Monday 11 February 2013

GOING GREEN IN HYDERABAD



GOING GREEN IN HYDERABAD


This is not meant to be a comprehensive directory. In each field I have indicated a few important and starting organisations. Once you contact them, it will lead you to further contacts.

Try to locate a person/organisation close to your place in your area of interest. That way you can build a local group of your area of interest – be it kitchen garden or cycling!

Any event organised by any of the organisations may be communicated to other organisation with a request to give publicity. At the end of the directory I am giving all the email ids at one place so that it is conveniently available.

1. WATER HARVESTING

Water harvesting for:
  1. Recharging ground water: direct roof top water to a soak pit: design of soak pit
  2. Daily use: direct roof top water to a sump/ tank through appropriate filter; excess water to go to soak pit: design for sand filter, other filters
  3. Drinking water: direct roof top water to a tank through appropriate filter
Hyderabad Goes Green
This is a group of a few organisations (Andromeda and the Daily Dump) who provide a wide range of green products and services at commercial rates.

Sintex Rain Water Harvesting System for Drinking...

2.imimg.com/data2/OW/JU/.../rain-water-harvesting-system-mktg.pd...
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View

Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board
http://www.mppcb.nic.in/RWH.htm

http://www.rainwaterclub.org/

2. WASTE MANAGEMENT AND COMPOSTING

Separate waste into wet and dry at source; compost wet waste at household level. Organise colony level segregation/ composting.

Sukuki Exnora
Maj. Shiva Kiran
5566 7333
kiran@sukuki.com, www.sukuki.com

The Daily Dump

a. Abhinav Gangumalla
Hyderabad Goes Green
Plot No.74, Road No.5, Banjara Hills,
Hyderabad 500018
Mobile: +91 7416790905
Email: info@hyderabadgoesgreen.com, Website: www.hyderabadgoesgreen.com
Available: Books/Composters/Soaps

b. Lalitha Manchikanti
Blue Green and Grey Technologies
H.No 11-13-249, Road No.9B, Alakapuri Colony
Hyderabad-500035
Phone:
9885286051, 9703817981
Email: bggdir@yahoo.in
Website: www.bgg.co.in
Available: Composters

3. KITCHEN GARDEN/ TERRACE GARDENS

You will need:
  1. Pots/ containers
  2. Soil, manure
  3. Seeds
  4. Tools
Agri Horticultural Society
M. Anantha Reddy, Chairman
Public gardens, Hyderabad 500 004
92461 08262, 2329 9779, 6559 1474,
ahs_hyd@yahoo.com, www.agri-horticulturalsocietyhyderabad.com

Inti Panta This is a Hyderabad Google group of roof top gardening: intipanta@googlegroups.com
Rambabu Mobile: 99121 99627


Centre for Sustainable Agriculture

Ramanjaneyulu GV

12-13-445, Street Number 1, Secunderabad – 500017.
Phone: 040-2701 7735 Mobile: 09000699702
ramoo.csa@gmail.com

For seeds:
National Seeds Corporation Ltd.
17-11 Tukaram Gate, Lalguda
Secunderabad 500 017
2773 2276

Commercial seed shops:

Several private seed stores and nurseries are located at various places with seed stores concentrated in Hyderguda. They also sell tools. You should acquire – hand spade, hand rake and secateurs.

4. ORGANIC PRODUCTS

Deccan Development Society
101, Kishan Residency,1-11-242/1, Street No. 5,
Shyamlal Buildings Area, Begumpet,
Hyderabad - 500 016
Telephone: 040-27764577, 27764744

Jiva Organics
94934-28642
jivaorganicshyd@gmail.com
http://www.jivaorganics.in/
Home delivery of products and organic catering service

Sahaja Aharam Cooperative Federation
Street-1, Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017
040 6526 8303
www.sahajaaharam.in/

Good Seeds
They organise a market on first the Sunday of every month at Saptaparni, Banjara Hills, Road No.7
Ganesh margabandhu
99513 55633

Deccan Organics
Plot No. 151 & 152,
Srinivasa Hills, Parvathapur (V),
Ghatkeshwar (Mdl), Hyderabad R.R. Dist, Pin-500039
040-64649364, 040-64627627.
info@deccanorganics.com

5. ORGANIC FOOD CATERING

They are located at S. R. Nagar, Hyderabad
Chaktravarti 99495 31113
Mamata 98496 66450

They supply plate meals – up to 25 you have to collect, beyond they can come and supply. They can also bulk millet (jonna/jowar) rotis.

