New Delhi, June 3 (MExN): The Naga Scholars Association (NSA) held a special talk on ‘At nature’s Edge: History, Ecology and the Asian Century’ on June 1 at School of International Studies (SIS), JNU, New Delhi. The special talk was given by Prof Mahesh Rangarajan and chaired by Prof Rajat Datta.
Dr Mahesh Rangarajan argued that “we need to take into an account the epochal changes where melting of glaciers indicate that the dramatic climate changes are taking place which will affect our environment in the long term.”
He focused on the issue of extinction of species citing how dolphins are disappearing in China and both in India and China the common sparrows are disappearing. Pointing out that with the coming of the 20th century the rate of extinction of species had increased manifold.
The rapid extinction was due to enhanced human activity and competition among nation states to outdo each other economically, he said. This should alert us, he said, to the magnitude of the environment crisis facing Asia and the world today.
The speaker used the concept of consequences of consequences to describe the environmental disasters overtaking us. He pointed out that war and conflicts in the 20th century impacted environment in a deadly manner citing the use of ‘agent orange’ in Vietnam used to attack combatants in conflicts polluted the water and soil systems of Vietnam. The nuclear bombs in Nagasaki had their effects of course on the human beings and at the same time had a debilitating impact on the environment in Japan and as well as on the rest of the world.
Dr Rangarajan highlighted the importance of peace and justice for preserving the ecology and environment in the 21st century. The session ended with concluding remarks from the chairperson Prof Rajat Datta. Earlier, Dr Zuchamo Yanthan, President of NSA welcomed and introduced the speaker and the chair, vote of thanks pronounced by Dr Lungthuiyang Riamei, General Secretary of NSA. The rapporteur was Dr Ngoru Nixon. This was stated in a press release from NSA.
Meanwhile, the NSA on the same day met at the Governor of Nagaland PB Acharay for an interactive session at Nagaland House.
