greening garhwal through stakeholder engagement: the role of ecofeminism, community and the state in...

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

* Correspondence to: Anupam Pandey, Carleton University, 1125, Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Canada K1S 5B2. E-mail: [email protected]

Sustainable DevelopmentSust. Dev. 18, 12–19 (2010)Published online 1 April 2009 in Wiley InterScience(www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/sd.393

Greening Garhwal through Stakeholder Engagement: the Role of Ecofeminism, Community and the State in Sustainable Development

Anupam Pandey*Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

ABSTRACTThis paper highlights the critical role played by ecofeminism and stakeholder engagement in the region to depict a symbiotic relationship between women and forests that is critical in sustaining human and non-human life in the Garhwal Himalayan region of India. While it uses ecofeminism to demonstrate the positive role of community in sustainable forestry and development, the chief aim of the paper is to highlight the need to go beyond the ‘civil society’ versus ‘state’ debate that has become rather popular in the development studies discourse. Instead, the paper posits the need for the two to work in active collusion, not only to be successful but also because it is what the subject/agent needs and demands. This paper is the result of fi eld research by the author in the summer of 2004 in the Garhwal Himalayan region of India. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Received 3 January 2008; revised 11 June 2008; accepted 17 June 2008

Keywords: ecofeminism; community participation; stakeholder engagement; role of state; sustainable development; environmen-

tal protection; post-development discourse; Garhwal Himalayas

Introduction

THIS PAPER HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF ECOFEMINISM TO (A) DEPICT THE CRITICAL ROLE OF COMMUNITY IN

environmental protection and sustainability and (b) eschew the binaristic approach of the ‘evil’ state versus

the ‘good’ civil society that dominates much of the post-development literature. Accordingly, the paper is

conceptually divided into two main sections: the fi rst section highlights the role of the community; I show

that the traditional methods of forest management by the people/community were far more effective than the

methods and means adopted by the colonial and post-colonial state. A return to these methods by the women has

benefi ted Garhwal immensely in terms of regenerating a forest cover in the region. However, the second part

focuses on the fact that, despite the fact that the state is largely corrupt, ineffi cient and lacks political will towards

environmental or developmental concerns, it would be a mistake to assume or favour a polarization between the

state and the community (as is the growing trend in post-development literature). Instead, the case-study suggests

the need to involve the state in sustainable development for long-term success and results.

Greening Garhwal 13

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment Sust. Dev. 18, 12–19 (2010)DOI: 10.1002/sd

The introduction develops a basic backdrop to the ecofeminist activism in the region by developing (a) a basic

defi nition of ecofeminism and ecofeminism at work in Garhwal and (b) a summary of the traditional system of

joint forest management and changes introduced by the colonial and Indian state.

Ecofeminism contends that androcentric ideologies are responsible for environmental degradation as well as

the oppression of women and that, under specifi c circumstances, it is possible to posit an alliance between nature

and women. It contends that women’s relationship with nature is shaped by the gendered division of labour and

regards the given material circumstances of women agents and their labour as the crucial factors in determining

their emotional, physical and practical world and world-view.1 Thus, poor, most-often illiterate, subsistence farming

peasants are often practicing ecofeminists in their orientation as well as way of life due to their specifi c material

circumstances of grinding poverty, consequent dependence on nature and, above all, the fact that a very large

number of them are responsible for their female-headed households. Under such conditions, a materialist ecofem-

inist existence is the key to ensuring survival for themselves and their dependents.

This case-study is located in the Central Himalayan region of Tehri Garhwal, where certain villages were selected

for observation and study. One of the key factors for choosing Tehri Garhwal was the simple fact that it is the land

of Chipko.2 The state of Uttaranchal, especially Garhwal, is characterized by an agricultural economy, where sub-

sistence agriculture employs more than 80% of its population and women are the subsistence farmers (Maikhuri

et al., 2000, p. 151). Subsistence farming and associated activities to supplement the family income are a matter

of material necessity and survival. Since women in Garhwal exist on the fringes of the market economy and have

no social security from the state, they are dependent on nature, i.e. the forests, and its bounties for their very

survival and that of their families, and thus have a deeply symbiotic relationship with the mountains. This special

relationship is what guides women in their choice to defend and protect their forests.