6. DOMESTIC ANIMALS

Blue Cross of Hyderabad
403/9, Road No. 35
Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad - 500033
Phone: + 91- 40 3298 9858, 2354 4355 / 5523
Email:
bluecrosshyd@gmail.com
http://www.bluecrosshyd.in

A-21 Sainikpuri, Secunderabad - 500094
Phone: +91-40-2711 3167/2711 0977
http://www.anthra.org


7. ENVIRONMENT

Indian Youth Climate Network IYCN
N. S. Prasad
http://www.iycn.in/

Centre for Environment Education
Ms. Vanitha Kommu,
Programme Coordinator, CEE Andhra Pradesh
Door No: 6-3-348/2, Dwarakapuri Colony, Panjagutta
Hyderabad – 500 482
Telefax: (040) 23352586, Phone: (040) 23352596, 65883100 ceeandhrapradesh@ceeindia.orgvanitha.kommu@ceeindia.org
http://www.ceeindia.org

 Energy Conservation MissionThe Institution of Engineers (India),
Andhra Pradesh State Centre,
Visvesvaraya Bhavan, Khairatabad,
Hyderabad - 500004


8. WILD LIFE

Bird Watchers' Society of Andhra Pradesh
Aasheesh Pittie (President) bsap.ap@gmail.com
M. Shafaat Ulla (Hon. Secretary) shafaat_ulla@yahoo.co.in
98492 29552
http://www.bsap.in/
Society to Save Rocks
1236, Road No. 60, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad 500 033Tel. No. +91 40 23552923
frauke@saverocks.org, www.saverocks.org
Friends of Snake Club
Rescues: Sanjay @ +91 8374233366 (24/7 Dedicated line)
Fax @ +91 40 3099 5291 (24/7 Dedicated line)
http://www.friendsofsnakes.org.in/

Hyderabad Tiger Conservation Society
Imran Siddiqui
305, Lenaine Estate, Opp. Chrmas, Abids, Hyderabad 500 001
97048 76609, 94902 72220

WWF-India Andhra Pradesh State Office818, Road No. 2 Castle Hills
Near N.M.D.C., Masab Tank
Hyderabad - 500 057
Telefax: 040-23534151 (09440751037)
Email: ftampal@wwfindia.net
faridatampal@rediffmial.com



9. BOOKS

Manchi Pustakam/ Permanent Green
Street No.1, Tarnaka, Secunderabad- 500 017,
info@manchipustakam.in
+91 9490746614
K. Suresh
Ph. 073822 97430
kosaraju.suresh@gmail.com
http://www.manchipustakam.in

Online Bookstores
The Other India Bookstore is a small alternative publishing house and bookstore in Mapusa, Goa (India). We deal mainly in environmental, alternative and Third ...

b. Earthcare Books 
www.earthcarebooks.com/
Earthcare Books is a publisher and distributor of books on environmental issues and just and sustainable development. We believe that an understanding of our...

Free Downloads of books
www.arvindguptatoys.com/

10. Films/videos
  1. The Best Green Movies
Submitted by sustainadelic on Sun, 2012-08-05
http://ecodirectory.com.au/content/best-green-movies
This is a good site.
Agriculture videos
There are 23 entries, most of them about India.

Directory of Green Films
An environment and wildlife audio-visual compilation
by CMS ENVIS Centre
http://cmsenvis.cmsindia.org/resources/greenfilmdirectory.asp
This is a book about Indian sources

11. MISCELLANEOUS

Solar Shoppe
P. Sriram
132, II Floor, Saikrupa Complex, Bhagyanagar Colony,
KPHB, Kukatpally, Hyderabad 500 072
98853 64101
040 4020 0814
For solar box cookers and other solar equipment.

Global Telelinks (Prakruthi Power)
5-3-456/A20, 2nd Floor, 201, Maruthi Grandeur,
Dwarakapuri Road, Punjagutta,
Hyderabad - 500082
PH; 23350291, Fax: 23350292; Mob: 9848011955, 948311955
e-mail: prakruthipower@gmail.com
www.prakruthipower.com
Dealing in Solar LED products.

Swadeshi Hand Made papers
K. Krishna Rao
24, LIC Colony, Srinagar Colony, Yellareddyguda, Hyderabad 500 073
98661 44459

Andhra Pradesh Bee Keeper's Association
12, Rural training Centre, NIRD, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad 500 003
6517 6949, 93911 68797

Hyderabad Cycling Club
This is more like an adventure group. The site will lead you to other adventure events and groups.

