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This book unveils the myriad streams of ecocentric thoughts that have been flowing through the human mind - in indigenous communities, in the wisdom of philosophers, in the creative expressions of poets and writers - sometimes latent, but sometimes more explicit.

David Herbert Lawrence is famous for telling us to trust the tale, not the artist. When we read the notoriously varied and vital Lawrence, there are many places where he seems to over reach, if not to outright contradict himself. This essay focuses on much of the complexity and ambiguity of Lawrence's thought and its constantly evolving and even self-contradictory nature. Lawrence understands civilization with his utmost creativity and originality – finding the sun and relating it to the sexual vitality of the man – develops over the various travels. And in this essay, I focus on how this creative development is reflected in the travel writings. The more he travels, the more he discovers the subjugation of the self and the subsequent mechanization of it. The creative struggle to overcome this impotence informs Lawrence's travel literature. His four travel books, namely Twilight in Italy (originally published in 1916), Sea and Sardinia (originally published in 1921), Mornings in Mexico (originally published 1927), and Sketches of Etruscan Places and Other Italian Essays (originally published 1932) are reflective of different stages in Lawrence's journey to understand how human beings relate to the world they are integrally part of. Lawrence uses his travel to transcend his own nationality too. Lawrence goes on to assert that he belongs to no country. Surely this relates ironically to his belief in the "spirit of place". The essay deeply focuses on his continued movement from place to place with deep consideration of this complex belief.

The subaltern turn in historiography has changed the way we read history/histories. The omissions and silence(s) that happen at the stage of 'fact creation' provide us with a way of looking into how events become facts. Taking cues from the sociological and historical understanding of silencing, this article examines the process through which Muslim voices have been silenced in the historiography of Jharkhand's statehood movement (the Jharkhand Andolan). While going through the mainstream accounts on this subject, what I encountered was a significant lack of discussion about the Muslim presence in the movement. This lack becomes visible in contrast to the accounts in the vernacular newspapers that recount how Muslims have been an integral part of the statehood struggle. Through personal interviews of Muslim Andolankaris (freedom fighters) conducted during my fieldwork along with the documents collected from their personal archives, I show how the subduing of Muslim voices was enabled by Jharkhand's political parties and carried over to the common narration of the movement's formation and history.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1 Scope and relevance of environmental studies -- 2 Ecosystems and their structure and functions -- 3 Environmental pollution -- 4 Threats to and conservation of biological diversity -- 5 Renewable and non-renewable resources -- 6 Environmental policies, practices, and legislation -- 7 Global environmental issues -- 8 Human communities and the environment -- Index.

Introduction to environmental studies -- Ecosystems -- Natural resources: renewable and non-renewable resources -- Biodiversity: threats and conservation -- Environmental pollution -- Environmental policies, practices and global issues -- Human communities and the environment -- Field work in environmental studies.

Papers presented at a national seminar

This article is an ethnographic examination of the participation of Gaddis of Himachal Pradesh in state politics. Traditionally, they followed pastoral nomadism, but now the trend has changed. Gaddis today prefer government and private sector jobs. However, Gaddis were also trying to make a career in politics. Many had registered their names in state politics with their enthusiastic involvement. After Independence, only the Gaddis from the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh were notified as Scheduled Tribes. But with their active involvement in politics, in 2002, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders from Dharamshala and Baijnath appealed for scheduled caste status to the rest of the Gaddis living in Himachal Pradesh who were classified under other backward classes. All the Gaddis from different areas were re-notified as Scheduled Tribes and given rights with regard to aid, education and jobs in January 2003. They had been facing discrimination among other communities due to their occupation and lifestyle but with the passage of time, Gaddis tried to maintain their identity among other communities by actively participating in politics and showing their presence to others. The aim of the study was to explore how the Gaddis were ensuring their political identity through their support of cultural identities and relation within and outside their tribe.