Garhwal has had highly evolved, traditional systems of community forest management for centuries. Traditional

ecological practices have played a key role in conserving the forests and there is no dearth of evidence to suggest

that the biggest reason for the forests to fl ourish has been the fact that, originally, the people owned the forests

jointly. There is ample evidence of certain age-old, joint forestry management practices that help in restoring and

rejuvenating the forest while simultaneously meeting the requirements of fuel and fodder of the community. Some

examples include complete closure of forests by mutual consent in denuded areas, the forest being opened up

only once or twice a year for harvesting of grass for the animals, regular harvesting of leaves and twigs, i.e. lopping,

rotational lopping, where villages take turn to lop, lopping together by the women under the eye of the forest

watchman so that nobody attempts to take more for herself, etc.

However, this system of traditional forest management changed signifi cantly with the interference of the British

colonizers.3 Today, the forests are divided into the property of the Reserve (government owned), Civil and Soyam

forests (shared between the government and the villages) and Panchayat forests (looked after and used by the vil-

lages). This expropriation of forests by the state (the government of independent India continued with the same

policies as its colonial predecessor) has been to the detriment of both the people and the forests. It has meant the

loss of a sense of identifi cation and personal commitment amongst the people towards the forests and abandon-

ment of traditional eco-friendly practices, because now the state reserves the right over the forest and severely

restricts the people from using it for their daily needs. This is a clear manifestation of the state as a ‘modern’

institution, which inherited colonial characteristics as were visible in the British Raj and continued with its oppres-

sive tendencies. Such a practice has been subject to intense criticism from post-colonial and subaltern scholars.4

Unfortunately, it has also meant an easy reading of complex issues in terms of dichotomies of modernity and

tradition where tradition is equated with ‘good’ and all modern institutions as ‘bad’ and all that is wrong with the

1 For details on materialist ecofeminism, see the work of Mary Mellor (1996, 1997), Val Plumwood (1993, 2000), Ariel Salleh (1997) and Karen Warren (1994, 1993).2 The ‘Chipko’ movement is regarded as the icon of ecofeminist movements all over the world (Guha, 1991). In 1972, stiff resistance was put up by the illiterate, peasant women of Garhwal against axe-wielding contractors who wanted to cut down trees in the forests for the sake of profi t. The women adopted a Gandhian form of protest and clung to the trees, challenging the axe-wielders to chop them down along with the trees if they dared. This led to the government having to ban tree-felling beyond an altitude of 10 000 m.3 This artifi cial imposition of an alien culture and forestry eco-system is best depicted in Guha’s work (1991). Similar arguments are refl ected in the work of Sivaramakrishnan (1999) and Scott (1998), who explore the relationship between the colonial state and forests.4 The subaltern school represents South Asian scholars who study post-colonial societies and theorize from the standpoint of the masses and not the elite while discussing social and political change.

14 A. Pandey


post-colonial states today. While there is much truth in the post-modern, post-colonial argument regarding the

nature of the post-colonial state in developing countries, there is a need to go beyond critique to reconstruction

and also avoid generalizations or binarisms based on examples such as these.

The Critical Role of Community in Sustainability

An interesting statistic regarding the forest cover in the Garhwal region is that it has shown a remarkable increase

from just 1339.9 hectares in 1991 to 1355.7 hectares in 1995, showing a growth of 1.18%. As against this, the

neighboring region of Kumaon, which is also a part of the province of Uttaranchal, has actually shown a decline

in the forested areas in the same period. This begs the question as to what factors are responsible for such a steady

growth and fl ourishing of forests in Garhwal, though offi cial policies are the same throughout the state. A critical

reason for the success of these afforestation endeavours has been the crucial role played by the women of Garhwal,

who have resorted to traditional methods of forest conservation (Mehta, 1999, p. 48). Garhwal has a long history

of movements of conservation and protection of forests. However, nearly 150 years of bureaucratic rule (whether

introduced by British colonialism or followed diligently by the Indian governments) combined with commercial

exploitation of the forests and expropriation by the villagers of what was once common property resources has

resulted in massive destruction of these bounties of nature (Guha, 1989; Nanda, 1999). Between the years of 1972

and 1982, exploitation of the forests reached its peak when the forest area was reduced by 8.56% in Uttarakhand

(Mehta, 1999, p. 48). However, since then there seems to have been somewhat of a turnaround in the situation.

