Jacob Hembrom SJ
Today 5 June is commemorated as the World Environment Day. On uttering the word ‘environment’ the picture that comes to our mind is about nature that is created by our Creator with its beauty and spledour. The utopian image gets imprinted in our memory where everything is perfect and fine. Yes, that is what it should be, but it is not so.
The father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi says that ‘earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not for every man’s greed’. Here is where we have gone wrong. We have exploited and destroyed the environment so much for our selfish needs. We have even reached to a stage where the ecosystem and the biodiversity are at stake. Climate change is what we have got as a result. Our national and international policies on environment are there to be implemented for the safeguard of the environment but they remain merely a paper work, seldom materialized.
Santhal Parganas in Jharkhand, India, was once adorned with varieties of flora and fauna, with the Rajmahal hill Range as its crown. Rivers and streams spoke of the beauty of the land. The Adivasis dwelling on their land knew how to nurture it because they were very much part of it. Trees, hills, sun, moon, stones etc were the representations of the Divine. The Adivasis of Chotanagpur teach us even more about how they protected the animals and other creatures by way of the ‘totemism’. Unfortunately, the vested interests of a handful of political leaders have destroyed the entire scenario of Jharkhand. We need development but not at the cost of the poor and the environment.
Mohith Agadi, an author and an entrepreneur says ‘environment is no one’s property to destroy; it is everyone’s responsibility to protect.’ Before it becomes too late let us awake from our deep slumber and take collective and concrete steps to care for the environment. Let us ‘think green and act green’.
