False Promises: How One Company Drastically Failed Indian Farmers

By: Gabriella Dodgson
May 2020 - Reflections on Bt cotton

    The news is often filled with new innovation pertaining to sustainable agriculture. The one that we tend to hear the most is genetically modified organisms or more commonly known as GMO’s. “Genetically modified cotton is currently grown on 25 million hectares around the world [1]”.  This cash crop is especially important to India as they are the largest producer of cotton in the world. BT cotton was promised as a miracle solution to reduce pesticide use and allow farmers to increase their cotton yield.

Pink bollworms in a cotton boll (Source: US Dept. of Agriculture)

     The first approval for cotton cultivation of BT hybrids was given in 2002. BT cotton was created by a company known as Monsanto, and few promises the company made to Indian farmers have come true.  Monsanto made two main promises to India farmers about this strain of cotton; first that it would reduce the amount of pesticides farmers need to buy to control pests, second it would increase yield and thus income. This paper will discuss how the Monsanto company fell short of these promises and greatly affected many farmers lives.

    Currently, Bt cotton is being infested by the pink bollworm that has grown resistant to the bollgard-2 genetic trait, Monsanto promised this gene would protect the crop. “The resulting hybrids are hemizygous, which means they only express one copy of the Bt gene. This means that some seeds are toxic to the pink bollworm and some are not [2]”.  This is significant because the Bt seeds initially cost more money for the farmers and now are creating havoc on their farms as the pink bollworm infests the cotton. The Indian Government is now considering cutting the royalties to Monsanto as thousands of farms suffer the consequences of their actions. This is why it is important to thoroughly study the effectiveness of genetically modified organisms before mass producing them in order to make a profit. It is important that agricultural sectors create regulations that prevent farmers from suffering and declaring bankruptcy due to poor science such as we see with Bt cotton.

    Monsanto also promised farmers that Bt cotton would increase the annual yield of cotton. “After the introduction of Bt cotton, the yield almost doubled within six years. However, the decline in yield is only about 15 percent in the last six or seven years. Therefore, Bt cotton still outperforms conventional varieties [3]”.  This is significant because Monsanto did promise an increased yield, and this did occur in India. However, an economic analysis would need to be done to see if the increase yield outweighs the extra costs spent on the Bt cotton seeds and pesticide use. It seems that there is no easy answer when it comes to the use of Bt cotton. It can also be argued that the improvements in yield may have been due to improvements in infrastructure and agricultural practices within India.

Cotton fibers awaiting processing in a factory near Coimbatore, India (Photo: R. Sivanpillai)

    It can be argued that in some ways Bt cotton was successful. Interestingly, Bt cotton had success in some regions of India. Many states in recent years have reached record average yields. Farmers may have also lacked information on growing conditions, pesticide use, the importance of planting proper seeds and the earning to be expected from the plant. The lack of agricultural education could also play a part in the success of the cotton. Thus, more research will need to be conducted to understand the role agricultural education plays in sustainable cotton cultivation.

    Currently, over 90% of all the cotton grown in India is Bt cotton.  The intense use of Bt cotton has provided many problems for Indian farmers and these will continue to grow unless an affordable option is found. As an essential part of Indian economy, it is important that the government creates regulations preventing companies from false advertising of their products. Bt cotton has become a huge economic threat for India and farmers livelihoods, it is time that the government come to the aid of those affected by Monsanto.

Sources:

[1] “Genetically Modified Cotton.” Genetically Modified Cotton. Ontario, Canada : Canadian Biotechnology Action Network , 2013. www.cban.ca/cotton.

[2] “Indian Farmers Double Yields with Bt Cotton, but Pest Resistance Issues Complicate Its Advantages.” Genetic Literacy Project, August 6, 2018. https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2018/08/06/indian-farmers-double-yields-with-bt-cotton-but-pest-resistance-issues-complicate-its-advantages/.

[3] Pulla, Priyanka. “A Perfect Storm in the Cotton Field.” The Hindu. The Hindu, March 28, 2018. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-perfect-storm-in-the-cotton-field/article23357894.ece.

