Citizens rekindle ancient green ideas

The ancient Indian concept of holistic and integrated approach towards protecting the Environment was stressed on by the Congress national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi here on Sunday.

Addressing a two day seminar on ‘Environment, Development and Human Rights’  he expressed concerns over the conflict between rapid development and degradation in environment. The seminar, organised by the University School of Law and Legal Studies of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, was inaugurated on Sunday.

“Ancient Indian concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ should be adopted by everyone as it reflects a holistic and integrated approach towards protecting the environment,” said Singhvi.

This concept is an integral part of Hindu philosophy where the entire earth and the environment should be considered as a single entity and should be taken care by all, he added.

(Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a sanskrit phrase that means that the whole world is one single family. ‘Vasudha’ means the earth; ‘iva’ means as a, and ‘kutumbakam’ means family.)

“There should be an eco-centric approach while dealing with environmental issues. There were suggestions for treating environment at par with national security, as defense of natural resources is as important as national defense. Modern technology owes ecology an apology,” he said, while stressing upon the need to follow the path of sustainable development.

Legal luminaries and academicians also expressed their concerns over the increasing degradation of the environment and called for creating awareness among people for ensuring the right implementation of existing laws for the protection of environment.