Email ids

"ahs_hyd@yahoo.com" <ahs_hyd@yahoo.com>, Anthra-Hyderabad <anthra.hyd@gmail.com>, "bggdir@yahoo.in" <bggdir@yahoo.in>, "bluecrosshyd@gmail.com" <bluecrosshyd@gmail.com>, "ddshyderabad@gmail.com" <ddshyderabad@gmail.com>, < ecmhyd@gmail.com>,
Farida Tampal <ftampal@wwfindia.net>, Frauke Quader <frauke@saverocks.org>, "ganesh@goodseeds.in" <ganesh@goodseeds.in>, "hyticos@gmail.com" <hyticos@gmail.com>, "info@deccanorganics.com" <info@deccanorganics.com>, "info@friendsofsnakes.org.in" <info@friendsofsnakes.org.in>, "info@hyderabadgoesgreen.com" <info@hyderabadgoesgreen.com>, Jiva Organics <jivaorganicshyd@gmail.com>, "kiran@sukuki.com" <kiran@sukuki.com>, "krishnakiran_k@yahoo.com" <krishnakiran_k@yahoo.com>, "maharuchi@rediffmail.com" <maharuchi@rediffmail.com>, Manchi Pustakam <info@manchipustakam.in>, "moksham2010@gmail.com" <moksham2010@gmail.com>, "nschyderabad@rediffmail.com" <nschyderabad@rediffmail.com>, < nsprasad@iycn.in>, <prakruthipower@gmail.com>,
Ramanjaneyulu GV <ramoo.csa@gmail.com>, Shafaat Ulla <shafaat_ulla@yahoo.co.in>, solarshoppe@outlook.com>,Suresh Kosaraju <kosaraju.suresh@gmail.com>, "vanitha.kommu@ceeindia.org" vanitha.kommu@ceeindia.org,
T. Vijayendra<t.vijayendra@gmail.com

Words: 1082
November 10, 2012
Mobile: +91 94907 05634

COMRADE SHANKAR GUHA NIYOGI


COMRADE SHANKAR GUHA NIYOGI
AND THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT


Comrade Shankar Guha Niyogi (February 14, 1943 – September 28, 1991) was murdered by the agents of the capitalist class. In spite of the efforts of by good lawyers like Kannabiran, his murderers went unpunished because of the collusion between the state, bureaucracy and judiciary on behalf of the capitalist class. This fact alone shows how much a threat he was to the capitalist class and what an asset he was to the working class movement.

Unique features of comrade Niyogi and his movement

Unlike many other trade union leaders in our country, comrade Niyogi was a trade union activist from the working class itself. He had jobs ranging from a day labourers in the mines to being an employee of the Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh. His trade union, Chhattisgarh Mines Shramik Sangh (CMSS), embraced different sections of the contract mine workers in the region. He also had a political organisation CMS (Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha) which worked on a regional basis embracing all the working classes - peasants, artisans and labourers of the region.

Apart from the immediate needs of the working class struggle, comrade Niyogi had a vision of a future socialist society. He also had the ability to translate this vision into the daily struggle of the working class. His slogan was 'Sangharsh Aur Nirman', that is, 'Struggle and Build'. His work and vision attracted a large number of professionals from prestigious universities and colleges across the country.

The story of Shaheed Hospital, the workers own hospital, at Dalli Rajahara, a mining town near Bhilai, is well known. It attracted doctors from Vellore (Dr. Binayak Sen) and several doctors from Calcutta (Dr. Asheesh Kundu, Dr. Punayabrat Gun, Dr. Jana and many others). Binayak Sen and his wife Dr. Ilina Sen (a sociologist from JNU) made Chhattisgarh their home. Many other professionals like Sudha Bharadwaj (IIT Kanpur and a lawyer) also made Chhattisgarh her home. Many came, stayed for a few years and went. They included Vidyadhar Gadgil and his wife, Mariette Correa, of TISS, Bombay, Arvind Gupta of IIT Kanpur and many others. Well known trade union journalist, Sitaram Shastri edited his journal Mitan. Dr. Anil Sadgopalan, a microbiologist and educationalist interacted with him on a continuous basis and after his death wrote a book about Niyogi's work and life.

Very few trade union movements attracted so much support from middle classes and professionals. The reason was Niyogi's vision and his ability to relate with so many different people and with their ideas on politics, health care, education and appropriate technology.

Shankar Guha Niyogi was not alone with new ideas on trade union movement. Many others like Thangappan at Bombay and Subbu at Chennai were also trying out similar ideas. But Niyogi succeeded more than others because of the situation in Chhattisgarh, his abilities and support that he received. But by nineties neo-liberal ideas had gripped the rulers at Delhi and the Indian state gradually became openly pro capitalist, under the leadership of Narsimha Rao and Manmohan Singh. It eroded the space for civil society, looted the country's wealth and provided sops to the middle class. The computer technology also provided a large number of new jobs. This enabled the capitalist class to go on the offensive and kill comrade Niyogi.

Current Situation

However during the last decade the situation has again changed in favour of people's movement. Neo-liberal policies are failing and there is a huge crisis in the capitalist system. Since 2008 the world has been going through a deep economic crisis. Whatever recovery occurs, it does not take us back to pre crisis level and newer areas have come under crisis. It began with the USA (though Japan has been facing it for two decades), and it spread to Europe and this year China and India too are facing it. No one is predicting a quick recovery and there is a feeling that it will not go away in near future.

