Karnataka - Mysore   

‘A green leaf is more intelligent than man’

U.R. Ananthmurthy: I do not think intellectuals can do much…

MYSORE: U.R. Ananthmurthy, writer and critic, is counted among the most eminent Indian authors. He is the sixth among the seven recipients of Jnanpith Award. Despite being a complex and enigmatic figure in the literary world, Prof. Ananthmurthy is also known for his concern for environmental protection.

He played an active role in the movement to save the “Silent Valley”, when he was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University. Now, Prof. Ananthmurthy is disturbed with the decision of the Government to set up a 1,000-mw coal-based thermal power plant in the fragile Chamalapura village near Mysore, where he spent his prime years. In an interview with The Hindu, he said that he was prepared to do anything to stop the power plant.

“I feel that what is happening in India now is devaluation of agriculture. Slowly, agriculture is being killed and agriculturists are becoming labourers. They are losing everything and this will happen in the process of ‘development’, which is denial of human rights and means of livelihood. They are tempted some times with high price for their land. Farmers are not getting good price for their produce. They are being wooed to part their land for good money.”

“Yes, we need electricity but not to run our luxurious malls, five star hotels and theatres. Electricity is being wasted there. With the power being consumed by two big malls of Bangalore, we can meet the requirement of a taluk. This is sin. We have to fight it. We need electricity for essential purposes and I think we have enough electricity for our needs. I think we should stop supplying power to malls and five star hotels because it is vulgar. There should be an end to such waste in a poor country. This is not sustainable civilisation.”

“It is time for us to speak for life, as earth has started speaking about it. We have to listen to it, as global warming has started showing its impact. We want to adopt the American standard of living; we cannot afford that. What we want is ‘critique development’ today. Every one of these acts is a critique of development itself. This development is an idea sold to us by Truman of the U.S. And that is to create market, worldwide market for the advanced countries.”

“There is a need for research in solar energy. A farmer told me that a green leaf can make use of 90 per cent of solar energy. However, we do not know how to make use of at least 3 per cent of this. A green leaf is more intelligent than us. We have to learn from it. Global warming is such a great creative challenge to human kind.”

“I think we intellectuals are slowly sold to American pattern of society. I felt disappointed when the Communist Party of India (Marxists) approved a special economic zone. That is sad. It shows how they have weakened themselves. When they fight the influence of the Americans, they have to reject American way of life also. I do not think intellectuals can do much. Indian agriculture still has some old knowledge. Our farmers know how to survive. We have experimented with nature, and I think that that spirit should continue, rather than succumbing to the world market.”

“Only those who have that kind of knowledge and are close to earth; that is why I feel people such as Medha Patkar and others will become important. They are not only responding to politics but also to the call of the earth. We should become earth citizens not world citizens.”

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