The forests are being rejuvenated through revival of the traditional eco-forestry practices and ecofeminist activism

taken on by Garhwali women. There are innumerable instances of women organizing themselves with and without

any help from outside sources such as NGOs or the government (in fact, very often, they have had to organize

themselves against the government and the forest department, as will be shown later in this section). Discussed

below are some of the key initiatives taken up by women collectively and individually, sporadically and through

systematic ideological and material organization, in defense of ‘their’ forests.

• Cooperation through Mahila Sanghas. Protection of existing forests from illegal encroachments, the forest depart-

ment’s illegal felling of trees and sale of timber to contractors and even excessive exploitation of the forests by the

villagers themselves has been a primary goal of Garhwali women. Women have raised these issues in meetings

of the Mahila Sangha (women’s association) present in their own villages and coordinated its meetings with

Mahila Sanghas of neighboring villages in order to formulate joint plans to save the forests. Through discussions,

debates and joint decision-making, certain clear-cut rules were established regarding the use of forests. Bans

and fi nes would be imposed on those who did not adhere to the agreed-upon rules, as was visible in the villages

of Banali I and II and Chanti, where a collective forest was in serious need of resuscitation due to extensive

cutting down of trees by the forest department and villagers; watchmen and watchwomen were appointed, who

would be paid collectively by each family of the village. In order to save the forest from overexploitation, certain

unique strategies were adopted by the Mahila Sanghas of the villages of Nauttar, Samelta, Sarolly, Muyalgaon,

ToanKhend and Jakhnyalli in Jakholi block. For instance, the villages of Holta, Nageli and Dakvan Gaon share

a combined forest, and in order to help it rejuvenate itself, it was decided that wood and hay leaves would be

used from only one half of the forest for one year and the other half over the course of the next year. In the

villages of Kotaga I and Kotaga II, it was decided that only one woman from each family would be allowed to

collect grass, wood and hay, the forest would not be used at all on certain days of the week and, till such time

as newly planted oak saplings are fully grown, entry into that part of the forest would be banned. In the villages

of Berseer, Laloori, Bamangaon, Mayali and Cupdiya fences signifying reserved area demarcations for the use of

forests by only three of the villages were brought down.5 Thus, what is in evidence is that, under the leadership

of women, villages decided to be allies and companions in times of need rather than competitors in the use of

the forests.

5 Usha Chauhan. NGO worker in Pratapnagar block, 2004. Unpublished Mahila Samakhya document, Our Traditional Forest Management Techniques: Some Success Stories from Village Sanghas, Tehri Garhwal, Mahila Samakhya Offi ce.

Greening Garhwal 15


• Taking on the forest department. Similar collective forest protection arrangements were taken on by the Mahila Sanghas of the villages of Sandul, Kemra, Kothiyara, Pytab, Thapla and Dhargaon, where the women took on the

responsibility of protecting their forests themselves because they were tired of the incompetence of the forest

department. The legacy of Chipko is very much in evidence in the villages of Ratoli, Kotti and Jayanti, where the

women tackled the problem of wood smuggling and the forest department was itself hand-in-glove with timber

contractors and indulged in illegal sale of timber. In the pine forest of the village of Siyali, the women tackled the

problem of illegal felling by rounding up the miscreants in 2002 and handing them over to the police. Similarly,

in Shalgi, when the women heard the noise of axing of trees, they fought hand-to-hand with the wrongdoers

and wrested away the weapons from the raiders. This jungle belonged to the forest department, yet the women

acted on the principle that a jungle must be protected – irrespective of ownership rights. Here, the women did

not allow the trees that had been felled to be taken away. Instead, they sold them to the highest bidder and put

