The Unfinished March

Western Ghats Calling - 6

(A 3-month long padyatra involving over 1,000 social activists and researchers to Save Western Ghats had culminated at Goa on Feb 3, 1988. As the ethos of the padyatra get revived 21 years later, yet again at Goa from Feb 8-10, 2009, it is time to look back and reflect upon the past. One of the better known padyatri Mr B J Krishnan, an accomplished lawyer and man behind Save Nilgiris Campaign, reminiscences on the past. Interestingly, Krishnan would be at the upcoming national meeting to Save Western Ghats on Feb 8-10, 2009 in Goa to hand over the baton of responsibility to the young generation. This is the 6th in the series of despatches leading to the historic event.)

by B J Krishnan

Elephants migrated along these fabled forests long before man made his appearance. Birds of every description flitted between lianas, creepers, ferns and tall trees in whose canopy, it is believed, tree squirrels could once have travelled over 1,000 km. without ever stepping down to the ground. The Western Ghats were once rich and productive. Dense vegetation then formed an evergreen canopy to protect the fragile soils of this most diverse and magical belt. The long wall of tree-clothed slopes acted as a screen to capture the rain heavy south-west monsoon winds that blew in from the sea to water this 160,000 sq. km. Eden.

Legend has it that the picturesque ghats were pulled from the oceans by Sage Parshuram, a reincranation of Lord Vishnu. However, the Ghats that form the catchment area for the complex peninsular Indian river system that drains almost 40 per cent of India has been under threat. An area of critical conservation importance today, much of its natural wealth has vanished and little attempt has been made to stem the rot, despite the fact that there is a high degree of biological endemism; species desperately in need of preservation.

When the padyatra was held two decades ago, the marchers had noticed that the principal sufferers of forest loss in the ghats have not been the animals but tribals and rural poor. Watercourses had become polluted. The water table had fallen. Firewood, once abundant, was impossibly scarce and mere living had involved conflict with forest staff. Not much may have changed for the better though. Conversely, it only has worsened.

The Save Western Ghats March (SWGM) was a milestone event in building awareness among a large section of the society on the unique nature of mountain ecosystem in general and that of the Western Ghats in particular. Until then, the environmental focus was only on the Himalayas. That the Western Ghats was the lifeline of the Deccan Plateau was neither comprehended, nor appreciated till then.

During the historic padyatra, the marchers had highlighted the ecological imperative of these mountains as source of water, biodiversity and hydel power. During the one hundred days march, the participants had sharply focused on these environmental imperatives in their public interaction and campaign. This, I consider, as one of the constructive outcome of the March.

At the subjective level, the two group of marchers – one marching in the north-south direction and the other marching on the south-north direction on the ghats, it was an ecological pilgrimage. Marching through the pristine woods, settlements of indigenous people, clear streams and degraded forests, it was both a lesson and experience on the complex web of life in the context of mountain ecosystem.

At the closing stages of the event, an activist from Karnataka had confessed: ` My life will not be the same again.' That summed up the mood, individual transformation being imperative for social change and action.

With over 500 voluntary organisations converging for the largest ever social congregation, it was a great moment in the history of environment movement in the country. People from different parts of the country and abroad representing different shades of opinion and outlook had come together voluntarily for the cause of conservation. It was a defining moment in the ecological history of India.

At the end of the march, we had all converged at Ponda in Goa for a two-day experience sharing exercise. Representing the Save Nilgiris Campaign I had identified three major concerns viz., a highly toxic electroplating industrial unit on the banks of river Moyar; extensive eucalyptus plantation on the sprawling grasslands; and the conversion of virgin forests into tea-plantation in the Janmam lands in Gudalur. It is with some satisfaction I report that two of the three major threats have cased to exist, though conversion of forest into monoculture plantation is an ongoing evil.

The efforts to convert `march' into a `movement' hadn't fructified. As I write this note twenty years later, I'm convinced that we need to build upon the dormant seeds of that momentous event. We cannot allow environmental complacency to set in. Not only have the challenges amplified, the demon has become more potent.

(B J Krishnan,an ardent follower of J Krishnamurti,lives in Ooty with his wife)