No tokenism, activists want concrete action

NEW DELHI: About five times a year, the world breaks into celebrations over planet earth. Irrespective of what is done in the remaining 360 days, each time world water day, earth day, environment day or the earth hour are observed, people are at their best 'green' behaviour, at least some of them. "Caring for the planet needs to be a matter of habit, not planning day-long functions that are only tokenism," says Manu Bhatnagar of INTACH's natural heritage team.
There is no denying that special days celebrating issues like environment and heritage bring them closer to the masses. However, those actively working in the field say this runs the risk of alienating concerns with only one special day being dedicated to them. "Every day needs to be an environment day. Such marked days do help masses in connecting with the issues and disseminating information that usually remain confined to certain groups but that is their only validity. Something like environment needs to be mainstreamed and can't remain a marginal issue," said Anumita Roychoudhury, associate director, Centre For Science and Environment.
Ajay Mahajan of NGO Kalpavriksha adds that the trouble with such symbolic days starts if they are led by government having business interests in mind. "Were such movements led by people involved in these issues, it would become a celebration with energy and vibrancy. Now that the government or corporate concerns become involved, for instance with days like Valentines Day, we are left with empty tokenism when people return to business as usual the next day; switch off lights for one hour but forget about saving power through the rest of the year. One has to be environmentally conscious and responsible through the year and not on one particular day," he said.
Bhatnagar, on the other hand, also believes that such days are important for the enthusiasm they generate among masses but it would be wasted if not channelized in the right direction. "There is really nothing to celebrate in environment, the condition in which it is at present and those who are working on environment will continue to do so, special day or not. However, symbolic days like environment day only help to focus attention on pertinent issues and the debate or enthusiasm generated through that should be guided to better means," he added.
Agreeing with Bhatnagar, Bharti Chaturvedi of NGO Chintan says that if one were to suggest starting a similar day now, it would be a pointless exercise but since such symbolic days exist, they should be mainstreaming critical environment issues.