Review

Abstract

The seriousness of the environmental degradation in India has been well known yet there has been a dearth of readily accessible information on this vital and pressing problem. A few attempts in the past have not gone beyond the specialist and by their nature are undesirably fragmented. Lately there has been increasing interest in trying to assess the situation in the newspapers (like Indian Express) and magazines (like India Today). In consonance with the increased interest in this subject, the recent publication of “The State of India's Environment, 1982—A Citizen's Report,” edited by Anil Agarwal, Ravi Chopra and Kalpana Sharma, is a notable event. In times such as these, when reactionary and authoritarian trends seem to be gaining the upper hand, when optimism is a difficult virtue, the book has come to this reviewer as a whiff of fresh air. A range of voluntary agencies and individuals, free from governmental or institutional interference or control, interested in environmental issues have come together on a scale never seen before and have contributed their efforts towards making this report a reality “within a span of 6 months and without a rupee to start with.” Financing of this venture has been by advance sales of the report and voluntary contributions; grants from government or institutions were neither sought nor used.