Abstract:

The preservation of “untouched” tropical and semi-tropical deciduous forest in India is crucial; there is a huge conflict of interest, on the local, national and global level for space. Of key importance in this conflict is the issue of indigenous peoples and their rights; for example, the Narmada Valley Dam Project that gave rise to the revolutionary Narmada bachao andolan.

Edward Said defines orientalism as “an idea that has a history and a tradition of thought, imagery and vocabulary that has given it a reality and presence for the West [. . .] the relationship between Occident and Orient is a relationship of power, of domination, of various degrees of hegemony.”

The post-colonial viewpoint of Said on orientalism does not imply that it is simply a collection of lies and myths about the orient, and that by simply identifying these cultural myths, one can destroy the division of the world into “East” and “West.” The political and cultural hegemony, with the passive consent (and hence consensus) of the masses, has created and disseminated a particular image of the East.

Present ecological imperialism in India is directly connected to the simultaneously occurring processes of economic imperialism, which is a continuation of historical colonial profiteering; however, the issue is more complex than the “West” manipulating the “East.” Urban society in India is as prone to misrepresentation of indigenous people as are people in more technologically advanced countries. These consciously created gaps in our understanding of the rural “third world” realities is the principal driving force of the continuing degradation of prime ecological land.