Two crises have come together – Global Warming and Peak Oil. Global warming has been caused primarily due to burning of fuel, particularly fossil fuels. It has been affecting climate and some of the warmest years have come in the last decade. This year's hot summer may lead to a global famine, like which we have never seen before. Many scientists fear that unless we reduce consumption we may cross the tipping point. That is, when global warming itself will cause further global warming. Then there will be no hope for life on this planet. This is causing a worldwide demand to reduce carbon emission which is being resisted by the industry.

Peak oil represents the resource constraints that we are facing. Many products which we mine, like coal, oil, metals are finite in their quantity. If we take out more than half of it, a peak in production occurs, thereafter the production falls and its price goes up. That is what happened to petroleum products. Now oil is central to the industrial society and decline in its production leads to an economic crisis. As can be seen none of these factors are going away in any foreseeable future and we are in for a permanent crisis leading to a collapse of the present system.

This has given a tremendous rise to people's movement in India. Millions are opposing the rapacious projects of thermal and nuclear power plants, refineries, SEZs, big hydro projects etc. Newer classes are joining the movements. Peasants and other rural working classes who are affected by these projects have joined hands with environmentalists and other professionals. Once again professionals in various fields are helping the people's movement.

Trade Union Movement Today

Dying capitalism has become even more rapacious in its loot and anti worker policies, On one hand factories are closing down, partial and full lock out are coming up, land acquired for SEZs are being returned; on the other the capitalists are demanding newer projects and concessions from the state, easy environment clearance and anti worker policies. Their policy seems to loot and run away. Attacks on workers have increased as it happened in Yanam (Ceramic factory) and Manesar (Maruti car factory). The working class too is fighting back. The trade union movement too has responded. Not only are they responding to these attacks with vigour they are charting new paths in the tradition of the path blazed by the Niyogi era.

The Vision: Socialism Today
In the light of past experience, both of successes and shortcomings, the socialism today may look like this:

  1. Human beings are a part of nature. They have to live with it and not off it.
  2. Within human society there should be equality, brotherhood and democracy.
  3. The size of the state will be small. It will have ecological boundaries and will be organised federally within, with its neighbours and globally.
  4. Within the small state there will be decentralisation and direct democracy at the grass root level (village pnachayat and city wards) and all units will be federally related. The 'centre' will have minimum powers.
  5. The grass root level organisations will start with direct democracy and move towards 'a free association of free people'.
  6. The technological base of such society will be to move towards ecologically sound processes. Food will come from organic farming and free range animals, birds and fishes. Other needs will be satisfied by humane use of domestic animals in farming and transport, leather and wood as main raw materials etc. It does not mean completely abandoning modern sensibilities and scientific advances.
  7. The main agenda for humanity for the 21st century will be to restore the earth's ecological health which has been damaged so severely by capitalism. Special attention will have to be given to endangered ecosystem, plants and animals.
  8. The main social agenda will be to rebuild the communities.

Broad Objectives of Socialism Today

      1. Equality
      2. Rebuild communities
3. Reducing consumption of resources
4. Local self sufficiency
5. Ecological restoration

So what should be the Trade Union initiative today?

The trade union movement is often accused for demanding wage rise only. This should now be seen in the context of equity. The workers, justifiably, feel they should get a higher share of the surplus value they generate. Why should the bosses/capitalists get such a high share of the produce? In the present crisis, their demand would naturally be: let the employers first take a cut in their earnings - the jobs must be saved. Secondly, the new society and the new technologies cannot succeed unless waste of resources - either by way of employers taking their undue share or by irrational production and consumption of goods - is stopped.

This very correct demand must be combined with initiatives based on regional planning for a fossil fuel free socialist society. We cannot plan in vacuum. It has to be in the context of the actual situation of the region and the issues faced by working people.

The movement today is facing six kinds of situations related to the collapse of capitalism:

  1. The capital has abandoned and the units are closed.
  2. The industry is running into losses and is planning to close down.
  3. The industry is running but it has enormous contradiction with the community due to pollution of land and water.
  4. New units are proposed at the cost of tribals, peasants, environment and/or the activity is irrational from a futuristic perspective of a fossil fuel free society.
  5. The industry is running as a part of the natural economy of the region and can easily fit into a fossil fuel free socialist future.
  6. New industrial activity is planned in tune with the needs of a fossil fuel free socialist society.

