New Delhi, October 17: Mahatama Gandhi’s philosophy of simplicity and equality is extremely relevant in the present context of the dangerous impact of global warming, noted climate change expert R K Pachauri has said.
Ahead of the Copenhagen meet on climate change in December, he said, “It is an opportune moment for world leaders to be guided by Gandhiji’s writings and thoughts for achieving a lasting solution at Conference of Parties 15.”
The Energy Research Institute (TERI) which is headed by Pachauri has brought out with a series of publications on “Mahatma Gandhi and the Environment: Analysing Gandhian environmental thought” focussing on the creative synthesis between rural development under a local government and industrial development at a macro-level.
The first publication of the series was presented to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently, a statement said here.
The chairman of United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which won the Nobel peace prize in 2007, pointed out that Gandhi has influenced many by his philosophy of simplicity and equality.
In this reference, he noted that when asked recently with whom he would love to have dinner, US President Barack Obama had said “Gandhiji of course.” Obama is reported to have added that he knew that the meal — as well as the attire for the evening — would be “so simple,” Pachauri said.
Referring to Gandhiji’s simple lifestyle, Pachauri said “flawed models of development” encourages migration from rural areas to the cities.
Recalling Gandhiji’s prophetic words that “the earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs but not every man’s greed,” Pachauri deplored the belief that only one pattern of development was good.
“This tunnel vision has to go if we are to get on to the path of sustainable development,” he stressed.
Pachuari referred to the “subtle but often unstated views of Mahatma Gandhi in the field of human ecology,” and described the apostle of peace as “a profound environmentalist who rejected the idea of blindly following western industrialism without regard to its attendant environmental, social and economic problems.”
Gandhiji, said Pachauri, foresaw all this and recommended protecting earth’s environment and natural resources to safeguard the future of the human race and all species on this planet.
-Agencies