the money in their own welfare association’s fund.6

• Combating forest fi res. Women have also played a key role in saving the forest from forest fi res, often at great

personal peril. As a precautionary measure, in Baunsali as well as Semal villages of Pratapnagar block, where

forest fi res were a common occurrence, women decided to gather all the fallen leaves and twigs every year

and keep them away so that fi res could be reduced, and this has worked very much in their favour. In a forest

fi re near Maninagar, the women actively helped in reporting the fi re and combating it. Not only did they help

the forest offi cials in an inspection of the losses, but they also took up the matter of illegal constructions and

encroachments in the forest area (which very often lead to the forest fi res in the fi rst place), and it was decided

that these needed to be removed. This was followed by an attempt to resuscitate the forest by planting another

250 trees.7

• Individual courage. Some stories of great individual courage by women protagonists help in further illuminat-

ing this unique emotional and material relationship between Garhwali women and their forests. Sita Devi of

Banali was an illiterate woman who regarded the forests as her maika or mother’s home. Her village, however,

was indulging in indiscriminate use of the forest. She appointed herself as the watchwoman and kept a vigil

on the forest by threatening to report the names of those who had cut trees or branches. Her individual efforts

at consciousness-raising paid off and she was acknowledged as a most respected person, who single-handedly

ensured the safety and protection of the forest. Similarly, from the village of Kaplok, Rusna Devi, in 1998, adopted

a strategy of scribbling names and reports (despite her illiteracy) and would cling to each tree that was to be

axed. She took the report to the police and stopped illegal tree-felling with her tireless efforts.8 In Poorni village,

when the villagers from fi ve other villages decided to cut down the trees in order to ensure more resources for

themselves, two women, Draupadi and Devetri, took on the might of this short-sighted mob and threw them-

selves in front of the axes of the men in order to protect their trees.9

• Afforestation. While women have often risen to the defense of their forests in rather heroic actions, a more

common observation is the simple practice of planting trees and creating new forests. Afforestation is an inte-

gral part of the women’s struggle to rejuvenate their forests because it translates into a direct attempt to revivify

their own lives. The village of Pathiyana did not have its own forest and the women had to trudge 10 km to

fetch grass and wood. As a consequence, a large oak forest was created. Similarly, the villages of Padiya Talla,

Padiya Malla and Padiya Upla Kharoli, Ramol Gaon, Dang, Pansoot and Ratoli worked collectively to create their

own plantation.10 Earlier, an NGO called Mahila Samakhya had to initiate the process of tree-planting in the

period of monsoons, but since then the NGO has completely withdrawn. Now, the women directly contact the

6 Beena Kaala. Translator for author and NGO worker at Sri Bhubhaneshwari Devi Mahila Ashram in Anjanisain, Tehri Garhwal. 2004. Interviews and informal conversations with author, 30 June–7 July, Anjanisain, Tehri Garhwal. Tape recording. SBMA offi ce and residential complex.7 Kusum Rawat. Head of Mahila Samakhya. 2004. Interview by author, 3 July, New Tehri. Tape recording. Mahila Samakhya Offi ce, New Tehri.8 Rajani Raturi. NGO worker at Mahila Samakhya in Pratapnagar block of Tehri Garhwal. 2004. Interview by author, 4 July, New Tehri, capital of Tehri Garhwal. Tape recording. Mahila Samakhya (NGO) offi ce, New Tehri.9 Mamta Nautiyal. NGO worker at Mahila Samakhya in Pratapnagar block of Tehri Garhwal. 2004. Interview by author, 4 July, New Tehri, capital of Tehri Garhwal. Tape recording. Mahila Samakhya (NGO) offi ce, New Tehri.10 Unpublished Mahila Samakhya document, Our Traditional Forest Management Techniques: Some Success Stories from Village Sanghas, Tehri Garhwal, Mahila Samakhya Offi ce.