The Trade Union Response

  1. The initiative should focus on the first problem because the need is acute and a new activity can be planned. One of the first things to do will be to claim the resources of the abandoned unit - land, housing colony, building, equipment and stores and cash compensation. The initiative should be centred towards the most distressed section of the working class and start with mitigating the distress. However it should be done through new initiative of mutual aid which would build a sense of community. It can start with ensuring food and shelter for the working people. Community kitchens could be one of the first things to start. Vegetable, fruit and agricultural activities should be immediately started. At the same time one should enter into a dialogue with the other working people of the region, which includes not only informal sector workers and peasants and artisans, but also professionals, who know the region’s potentials in terms of alternatives. Wherever possible support of political organisations and movements should be sought - like Naxalites, NAPM and others. Slowly a collective alternative should be built up.

Of course there will be repression by the state directly and indirectly. This is where the mass support will play a crucial role. Within the trade union movement regional federation of all the unions may be a new direction that the movement may have to take. Some of the big opportunities we may have probably missed were the closure of Kolar Gold Fields and Sindri Fertiliser Factory. In Kolar, the government offered the whole township to the workers! But, there are a lot many places where the need is urgent.

  1. In the past, when an industry was planning closure, the unions tried to stop it. Today it will not be advisable. It is better to move in early to bargain for the workers share in the closing procedure. Like in the case above the union can take over the resources and run a new activity in collaboration with regional stakeholders.
  1. The most difficult situation is one where the industry is running and the Trade Union movement is coming in sharp contradiction with the local population and environment groups. A classic example is the Coco Cola factory in Plachimada in Kerala. Here the first need is to start a dialogue between all the stakeholders. One should first come to an agreement on the long-term goals. Then, work towards a path where all the stakeholders’ needs are satisfied as well as the goal (closure of factory and alternative ‘green’ employment generation) is achieved.
  1. In instances where new irrational industrial activities are coming up, the path is quite clear. We have to join other movements which are opposing them and initiate alternate regional planning for a green fossil fuel free socialist society. For example the present struggle against thermal and nuclear power plants, against big dams and against SEZs.
  1. In cases where the industry fits in easily with a fossil fuel free socialist future, the effort should be to save the industry. One can then move towards, a greater share of worker participation in running the industry; better conditions of work; making the industry ‘greener’ etc. For example rice mills, oil mills, textile mills, bicycle factories etc.
  1. Finally, wherever new industrial activity is planned in tune with the needs of a future society, the Syndicalist/anarchist approach can be put to full use. The workers can own the activity in some form of the cooperative run with full cooperation of regional stakeholders.

This, contemporary interpretation of the slogan, ‘Sangharsh aur Nirman’ (Struggle and Build), in the author's opinion is the true legacy of comrade Shankar Guha Niyogi and a tribute to his memory.


Words: 2268
August 31, 2012

Mobile: +91 94907 05634

ON ENGINEERS



ON ENGINEERS
ABSTRACT
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is addressed to young engineers who are troubled by their profession and are seeking alternatives. The article attempts at an historical understanding of the profession and its destructive character. Then it offers a critique and explores positive alternatives for the profession. It ends with giving a few examples from Indian engineers today who are in fact practising alternatives.
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Engineers don't win Nobel prizes.
Shreekumar

I belong to the most rapacious predator that stalked the Earth -humans, and to a net destructive discipline-engineering, that has to take more than a fair share of the responsibility for bringing the Earth and human society to a tipping point.
Sagar Dhara

Both Shreekumar and Sagar Dhara are some of the most politically conscious thinking engineers that I have known. They have impressive records but I won't embarrass them by talking about it.

Between these two statements there is a range of meanings and nuances which cover a description and critique of engineers and engineering as a profession. I propose to start with these statements and arrive at a workable definition and critique.

The first thing to note is that both the statements carry negative connotations about engineers.

Engineers are not scientists

Shreekumar is saying that engineers are not good scientists. In fact there has been only one engineer who did win the Nobel Prize. It was the Soviet engineer/scientist Peter Kapitsa (1894 -1984). But he won it as a physicist. He had worked with Ernest Rutherford in the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge. In 1978, Kapitsa won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the work in low temperature physics that he did about 1937.
However for a real engineer who was a scientist the pride of place must to go to J. W. Gibbs (1839 – 1903), one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century. In 1863, Gibbs was awarded the first Ph. D. in engineering in the USA from the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale for a thesis entitled On the Form of the Teeth of Wheels in Spur Gearing. But there was no Nobel Prize in his days. However, in 1901, Gibbs was awarded the highest possible honour granted by the international scientific community of his day, granted to only one scientist each year: the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London, for his greatest contribution of being "the first to apply the second law of thermodynamics to the exhaustive discussion of the relation between chemical, electrical, and thermal energy and capacity for external work."
There are many engineers who in fact are good scientists (including Shreekumar himself) but they are on the whole exceptions and what Shreekumar says is by and large true. Engineers are mostly interested in immediate results and rarely bother about the science of it. If they had bothered about it, as Shreekumar shows in his writings on 'Thermodynamics and Sustainability', they would have been aware of the larger costs, particularly cost to the environment. They would also have thought about the inadvisability of many of their 'bright' ideas. In fact the key words for engineers are 'being smart' and the 'thrill' of it!
But what is the difference between a scientist and an engineer? A working definition can be that engineering is applied science. Science is 'uninterested' enquiry, knowledge for knowledge's sake. When did the engineer appear? When did science get together with technology? There have always been exceptional individuals who combined pure enquiry with practical application-like Leonardo Da Vinci. There is also a case that many 'great' people claimed credit for work done by the artisans. In the play 'Galileo' by Bertolt Brecht it is shown that while Galileo was showing off his telescope to the aristocracy, it was sold as a toy in the streets of Rome!

