Reframing the Environment in Neoliberal India: Introduction to the Theme

Contemporary discussions on environment emphasise the use and abuse of the environment in multiple ways and means. The collective mobilisations around environmental alteration, degradation and destruction signal the crises in the material bases of life based at the intersections of caste, class and gender. This process, it is argued, has begun on an unprecedented scale since the neoliberal turn in India. There is an emerging and significant process of appropriation of land and natural resources to help the ‘growth’ story. Marginalised groups and local communities are being sidelined from access and control of resources, whether it is land, water, forest or urban commons. There are increasing instances of land appropriation for the so-called ‘environmental’ ends. However, it involves new forms of valuation, commodification and markets for different aspects of nature being built across a range of actors and alliances, such as venture capitalists, traders and consultants, ecotourism companies, green activists and consumers who seem to have common interests. Hence, the attempt would be to unravel the underlying power relations that are hidden in the present discourse of ecological sustainability