A set of presentations from contributors to the edited volume 'Climate Justice in India' currently in press with Cambridge University Press. There will be four speakers from across UK, USA, and India speaking for 10-15 mins each, followed by a (synchronous or pre-recorded) performance by artist-activist Jacinta Kerketta.
What’s it about?
It is statistically well-documented that access to environmental resources and impacts of the unfolding ecological crises are experienced in starkly unequal ways based on caste. The forthcoming edited volume Climate Justice in India (Cambridge University Press, 2021) provides qualitative insights into this phenomenon through policy analysis, genealogies, and ethnographic data. While caste has been often portrayed as specific to South Asia, this panel will highlight the global relevance of caste in the context of environmental justice. The presentations will summarize arguments presented in the forthcoming volume in an engaging and accessible format. The speakers will trace the historical roots of environmental injustice and connect the contemporary caste-based property regimes to the rise of empire. The presentations will cover themes such as land ownership, right to water and sanitation, and the political ecology of coal mining. The spoken-word performance will address the lived experiences of communities battling displacement caused by resource extraction.
Who’s leading the event?
Prakash Kashwan, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Connecticut (USA)
Srilata Sircar, Lecturer, King's India Institute (UK)
Vaishnavi Behl, Independent Researcher and Journalist, Mumbai (India)
Vasudha Chhotray, Associate Professor of International Development, University of East Anglia (UK)
Spoken-word performance by Oraon Adivasi (indigenous) activist poet Jacinta Kerketta.
Open to
Open to all young people and adult audiences interested in the themes of environmental and social justice.
Of particular interest to
The event can be of particular interest to young environmental activists based in the Global North who are trying to broaden their political understanding of environmental justice. It can also be of interest to students and scholars interested in deepening their knowledge of the historical roots of the climate crisis.
