows the community support of the movement (Ibid).

  76

3.3.5 Role of Non-Governmental Organizations

According to one estimate, there are 57 non-governmental

organizations in Kerala with a focus on environmental subjects. They include

Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishath(KSSP), Mithranikethan, Friends of Trees,

Bio-Watch, Kerala Gandhi Smaraka Nidhi, Kottayam Social Service Society,

Jananeethi, Society for the Protection of Environment- Kerala(SPEK), One

Earth-One Life and Society for Environment Education Kerala (SEEK). The

members of KSSP like, A. Achuthan and M.K Prasad had a very active role in

the Chaliyar movement. KSSP had conducted large number of scientific

studies in connection with various environment related issues in Kerala.. It

extended support from KSSP. It was the campaign conducted by KSSP and

SEEK which mobilized public opinion against the Silent Valley project.

Similarly, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) was instrumental in

giving scientific information to anti coca cola movement in Plachimada.

Thanal is one of the main NGOs, which shaped the history of anti Endosulfan

agitation (Nirmala,2010).

The environmental movements have become a common phenomenon

in and around the industrial areas in Kerala. Since the agitations against the

industrial pollution caused by Grasim Industries at Mavoor present one of the

case studies for an analysis of cross-movement pollination of blue and green

movements in Kerala, the next chapter would present a brief review on

Chaliyar movement.

  77

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