NGT an embodiment of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent means

The year 2019 signifies 150 years of Gandhi’s birth. A key inspiration is how Gandhi showed, through his actions, the power of non-violence as a form of combatting injustice. Does this play out in today’s battle for the planet?

We have hundreds of movementsfrom those fighting against polluting industry to forest rights.

We have writers, academicians, activists, scientists, and simply, citizens who are bothered about the state of things. Where is non-violence used to fight violence the best?

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) fits the bill. Yes, some environmentalists are unhappy with it’s outcomes, it is slow, sometimes unable to solve the problem. I still vote for it. Here’s why:

The National Green Tribunal is a forum for us to take on polluters, the government and other private actors, pushing them to follow the law. We turn to the NGT to stop the violence heaped on the environment-killing rivers, chopping off trees, anhilating breeding grounds of birds and animals and poisoning people.

It is in fact, one of those spaces where any Indian can seek recourse against violence in a non-violent, constitutional manner. The NGT has shown itself to be able to stop, if not reverse, much damage. It gets polluters to pay. The case of the Art of Living’s fest on the Yamuna is a case in point.

We don’t have another such institution. For that reason, the NGT today is our best bet to roll out Gandhi’s ideal of non-violence in our quest to be a nation that values sustainability. We must protect and strengthen it now and ahead.