topics: |  india | history | ecology

Ecologist Madhav Gadgil and historian Ramachandra Guha offer fresh
perspectives both on the ecological history of India and on theoretical
issues of interest to environmental historians regardless of geographical
specialization.Juxtaposing data from India with the ecological literature on
lifestyles as diverse as those of modern Americans and Amazonian Indians, the
authors analyze the social conflicts that have emerged over environmental
exploitation and explore the impact of changing patterns of resource use on
human societies. They present a socio-ecological analysis of the modes of
resource use introduced to India by the British, and explore popular
resistance to state environmental policies in both the colonial and
post-colonial periods.