The Bishnoi community people of Kankani village near Jodhpur in India revere all life. They know that their environment nurtures them and they in turn respect and protect their environment. This was highly publicised in October 1998 when the local people agitated and had a group of irresponsible film actors from Mumbai arrested for poaching and the senseless killing of several animals including endangered species of black buck and Chinkara deer.
What really transpired only God knows, but what was heartening was the local people arose in unison to protect and preserve their environment. In most places this sense of belonging is now mainly visible by its absence.
I travel extensively across my beautiful country spoilt by garbage, filth, the polluted air and stinking water bodies. Most people cover their nose and mouth and trudge along or merely drive past.
I despair not only for the desecration of our home and environment but at the total apathy of my people. Then I ask myself, 'my people?', who are these strangers? How come my people have become destroyers of their own land?
By nature people are neither fools, nor are they uncaring, then what causes them to become so indifferent to their impending self destruction?
Love gives rise to a sense of belonging and care. Such people need few laws and even fewer law enforcement people. They live by a code of honour and respect which has existed successfully for millennia. Societies living in harmony with their environment have thrived and those that have failed to do so are doomed to perish sooner or later.
Symbiosis of man and nature leads to both enrichment of the environment and its people. Skew the balance and the entire fabric comes apart.
However if people are shunned or made irrelevant they possess neither love nor belonging. But what is making people uncaring? The answer is big government and our current system of governance. The government is normally blamed and rightly so, for it is so disconnected from the needs, problems and possible solutions of its people. It has by way of legislation and bullying monopolised all powers, resources and means to deliver services to the people.
An officer or a department sitting far away manned by bureaucrats having no stake in the outcome of any situation can hardly be motivated to do what is appropriate. Bureaucrats and government exist only for their own self preservation.
The government consisting of politicians, bureaucrats, government officers and their select vendors can afford to show totally disdain simply because of the apathy of the people.
Apathy sets in when people do not have mechanisms for discussion, interaction, sharing of problems and possible solutions.
Be it medical facilities, education, garbage, crime, corruption, the only way forward is to force by political, judicial and civil activism the government to vacate all areas of activities except defence, monetary policy, fiscal policy, and policing. Leave it to the people to evolve non governmental policies and structures.
This is my land, these are my people and this is my world. Let us come together, start a dialogue implement plans and bequeath to our children a better world than what we inherited.
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# Black buck deer and Chinkara gazelle images from wikipedia
Bishnoi girl image from Flickr; http://www.flickr.com/photos/devriese/69629290/sizes/m/in/photostream/