But on the whole engineers are a relatively new breed. They are products of capitalism and democracy. How Come?

Historically science was developed by people of leisure-aristocracy and priests. Technology was developed by artisans on the basis of their long and continuous association with tools and equipment. Capitalism brought a demand for educated working class and democracy made science education accessible to all citizens. Technical institutes and later technological universities came into being. Children of the artisans and working class came to know the laws of science - particularly mechanics and hydraulics. Later chemistry and electricity got introduced. Thus the modern engineer was born. They were in great demand by the industry and their education and careers were guided by the demands of the industry.

Now the industry is guided by the return on investment. New technology often gave greater productivity. Very often workers' protest against horrible conditions, compensation paid to the injured or dead workers gave impetus to new technology. Engineers were also asked to design machines and work places to get greater productivity from the workers. Thus the science and technology of ergonomics was born. In engineering design it is very often asked, 'if we gain by this improvement, where do we lose?' Trade-offs is a common discussion topic, but never do engineers discuss the increased load on the environment. Dumping your losses on the environment is the unwritten law. Environment is considered free and it is assumed that it is 'an infinite source and an infinite sink'.

Engineers are tools of capitalism to exploit nature and human beings

Dhara's description says a lot about humans as specie and their increased role as predators due to engineers in the last two hundred years. Human species has for a long time changed its environment to suit itself more than any other species. This however reached a very high level with capitalism and access to 'cheap' fossil fuel. They have destroyed vast stretches of forests, grassland and wetland and brought these areas under cultivation. This has had an effect on destroying eco systems and endangering, and in some cases even leading to extinction, a large number of species within a very short period of time. This agriculture also increased the human population seven folds. Other developments in consumerism led per capita consumption to several times higher and have led to resource constraints. It has increased greenhouse gases leading to global warming which can endanger all life on earth. The era of 'infinite source and infinite sink' is over.

The Manhattan Project

The greatest travesty of science and engineering is of course the Manhattan Project - the secret project to make the atom bomb in the 1940s by the United States. Here to their eternal shame the greatest minds of science and engineers got together to make the worst weapon in the world - the atomic bomb. What is even more horrifying is that the top leaders of the project agreed to test it on innocent civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan when it was not even needed to win the war!

The sad fact is that even after this shameful event engineers continued to develop atom and hydrogen bombs and design and test missiles which can drop these bombs thousands of miles away, kill and maim hundreds of thousands of people within minutes! They also developed a large variety of weapons of mass destruction which go under the innocuous name 'Chemical and Biological Warfare'.

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists

The saving grace of the Manhattan project is the Pugwash Conference and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. In essence it was an apology to the world by many important scientists (and hopefully engineers) about their involvement in the project. There is the Pugwash clock which tells us how many minutes we are away from a global mutual destruction. Usually it is around 5-6 minutes but it moves up when a political crisis at a world scale develops.

The Bulletin is a monthly journal and recently it has become an online journal and is no longer printed. The journal's editorial board invariably has a few Nobel Laureates and Einstein was one of its founder editors. The journal carries articles about destructive science and engineering projects in every field. For example it even carried an article on how unscientific city's central sewage systems are! But the tragedy is that hardly any engineer knows even the existence of this journal let alone be inspired by it.