16 A. Pandey


forest department and rangers and get the saplings themselves. The most popular choice of tree for afforesta-

tion purposes for these women is the oak, which makes a large contribution in sustaining this self-suffi cient

subsistence economy. Unlike pine trees, which catch fi re fairly quickly due to the large deposits of pine needles

below them and which also do not allow any undergrowth beneath them, the leafy oak tree is a great source of

fodder and wood.

• Maiti is a recent innovation in an ancient tradition of tree plantation by women in the state of Uttaranchal.

Maiti has become a movement that is spanning 5000–6000 villages in the state itself and is now spreading

across many other states within India. The word Maiti is derived from the word mait, which means ‘mother’s

home’ in Garhwali. It stands for the forests, which are regarded by women as their mother’s home once they

are married and sent off to live and adjust in their husband’s families. Essentially, Maiti is, in its present form,

a movement where young unmarried girls of each village have taken on the responsibility of planting trees that

provide shade, fruit, fodder and fuelwood for the village. The girls plant the trees and nurture them until the day

of their marriage. Each tree is blessed by the priest performing the marriage rites and the parents are asked to

not only regard it as a memory of their daughter, but look after it as their daughter herself. What this has meant

in real terms is massive afforestation in Garhwal. Due to the emotional aspect highlighting the bond between

the daughters of the village and these trees, they are at much less risk of being cut down.11

The Involvement of the State in Sustainable Development

While this paper has so far focused on the role of the community and civil society in sustainable development,

this section is devoted to showing how the state can be an invaluable ally in the process.12 The women of Uttaran-

chal have recognized this largely untapped potential of the state and have decided to use political power to challenge

patriarchy and the destruction of their forests. This is visible in their attempts to gain political power through two

signifi cant institutions that are the organized link between civil society and state: the Van Panchayats and the Gram Panchayats. Both of these are traditionally male bastions, where decision-making rests in the hands of the males

despite the fact that the woman constitutes the backbone of the economic and social fabric of the mountains.

The Van Panchayats are local governance bodies at the village level, which regulate and distribute forest produce

and arbitrate cases, and as part of their responsibilities oversee the welfare of the village and its forest. Although

they were intended to be entirely free of state control, the government has of late been increasing its control into

their hitherto autonomous functioning through increasing control over revenue gained from sale of forest produce.

However, this paper contends that state intervention need not necessarily be a bad thing. The women of Uttaran-

chal have realized this fact and that, in order to gain power in the civil society, they need to gain control of the

state and, in that process, truly reform and democratize it. Thus, they are increasingly making themselves heard

by demanding greater participation in the Van and Gram Panchayats.Elections to the Van Panchayats are often cast under the shadow of doubt, with allegations of rigging and cor-

ruption in terms of misuse of funds that are sanctioned by the government for village and forest welfare. Under

such circumstances, it has become common for the women to resist the constitution of a Panchayat where elec-

tions are suspect by contesting elections themselves. Thus, in the village of ‘Bilona’, the women banded together

to demand a reconstitution of the Van Panchayat and despite stiff resistance by the men folk ensured the resigna-

tion of the Van Panchayat. Similarly, in ‘Ramol Gaon’, a woman called ‘Ratki Devi’ single-handedly mobilized

support against a Van Panchayat that was facing corruption charges. In order to ensure a more transparent utiliza-

tion of funds, she ensured a re-election and was made the president by popular demand. Some illegal tree-felling

had started in their forest and Ratki Devi took the matter into her own hands. Now, even the men of the village

support her and she is regarded as an inspiration to others.13

11 Kalyan Singh Rawat. Originator of Maiti movement. 2004. Interview by author, 11 June. Tape recording. Interviewee’s residence. Dehradun.12 Recent research (Sethi and Khan, 2001; Datta and Varalakshmi, 1999) supports the argument that the involvement of the state in community forestry initiatives, such as that in the Indian provinces of Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, can be benefi cial for the forests as well as village resource development.13 Names of the villages and the individual have been changed in order to protect their identity. Parvati. Mahila Samakhya worker. Interview by author. 2004. 6 July, New Tehri, capital of Tehri Garhwal. Tape recording. Mahila Samakhya (NGO) offi ce, New Tehri.

