Talk by Dr. Vandana Shiva

Dr. Vandana Shiva noted environmentalist, ecofeminist and one of the pioneers of the Chipko movement addressed the students and the faculty of the college on April 24, 2024.
She talked about Amrita Devi Bishnoi who had led the first Chipko Movement in Rajasthan more than 200 years ago and how more than 300 people of Jodhpur lost their lives in their bid to save trees before the Maharaja of Jodhpur relented and ordered his army to stop the massacre. She stated how nature is life and also highlighted the miracles of the bounties of nature. She believes that the human race in order to progress is destroying nature at a very fast pace thus going steadily towards its ruin. She talked about the implications of GMO crops and how that has destroyed the livelihoods of hundreds of farmers. She talked about the dangerous implications of industrial involvement with agriculture. She mentioned how Green Revolution led to a pervading monoculture in India leading to the abandonment of native varieties of crops. She talked about further industrial intervention and the prevalence of fake milk which many consume unknowingly. She mentioned Navdanya movement which she started for n of Biodiversity Conservation and promotion of Organic Farming and Fair Trade. She said that one needs to stand up against the exploitation of nature and more and more people are doing that and ended with the phrase ‘’They Tried to Bury Us, They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds”.
The session ended with an enriching interactive session.