A History of Protest

The devastation caused by capitalism evoked protests not only from the victims - 'the exploited and oppressed' classes, but also from enlightened people from all sections of society, including engineers and scientists. Predictably it first came from those fields that are closest to life. From naturalists, many of whom had background in biological sciences and forestry, from agriculture scientists and from town planners! In the Indian context Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has been leading in crying 'fowl' of many destructive projects. Albert Howard, author of 'An Agricultural Testament' and father of modern organic farming, worked in India during the 20s and 30s, was a botanist and gave a powerful critique of chemical agriculture. Patrick Geddes who worked in India during 1915-1919, carried out some 60 town planning exercises and gave a critique of engineer led town planning exercise which ignored the human beings living in the towns.
As we have seen above, after the Second World War and the atomic bomb many scientists and engineers started questioning their profession. Einstein maintained that a scientist is responsible for his actions and cannot hide behind government policies. So he publicly apologised for his role in the bomb and started the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Today there is a flood of engineers and scientists who are opposed to big hydraulic dams, coal based power plants, nuclear power plants, polluting chemical plants and host of other destructive aspects of capitalism. However, the mainstream media is controlled by the capitalists and these scientists and engineers do not get the exposure to the general public. They get known mainly by their work with the grassroots movements of protests, through alternative journals and publications and now through the internet. Increasingly, grassroots movements of protests by farmers and other poor people whose livelihoods are endangered by these projects are seeking and getting support by many environmentalists, engineers and scientists.

What can an engineer do today?

The essay is addressed to young engineers who are troubled by their profession and are seeking alternatives. What is an alternative? Many people think that solar, mini hydro power projects or pedal power and other appropriate technology projects are the alternatives. Yes, they certainly can be components of an alternative system, but it is the present system itself that is at fault and plugging with a few softer alternatives is not enough. One has to work towards changing the whole system.

However to do so one has to change the mind-set which sees nature as meant for 'conquering' and for 'exploitation'. This has resulted in overexploitation of nature and human being so much that the system has become unsustainable and is on the verge of collapse. The focus of an alternative system would be restoring the ecosystem, reduce our consumption and work towards equality. How does one go about it?

To begin with, we must begin with ourselves. Our life style and our education is already a big load on the environment and on poor people. But our awareness about this is very superficial. It is not a driving force for our life choices and actions. We have to begin by learning about ourselves and about our society.

Some people think that we can build our capacities for change by further studying -s ay by getting a degree in sustainable development. While learning is always welcome, in fact it is a lifelong process; another stint at a university may not be the best course. It continues to increase our load on the environment and on poor. It is more so if we go abroad where typical costs are Rs. 20 Lakhs. It does not matter whether we get a scholarship, our parent pay for it or we take a loan. We will continue to lead an elite existence. Then after finishing the course we will have to take up a job to pay back the loan that will put us back in the same life style and similar peer group. We can end up spending 5 years in this.

Nor does it teach the lessons we want to learn. Most prestigious universities teach us to become professional allies of the ruling class and they instil a value system in our thinking. If we want to do anything meaningful for the people we have to go through a long unlearning process and often it is not complete unlearning. Vestiges of ruling class attitudes and ideology remain. So why all this Kolavari di?
For real learning we have to go to the people directly. If you do want to read a book, the best I can recommend is 'My Universities' by Maxim Gorky in which he describes his learning through wandering all over Russia. Secondly if you do want to go through a formal learning course, then may be an online distance education course would serve the purpose. It will give you some book learning at a fairly low cost and will still give enough time to learn directly from people.

How do we learn from people? It is not that we have not come across poor people in our lives. But we are governed by our background and our prejudices and we are not able to learn much. For this we have to go to people's movement, preferably through or with a mentor who will help us.

There are a variety of people's movements going on. There are regional and ethnic movements like those in Kashmir, North East India, and there are poor people's and Tribals' movements in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal that have significant Maoist involvement. There are trade union movements both in the organised sectors and newer sectors like NREGA workers' trade unions. One can get mentors in all these fields and there is a lot to learn there - both about oneself and about how the Indian society workers. You will also come across other issues like gender and caste in these struggles. Then there are struggles against specific anti people large projects-like large dams, coal based and nuclear power plants, chemical plants, SEZs and so on. These combine poor people’s struggle and environmental issues. There are movements about wild life conservation and preventing cruelty to animals. These are mainly led by NGOs but one can learn a lot there. There are also enough books and films on all these issues.

It is not necessary to study all these in one go. A selection of them according to one's inclination and opportunities will suffice. One can get involved for a longer periods in any one of them.

Then there is a whole range of activities for building alternatives. Education and health care takes the bulk of these, but for engineers these are not so attractive. Restoring eco systems is the main agenda for this century and here there is a lot of scope for engineers. The biggest and most urgent area is water (not energy as many engineers would tend to think). Without water no life is possible and water is the biggest scarcity facing mankind. Water harvesting implies a host of activities - from roof top rain water harvesting to water shed management and restoring our forests. This is a huge agenda and it alone can give meaningful work to all of us. Other areas of priority are food, fuel (for cooking), fodder, transport (pedal power and draught animals) and waste management.

So there is a lot going on and if one gives say about three years to learn and choose, one can firmly join the alternative movement somewhere or the other. In these three years one need spend only a fraction of the money involved in any university course and learn a lot more. This learning is through travel, stay and participation at the field level, meeting some of the most experienced activists and from books, alternative journals and films. Also one will be part of a different peer group of young people and this will strengthen one's convictions.

