Caste And Nature: Dalit and Environmental politics

This chapter attempts to broaden the definitions of environmental thought by viewing eco casteism from a Dalit lens. It conceptualizes environmental thought as ideas and actions encompassing the relationship between humans and  nature, including the social norms that govern this relationship.

It contrasts the Sulabh model, deployed by Neo-Hindus which leans towards the idea that nature has naturally and intrinsically linked Dalits to labor. It questions laws of nature being guiding principles of society, and the sanctity of a supposedly given ecosystem and provides insights into the Dalit ideas of ecology through issues of labor, space, past, memory, sacrifice, bondage and differential access to nature's resources. It delves into ideas that the relationship between nature and the Dalits is cultivated, intimate and ancient.

To understand the unique Dalit ecological insights, the author has used a wide range and rich collection of poems, songs, and stories composed by dalits, and a collective Dalit milieu of gods , goddesses, animals,and food that reveals meaningful attachments to nature and outdoors and also bring forth new dimensions of dalit environmentalisms. It  explores some examples of Dalit folklore in different regions of India that unveils their relationship with the natural world. It also explores the environmental underpinnings in the writings of some anti caste intellectuals in colonial India like Jotiba Phule and Periyar. The momentous documentation and compilation of dalit poems, memoirs and essays particularly from the 1990s, which provide us with rich textures of dalit connections to land, agriculture , water and forest. A pioneer in studying Indian folklore, Komal Kothari underscores how musical and performance traditions (puppetry, teratali, folk songs, and stories) of low castes were embedded in land, water, agriculture, irrigation and livestocks. Dalit folklore is filled with tales of their relationship with the environment. Dalit artists of the famous Mithila paintings often draw their experiences from nature. Dusadh women's initial godana (tattoo) paintings were mainly composed of flowers, fields, animals and figures. Dalit dependency on natural resources is visible everywhere and their livelihood depends on their labor. Dalit labor reverberates with songs on respecting and preserving nature, the importance of rotation of crops, and invocations of animals, plants, crops, and rivers. Kuttupan’s collection of songs provides an invaluable oral history of Dalits environmental perceptions, place of nature in their history and thoughts. These songs reveal enduring environmental themes such as earth, ecological beauty and wonder in nature and social order.