Going by our Intelligence Bureau (IB) and some of the voices in the government, anyone asking for the protection of the country’s forests, its rivers or its coasts is anti-national and destroying the country’s economy. I have spent the better part of my life working to save India’s natural wealth from the assault of development (largely in vain it often seems). I told successive governments that the hundreds of big dams planned in the Himalayas are not only ecologically destructive, but also make little economic sense, given that climate change is going to drastically affect the water flow. I have fought against highways and tourism projects inside protected areas, asking that these few remnants of wildlife be left alone. And I have campaigned for the protection of the few tigers we have left today from the onslaught of development in their remaining habitats. I guess, according to the IB, that makes me part of the anti-national brigade. So be it. We are in good company. Baba Amte, Padma Shri and Magsaysay award winner, would be anti-national too — he vociferously fought for the rights of Madia Gond tribals threatened by the Bhopalpatnam and Inchampalli dams planned for the Indravati River. Sunderlal Bahuguna, Padma Vibhushan awardee, who has been opposing the clear felling of the forests and the construction of dams in the Himalayas for decades, is another one of those anti-nationals.

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