In the next section we will introduce some of the institution/organisations and engineers who are practising alternatives.

Help Available
Below we are giving names of few institutions/organisations and individual engineers, who are practising alternatives. You can contact them and learn more about how to proceed. Some of you may say that most of these individuals have graduated from prestigious institutions. While it tends to add credibly to the list, one may ask, 'It is alright for 'them' to choose - they have the confidence and choice. But we don't have!' I have no good answer to that. All I can say is that when they did there were no takers for the alternatives, whereas today due to the crisis, many more avenues are open for the alternatives and there is room for more and for variety.

These are the names of the institutions and engineers. Almost all the engineers are above 50 years many even above 60 years. So they have at least 20-30 years of experience.

  1. Arvind Gupta, IIT, Kanpur, Located at Pune,"arvind gupta" <arvindguptatoys@gmail.com>, Scientific toys.
  2. Delhi Platform, Arun Bidani, Located at Delhi, "Arun Bidani" <bidani.arun@gmail.com> Supports political struggles.
  3. Dinesh Mishra - Civil Engg., IIT, Kharagpur, 1967, located at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand "Dinesh Kumar Mishra" <mishradk@sify.com> Worked on rivers of North Bihar
  4. Cerana Foundation, Sagar Dhara (1951- ) Mechanical engg. IIT, Mumbai, Located at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Email: sagdhara@gmail.com Areas of interest are industrial pollution, energy.
  5. "Manthan.Shripad@gmail.com" <Manthan.Shripad@gmail.com> Located at Badwani, M. P. Worked many years with NBA.
  6. Dams, Rivers & People, Himanshu Thakkar IIT, Mumbai Located at 86-D, AD Block, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi 110 088. Email: cwaterp@vsnl.com
  7. Kalpana Mehta, IIT, Kanpur, Aeronautical Engg. Located at New Delhi "Kalpana Mehta" <kalpanaindu@hotmail.com> Women and health issues
  8. LOCOST (Alternative pharmaceuticals) S. Srinivasan (-) Physicist, IIT, Kharagpur, IIM, Bangalore, Located at Baroda. Email: "SahajBRC Gmail" <sahajbrc@gmail.com>
  9. Madhu Sarin, School of Architecture, Chandigarh and London. Located at Chandigarh. Madhu Sarin <msarin@sify.com>Town planning, forest bill and tribal’s' struggle for forest rights
  10. MAN-Mysore Amateur Naturalists, Manu K. - National Institute of Engineering, Mysore Located at Mysore. Known for his work on captive care of abanded Pelicans chicks in a pen at Kukrebellur, near Bangalore. Phone: +91 98863 83793 and +91 81059 00631
  11. Mohan Mani, IIT Chennai, IIM, Kolkata, Located at Bangalore, "workers blr" <workersblr@yahoo.co.in>, Action research with trade unions
  12. Shreekumar (1959- ) Chemical Engg. NIT, Suratkal, 1981, Ph.D. IISc, Bangalore (1996), worked in ONGC for 6 years. Located in Udupi district Karnataka. Email: shreeudp@gmail.com Phone 08258 205340 Sustainabile living, organic farming, thermodynamics and sustainability
  13. Prayas, N. Sreekumar IIT, Mumbai, Located at Hyderabad "Sreekumar N" <sreekumar@prayaspune.org> Prayas works in the field of critical assessment of our energy needs.
  14. Suresh Kosaraju M. Sc Agriculture, Pantnagar University. Located at Hyderabad. "Suresh Kosaraju" <kosaraju.suresh@gmail.com>.Interested in organic farming, seeds, translation and publications, education and children's literature in Telugu.
  15. Rahul Banerjee, 74 krishnodayanagar, Khandwa Naka, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India – 452001, cell no: +919425943023, webpage: tp://rahulbanerjee.notlong.com/
    blog:
    http://anar-kali.blogspot.com
  16. T. Vijayendra (1943- ), Electronics and Elec. Comm., IIT, Kharagpur, 1966 Email: t.vijayendra@gmail.com Mobile: +91 94907 05634. Main area of interest is political activism and education of activists.

P.S.

I got some more names:

  1. Sharad Lele, ATREE, Bangalore
  2. Alok Agrawal, Narmada Bachao Andolan, Khandawa
  3. Anand Kapur, Ekjut Sangathana, Pune
  4. Vinayak Lohani Kolkata
  5. Ravi Chopra, Dehradun
  6. Mr. Gon, Solar and gasifier projects, Sinderbans, West Bengal
  7. Harish Hande, Solar Lighting
Obviously there are many more. I will not be surprised if the list exceeds 100. The purpose of the article however, is served, even by this limited number.

Words: 3321

25. 05. 2012


Mobile: +91 94907 05634