Hinduism and Ecology Conference Participants and Abstracts

of paper: Can Hindu Beliefs and Values Help India Meet its Ecological Crisis? India is facing a serious social and ecological crisis. The devastation of the natural resource base has increaed poverty and increasingly constitutes a serious threat to public health. The Hindu beliefs, values and practices, built on a 'utilitarian conservationism' rather than a 'protectionist conservationsism,' can play an important role in restoring a balance between environmental conservation and economic growth. In a democratic society, unless the public demands such a balance, it is unlikely that its elected leaders will try to develop such a balance. But there are constraints that civil society faces in using religion to promote causes and concerns in a secular society. Kelly Alley is Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at Auburn University. She has spent over seven years studying how various cultural and occupational groups in the Ganga (Ganges) River basin interpret the intersections of wastewater and the river Ganga. She has published articles in Ethnology, Modern Asian Studies, City and Society, and Urban Anthropology, among others, and chapters in edited volumes. She has just completed a book titled On the Banks of the Ganga: Wastescapes and Ideologies of Transformation. Abstract of paper: Separate Domains: Hinduism, Politics and Environmental Pollutionof paper: Separate Domains: Hinduism, Politics and Environmental Pollution Because religion and politics are areas of dynamic interchange in India, social scientists have neglected to examine areas of conflict and debate in which religion and politics are deliberately held apart. This paper asks: why do Hindu religious leaders avoid connecting their spiritual or organizational agendas to the ideology of combating river pollution? I present a case from the colonial period in which Indian nationalists and Hindu religious leaders agitated to prevent government exploitation of the river Ganga. This is contrasted with recent discussions with religious leaders and members of religious organizations to explain why Hindus today are not publicizing the problem of environmental pollution, and in particular, river pollution. Frederique Apffel-Marglin is professor of anthropology at Smith College. She has written two books and co-edited five more books. A MacArthur grant has enabled her to direct a project called "Centers for Mutual Learning." It is in the context of this project that she began collaboration with the native Andean grassroots organization PRATEC. A first book co-edited with PRATEC will appear soon entitled The Spirit of Regeneration: Andean Culture Confronting Western Notions of Development (London: Zed Books). Abstract of paper by Frederique Apffel-Marglin and Pramod Parajuli: Sacred Plants andof paper by Frederique Apffel-Marglin and Pramod Parajuli: Sacred Plants and Forests: Lessons from the Ramayana The events of the Ramayana spanned the major ecosystems of India, which will be summarized in this presentation. The Ramayana mentions by name a large variety of plants (over 200 species), although the scientific identities of some are controversial. The plants are primarily (1) limited to the central and northern portions of the subcontinent; (2) important for medicinal and economic uses; (3) important as sacred plants today, and mentioned in other sacred texts. These descriptions of plants and forests tell us much about classical attitudes toward nature, and the Ramayana still may influence these attitudes in India and other areas of tropical Asia.