Myths and Narratives

Predicament of the present is all about failure of the dominant narratives of our times. Haven't inflated rhetoric of industrial agriculture, depicted as scientific and cutting-edge, been one such 'dominant narrative' that has been hard to criticize? Though the 'narrative' has been positioned around 'feed the world' logic, hunger and malnutrition has only continued to grow as a global problem. Without doubt, it may have served some purpose in feeding the teeming millions but not without destroying the 'alternative narratives' of organic or natural agriculture.

Narratives of industrial agriculture presume human control over and entitlements to the earth’s resources which must change if human societies have to survive and sustain future generations. A Whitney Sanford, a professor of religion at the University of Florida, presents the alternative narrative through the story of Balaram and the Yamuna river. Balaram has an interesting, if not paradoxical, relationship with the Yamuna river. While his forcible diversion of the river demonstrates his power over her, his moral duty to worship the river goddess reflects other aspect of their relationship. Balaram’s multiple obligations to the earth, his family and his subjects has been positioned as a ‘alternate narrative’ through which Sanford asks one of the central questions of this book: how can we balance the human need for agricultural production with the needs of the broader biotic community?

Using the moral tenants of the tale as commentary on contemporary society, Sanford emphasises the need for ‘alternate narrative’ that will help infuse responsible stewardship in agriculture. The trouble with ‘dominant narratives’ is that these are not only hegemonic but also, by virtue of being entrenched in dominant institutional spaces, do not allow alternative narratives to flourish. Myths and stories can dispel such narratives by providing the space through which ecological imagination in search of viable solutions can be expanded.

Insightful and scholarly at the same time, Sanford not only bridges cultural differences in agriculture but also shows how those differences hold the key to future sustainability. It is an important book that calls for paradigm shift in our current understanding on agriculture....Link

Growing Stories from India
by A Whitney Sanford
The University Press of Kentucky, USA
269 pages, US$ 40

Watch who is into the act!

Did you notice that we have plenty of it and yet it keeps coming! Since our attitude towards it is more benign, the television and the internet keeps on serving it endlessly. Without doubt, bullshit has become an essential component of modern culture. Bullshit, according to moral philosopher Harry Frankfurt, is defined as non-sense or some foolish exaggerated talk. Play your memory back by couple of hours or if possible by a few days and you realize how much of it you have voluntarily savored in recent times. 

In the absence of it being clearly defined, we tend to take it for granted although many among us will vouch that 'they have been able to recognize bullshit'. In reality, however, much before its existence gets realized it is already upon us. With philosophical acuity, Frankfurt argues that 'we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves'. 

From outrageous political debates to dubious cine awards, bullshit is relentlessly served through the day. If this isn't enough, the media-market nexus almost always chooses a glib ignoramus over an expert to further the concept of bullshit. These bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. By virtue of serving bullshit 24x7,  some of the newspapers and television channels could be respectfully re-named Bullshit Times and Bullshit TV in that order. 

The contemporary proliferation of bullshit may have deeper sources, which not only restrict any reliable access to an objective reality but do reject the possibility of knowing how things truly are. Though most people pretend confidence in their ability to recognize bullshit, they lack collective courage to unmask the bullshitters. No wonder, bullshitters are gaining increased social recognition as a species. Unless, bullshit is put to sustained inquiry it is bound to grow in a society that cares less-and-less about more-and-more. 

Entertaining and outrageous at the same time, this powerful small book makes a big bold statement: bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are....Link    


On Bullshit 
by Harry G. Frankfurt 
Princeton University Press, Oxford 
63 pages, US$ 9.95.

Contentious Flow

How often has it been said that South Asia is the world’s water scarce region that has continued to squabble over its aquifers and rivers? How frequently have intra-state, inter-state and cross-border contentions been projected as new battleground in the region? And, yet none of the wars thus far in the region has ever been around ‘water’? The crucial question worth exploring from diverse perspectives is: does scarcity lead to conflict or encourages cooperation? While the Indus Treaty has withstood four wars, the Ganges Treaty has remained contentious despite any war being fought over it. But it cannot be said with any certainty that the region will show resilience should the countries fail to resolve their water conflicts.

All said, it will be fair to conclude that this region cannot escape the fact that it is part of the world devoid of any working institutions that can coordinate and integrate choices and that can collectively confront predicaments faced by states and governments – institutions able to sustain any degree of trust between neighboring states. In fact, in their absence, the sub-continent has remained vulnerable to the tyranny of geography.

No wonder, across borders there are joint river commissions to squabble over while provisions of the inter-state dispute redressal mechanism are enough to enrage states over their disputed share of river flows. Inventing new institutional mechanisms that can address the contentions from a regional perspective have been thwarted by the prevailing hydrocracy in the region. Under such a situation, would it not be prudent to draw river basin maps along linguistic lines to trigger a people-to-people engagement on the subject?

Given his background, Brahma Chellaney has viewed the potential water crises from a ‘battleground perspective’ whereas it is the paradox of common cultural lineage amidst mutual political mistrust that needs attention..

Water: Asia’s New Battleground
by Brahma Chellaney
Harper Collins, New Delhi
386 pages, Rs 699

Destructive growth

While growth and pollution swim in unholy alliance along all major rivers in the global south, consumerism triggered climate change is a way of life in the global north. Both are an act of delayed destruction dispersed across time and space that rarely get viewed as some form of ‘violence’ against nature. Violence, argues Rob Nixon, is highly visible act that is newsworthy because it is event focused, time bound and body bound. What often goes unobserved, undiagnosed and therefore untreated is the worst manifestation of violence. Yet, it does not get acknowledged at any level because our cultural moment is in thrall to speed and spectacle, which has the effect of distorting our perception of what counts as violence.

‘My central concern was to find a new way of drawing attention to the long dyings - the staggered and staggeringly discounted casualties, both human and ecological - that are underrepresented in strategic planning and official memory’, says Dixon.Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor is an innovative and passionate attempt at defining ‘violence’ that is subtle but part of our daily existence. It's a type of violence that is often bloodless and by the time the casualties are incurred, the original fatal actions have sunk into what is often called ‘the lagoon of oblivion.’ In the age of regulatory oversight, the perpetrators of ‘slow violence’ conveniently build forgetfulness into their economic strategy.

Be the dam builders or highway contractors, they invariably know that they won't have to pay. The book aims to help activists put their finger on such violators with the 'language' that can strengthen the widespread struggles against slow violence, struggles that ideally are preemptive but too often are ex post facto. Certainly, one of the most pressing challenges of our age is how to adjust rapidly eroding attention spans to the slow erosions of environmental justice among communities that have the least access to media power.

Written in inspiring prose, the book bridges the fields of eco-criticism and postcolonial studies. Without doubt, 'slow violence' is a phrase that is here to stay and for rightful reasons!....Link

Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor
by Rob Nixon
Harvard University Press, Massachusetts
353 pages, US$ 40