NEW DELHI: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said that India has been practising sustainability for centuries, long before it became a global concern.
Speaking at the valedictory session of the ‘National Conference on Environment – 2025’ organised by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Dhankhar said, “Much before sustainability became a global buzzword, India lived it for centuries where every banyan tree was a temple, every river a goddess, and waste was an unknown concept in a civilisation that worshipped circularity”.
He stressed that India’s ancient wisdom holds the solution to environmental degradation. “India’s DNA carries the only vaccine against ecological collapse, conspicuous consumption. We only have to read what is there in our gold mine,” he said, referring to Vedic literature as a valuable source of environmental ethics.
The Vice President warned that reckless exploitation of natural resources was pushing the world towards disaster. “The consumption has to be optimal. We are paying a heavy price already for reckless exploitation of these resources and thoughtless consumption, conspicuous and lacking empathy,” he said.
Dhankhar also pointed out that climate change and water management could influence seismic activities. “Studies have revealed that earthquakes, which are usually caused by tectonic processes, can also be triggered by human activities like dam construction and groundwater depletion,” he said.
Dhankhar also recalled the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, calling it “mega environmental negligence” and a lesson still unlearned.
He said that families continue to suffer from genetic disorders and groundwater contamination decades later.
He also urged developed nations to move beyond political considerations and adopt environmental models that prioritise planetary health. “No individual, no group, no nation can by itself resolve this issue. There will have to be convergence,” he asserted.
