Question Details

What was/were the difference(s) between the western environmental movements and Indian environmental movements?

Read the given passage and answer the following questions based on that.

Almost 40 years ago — a group of peasants in a remote Himalayan village stopped a group of loggers from felling a patch of trees. Thus was born the Chipko movement, and through it the modern Indian environmental movement itself. The first thing to remember about Chipko is that it was not unique. It was representative of a wide spectrum of natural resource conflicts in the 1970s and 1980s — conflicts over forests, fish, and pasture; conflicts about the siting of large dams; conflicts about the social and environmental impacts of unregulated mining. In all these cases, the pressures of urban and industrial development had denied local communities to access the resources necessary to their own livelihood.

In the West, the environmental movement had arisen chiefly due to the desire to protect endangered. In India, however, it arose out of human survival. This was an environmentalism of the poor, which married the concern of social justice on the one hand with ____________________ on the other. It argued that present patterns of resource use disadvantaged local communities and devastated the natural environment.

Back in the 1970s, when the state occupied the commanding heights of the economy, and India was close to the Soviet Union, the activists of Chipko and other such movements were dismissed by their critics as agents of Western imperialism. Slowly, however, the sheer persistence of these protests forced the state into making some concessions. In 1980, a Department of Environment was established at the Centre, becoming a full-fledged Ministry a few years later. New laws to control pollution and to protect natural forests were formed. There was even talk of restoring community systems of water and forest management. Meanwhile, journalists and scholars had begun more systematically studying the residue (I) of environmental degradation on social life across India. In 1991 the Indian economy started to liberalise. The dismantling of state controls was in part welcome, as it had stifled innovation and entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, the votaries of liberalisation mounted an even more savage attack on the environment than did the proponents of state socialism.

Options

A

Western movements intended to conserve the ecosystem while Indian movements were for people's livelihood

B

West was in favor of development with no concern over environment whereas India was strictly against it

C

The western protests were fake pretenses but the concerns of Indians were genuine.

D

Only (b) and (c)

Show Answer

Correct Answer :

Option A

Western movements intended to conserve the ecosystem while Indian movements were for people's livelihood

Solution :

The correct answer is Western movements intended to conserve the ecosystem while Indian movements were for people's livelihood.


Step-by-step Explanation:


1. Analyze the passage:
According to the given text, "In the West, the environmental movement had arisen chiefly due to the desire to protect endangered [species/ecosystems]. In India, however, it arose out of human survival. This was an environmentalism of the poor..."


2. Compare with options:
- The first option correctly highlights this fundamental distinction: Western movements focused on nature/ecosystem conservation, whereas Indian movements were deeply tied to social justice, human survival, and protecting local communities' livelihoods against industrial encroachment.
- The other options are either contradicted by the text or make unsubstantiated claims not supported by the passage.


Therefore, the correct choice is that Western movements intended to conserve the ecosystem while Indian movements were centered on people's livelihood.

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