Dr. Pankaj Sekhsaria has been a journalist (see TheHindu articles) for many years in the domain of ecology and environmental advocacy (through NGO Kalpavriksh). Recently he has also been researching and writing about how science, technology and society operates in India. Currently he is an Assistant Professor at Center for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas at IIT Powai, Mumbai.
At SoS we wanted to invite Pankaj for two things 1) to speak on the topics of his PhD- how STS (Society, Technology and Sciences) work in India and 2) About the ecological story and challenges faced in Andaman and Nicobar islands. Due to shortage of time and also the pressing needs of the time, the latter was chosen for this session.
Guest talk
I would not be able to paraphrase everything here, but only those that i took notes about and which stuck me. This was a presentation. The point-wise noting here (sorry its dry and no where compares to the engaging and lively 1.5h talk):
- In the first few slides Pankaj introduced why and where A&N islands lie, what constitutes this place, the ecology and human populations there. Striking is the ecological diversity within the island chains as well as the ecological uniqueness because of being remote islands.
- Next mainland india’s political and strategic interests that treat the islands as a ‘real estate’ and its native population as an ‘infestation’. This part, which Pankaj emphasized through the showing of what language the mainstream commentators/politicians/governments use while describing the A&N islands, is actually very tragic. How language can already bias a knowledge piece being transmitted was very evident through these examples.
- The ecological impact of various flora and fauna due to the mainland India’s mainstream interests of tourism, real-estate, etc was elaborated.
- Also the impact of tsumani and the very high possibility of such natural calamities occurring again and again and this region is right at the ‘ring of fire’ – the clashing of two tecktonic plates. There’s also a live volcano – Barren Islands on the A&N islands chain.
- And in the last slides a very interesting concept indicating technology classification as polytechnic and monotechnic by Lewis Mumford way back in the 1930s was shown.
- Polytechnic is one that classifies technology of types that cater to solving multitude of human problems and is life-oriented instead of work centered (work for the sake of work) and power centered (for more concentration of power).
- Monotechnic – “Monotechnic, which is technology only for its own sake, which oppresses humanity as it moves along its own trajectory; based on scientific intelligence, quantified production, directed towards economic expansion, military superiority (eg. Automobile)
- And another classification:
- Technology of hubris – which basically is technology to create consistent demands, and then address them technologically – a cycle of technology for the sake of technology. This being the center-point, opresses human beings, small communities, and of course nature.
- Technology of humility – which acknowledge the complexity and smallness of human knowledge and hence gives way to humility- does not intend to overpower/control the human-animal-nature biosphere, which is the intent of the ‘technology of hubris’.
- And then the final conclusion – which explains the tri-junction of the following aspects A) The vast flora and fauna and the ecological live museum that exists there B) The high propensity for earthquakes and tsunamis C) and the existence of a very much thriving but at the same time very vulnerable communities of native inhabitants that have co-existed within the ecology for thousands of years – what kind of situation arises especially when either of the three are threatened? When profit and exploitation driven interventions are carried out, we might as well expect many things to collapse and be gone forever.
There were some student questions thereafter. Unfortunately i am not able to remember much. What lasts with me is that such a tri-junction could be true for any place and that defines the precipice of that place. With the possibility of large movement of resources and technology, the tri-junction’s considerations no longer find any relevance to the global forces and thus we don’t even realize the consistent damage we carry out every day, through every action of our lives.
Student questions
- MJ
- Why is there very little awareness about the condition of A&N islands?
- What will the consequences of urbanization of the islands be to the economy of India?
- How can the government prevent further extinction/destruction of the A&N islands?
- How can different technologies help preserve the islands rather than destroying them?
- How should the government maintain the balance between preservation and tourism of the A&N islands?
- SD
- What would be important and helpful ‘science’ for A&N islands?
- The kind of ecological diversity that the islands host. do they have a chance to evolve to survive the climate change?
- Would one imagine for science to have a language bias?
- Can science be equipped for resistance?
- What are the SDGs for islands around the world?
- KG
- Since tourism affects the ecology of a place to sych a large extent, how should researchers conduct their study for the development of that area alternatively?
- What can be done to develop the tribes and communities in the A&N islands? (A: Why ‘develop’ them, who are we to do so to them? Have we thought about this thing enough?)
- Had the Andaman trunk road not been built, how would the tribals connect to the mainland India?
- What can be done to protect communities from the constant natural disasters such as weekly earthquakes?