Greening Garhwal 17


Similarly, women in Uttaranchal are also struggling for power through politics by contesting elections for the

regular Panchayats. The system of Panchayati Raj is basically self-rule at the village level, where fi ve elected

members from each village have the authority and jurisdiction in the fi elds of legislation, jurisdiction and executive

decision-making bodies. With the 73rd Amendment Act in the constitution of India, all states had to devolve power

and the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) were given constitutional status. This has meant direct elections and

acceleration of the democratic process at the very grassroots. It also ensures compulsory representation for women

and scheduled castes and tribes (which have traditionally been the most oppressed sections of Indian society) in

each elected body. This single act by the state has given a tremendous boost to local self-government and an

opportunity for repressed sections such as women to empower themselves. In 1996 42% women candidates were

elected in the Panchayati Raj elections in Garhwal region alone, even though the act allows for no more than 33%

reservation for women, and in 2003 nearly 50% made the mark. A most signifi cant feature here is that, due to

immense pressure from the women, Uttaranchal has now become the fi rst state in the country to pass legislation

that ensures 50% reservation for women in the Panchayati Raj and also ensures two terms for elected women

members. This is in order to check the patriarchal bias inherent in society, where women are often pushed out

and silenced easily. Thus, the winds of change are blowing in these traditionally male dominated institutions and

structures. Gender equity through informed governance is increasingly becoming a feasible option. What is criti-

cal is the role of the state in creating avenues and channels through which the weaker sections can actually

empower themselves, and this can only be achieved by creating a thoroughly democratized state with participatory,

grassroots governance (Annual Report of RLEK, 2002).

Thus, what is visible through these examples is that women want to make their voices heard and demand a

share in the decision-making affecting their lives and their forests. To this purpose, they resort to ‘modern’ methods

such as political participation through voting and representation in a democracy and the state – both of which

would be regarded as ‘modern’ institutions. This is in stark contrast to the post-modern and post-colonial argu-

ment that there is a need to shun all forms of ‘modern’ political institutions such as the state and parliamentary

democracy (Chakrabarty, 1995, p. 757; Chatterjee, 1993). Subaltern thinkers such as Dipesh Charkrabarty and

Partha Chatterjee have made an argument that there is a need to fi nd non-statist, community-based means of

participation and assertion that is based on a recovery of traditional cultures. This would involve looking at the

subaltern as not a ‘fragment’ of the ‘whole’, i.e. the state or nation, but a ‘whole’ that is complete in itself. This

would make room for alternative imaginings of power and governance, which are more participatory, more

democratic and less exclusive. However, there is a key point that needs to be considered before one rushes into

any such romantic alternatives, and this is the fact that traditional societies need not be less exclusive, repressive

or discriminatory in terms of power-sharing arrangements, as is visible in the patriarchy that operates in the lives

of the traditional society of Garhwal. Thus, community is entirely capable of stifl ing the individual. Under such

circumstances, the state can be a highly useful instrument to protest against the tyranny of the community.

What is most problematic about post-modernism and post-colonialism, in general, and with respect to their

approach to development, is the denial of any kind of positivity in the role of state and an attempt to deprivilege

it as a site of political struggle (Stokke and Mohan, 2001). Thus, the state is regarded as part and parcel of a

capitalist system of exploitation and bureaucratic domination in the case of the post-modernists, and as a colonial

legacy deserving to be dismantled by the post-colonialists. This is a point that needs urgent attention, because it

is argued by means of this paper that it is absolutely imperative to negotiate with the state, especially so in the

context of the Third World; it simply cannot be ignored, sidelined or negated as an instrument with the potential

of bringing much positive change. The framing of the discourse in a framework of state versus civil society mode

is extremely restrictive in theoretical as well as practical terms. In contemporary literature on development studies,

two main strands are visible – revisionist neo-liberalism and post-Marxism – and both borrow heavily from the

post-modern concept of new social movements and civil society as an alternative to exploitative, parasitic and inef-

fi cient states. The neo-liberal perspective involves the inclusion of popular participation in development in order

to cut welfare costs for the state. Institutions and civil society are seen as partners to state development. Post-

Marxism, on the other hand, is the main counter-hegemonic position in development debates and sees civil society

as the challenge to economic liberalism and associated political institutions (Stokke and Mohan, 2001, p. 3). The

state is identifi ed as the key problem, not as the ‘engine of development’, by the radical left as well as the political

right. Radical left critique attacked the state from the perspective of the class, gender and ethnic divisions in society.

18 A. Pandey


The neo-liberals focus instead on the competence and motivation of the state (which is regarded as the private

interest view). Therefore, the solution of Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) is suggested. However, by

the 1990s it became clear that social welfare cutbacks and a diminished role for the state only meant increased

poverty levels. Thus, revisionist neo-liberalism emphasizes community participation and empowerment through

civil society (including the marginalized from the SAPs) and post-Marxists believe in empowerment as the collec-

tive mobilization of marginalized groups against the disempowering activities of both the state and the market

(Escobar, 1995; Stokke and Mohan, 2001, p. 6). It has been noted that in most of the literature on development

studies and post-modernism the civil society is so valorized and the state is caricatured such that there seems no

option but to favour the former over the latter in strategic interventions (Stokke and Mohan, 2001, p. 4).

Conclusions and Suggestions

Through this article, I have argued for the need to transcend the ‘civil society versus state’ debate, which is paralys-

ing the development discourse, and instead made a case for seeing the two as necessary complements to each

other, because it is only through their active collusion that maximum benefi ts in terms of development can be

disbursed to the public. However, the key to the success of such endeavours is the critical task of democratizing

the state. In this specifi c context, this paper makes certain concrete suggestions in order to further this cause. With

respect to increasing interference of the government’s forest department in the Van Panchayat, it is recommended

that this interference needs to be channelized constructively. The division of revenues between the forest depart-

ment and the Van Panchayats is a matter of serious contention, wherein the Van Panchayat should be allocated a

greater share in the revenue from the sale of timber and resin (from pines). Complete control by the forest depart-

ment in this issue area needs to be addressed, because it is leading to a loss of incomes of the Van Panchayats and

increasing frustration amongst the people. This has meant a decline in the role and effi cacy of the Van Panchayats and it is imperative that the state addresses this situation in order to promote grassroots’ mobilization in participa-

tory forestry. This calls for greater feedback and fl ow of communication between the state and the people, where

independent initiatives by the community are supported by state through technical advice and infrastructural

support. Similarly, with respect to Gram Panchayats’ functioning, it is recommended that the state supports the

women’s demand for being given ‘main worker’ status. This is the single most important struggle being waged

in the hills, since it is the women who are the backbone of the agricultural economy and yet they do not have land

and property rights in their name.14 Conferring ‘main worker’ status on the women would mean much greater

economic security and stability for the women.

By highlighting ecofeminist activism in the region of Garhwal, I have strived to show the critical role that com-

munity participation can play in sustainable development. At the same time, I have cited the example of women

striving to gain access to political power through state machinery and apparatus. My aim here is to highlight the

largely untapped potential of the state and the urgent need to involve it in the process of development. As was

obvious from the example of the Gram Panchayats and Van Panchayats, the women agents/subjects themselves

demand an active share and stake in the political decision-making because it translates directly into greater control

and power over their own lives. Despite the disillusionment with the state, especially in the context of the Third

World, there is an urgent need for state reform followed by state intervention. While new social movements (for

example ecofeminist ones such as Chipko) play a vital role in offering resistance against forces of repression, the

state is the only institution in the South that has the resources to articulate their demands, coordinate their

activities and institutionalize the gains made by them. Failure of the Third World state is not a failure of state

intervention per se, but the main problem was a lack of effective, coherent nationally focused and democratically

controlled state intervention (Graf, 1995, p. 158). It is in this context that we need to imagine a new kind of a state,

one that is a ‘civic state’, which is democratized to the very grassroots.

14 M. S. Kunwar, Head of NGO Himalayan Action Research Centre. 2004. Interview by author. June 8, Dehradun. Tape recording. HARC (NGO) offi ce, Dobhalwala, Dehradun.

Greening Garhwal 19


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