Perspectives on Bt cotton in India

By: Chelsea Warren
April 2020 - Reflections on Bt cotton


Genetically modified Bt cotton seeds were first introduced to India by Monsanto, a United States agrochemical company, in 1993 through an Indian seed company, MAHYCO. It was not until 1998, when Monsanto and MAHYCO formed a joint-venture called MAHYCO-Monsanto Biotech that Bt cotton seeds started gaining popularity with Indian farmers. The seeds were advertised as something of a “cure-all” crop, expensive, but guaranteed to resist pests, decrease pesticide usage, and increase yields for struggling farmers all over India. Soon after Bt cotton took off, India did indeed see a dramatic increase in national average cotton yields, but in the years to follow there has been a great deal of controversy over whether Monsanto truly delivered on their promises to farmers.

There are many different perspectives on this issue, often with some organization or entity behind them, responsible for propagating their story. Some, portray the arrival and continued use of Bt cotton as a crisis for Indian farmers, brought on by immoral corporations and perpetuated by a negligent government. Others site the increased yields and reduced pesticide usage in some areas and claim Bt cotton as a great success. The farmers themselves also seem to be split on the issue.

Separating cotton seeds from fiber in Coimbatore, India (photo: R. Sivanpillai)

However, I think farmer opinion is of utmost importance here. It is their families and livelihoods at stake – factors which have been largely ignored by giant greedy corporations like Monsanto and their Indian business partners as well as the Indian government.

Since farmer opinion was my main focus, I tried to find real testimonials or interviews from farmers or families affected by Bt cotton. Most, if not all, of the “positive” content I found in support of Bt cotton or genetically modified seeds in general, were sponsored by an organization or corporation. The 2015 video titled, Understand Bt Cotton and Its Impact on the Sector, was produced by MAHYCO (Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Co.). Of course, this video presented a long list of benefits supposedly produced by Bt cotton. One of the first videos that appears when researching Bt cotton is a testimonial by a farmer in Sirsa, India, who talks a lot about the environmental benefits of Bt. The original video was created by the Cornell Alliance for Science who, as an organization, advocate the continued production and consumption of GMO’s and argue publicly against anti-GMO campaigns in India.

A well-known environmental activist, Vendana Shiva, is one of the biggest voices, along with her organization, Navdanya, against the use of GMO seeds in Indian farming. She encourages the cultivation of native seeds as a means of securing biodiversity and sustainability and many people, especially Indian women, are behind her movement. It is important to note that media played a huge role in convincing (or scamming) Indian farmers into buying genetically modified seeds in the first place. There were numerous advertisements made for Bt cotton, when it was being introduced, that promised prosperity.

So, who is telling the truth? In my opinion, Bt cotton seeds themselves are not to blame for the plight of the Indian farmer. Bt cotton seeds have proven to be effectively resistant against the pink bollworm, one of the main problem pests for Indian cotton crops. However, the most important component of this agricultural system, the farmer, was largely ignored by corporation and government. It is undeniable that farmers were not given enough information to guide their purchasing and cultivation of Bt cotton. Corporations like Monsanto do not have a moral compass by which they regulate their actions, especially not in countries where they are used to getting away with anything. This leaves the responsibility of educating and protecting cotton producers, who are in many cases uneducated, to the government. Farmers should have been told that the already expensive Bt seeds would have to be repurchased each year, that they would still have to use irrigation and pesticides for good yields, and that taking loans from private money lenders results in an inescapable mountain of debt. The Indian government had to know that the desperate financial circumstances farmers were already facing before the arrival of Bt cotton would drive them to try almost anything that promised results – in many cases without resources to understand the risks. They should have stepped in to protect their farming communities from corporate predation.

A Maharashtra Vacation

By: Thomas Gare
May 2020 - Fictional narrative reflection on Bt Cotton

Part I
     In May of 2004, my family and I decided to vacation in India to experience the culture of a different country. Additionally, my mother had always wanted to visit Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, in Maharashtra (Central India) to photograph the Indian bison and elusive sloth bears. We read in a travel magazine that spring is a good time to see the animals lingering near bodies of water [1].

     Our flight from San Francisco to Singapore took 16 hours. We then boarded a 5-hour connecting flight to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. Our final destination was a luxury hotel in Satara, approximately 50 miles east of Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary and 150 miles south of the Mumbai. A bus service shuttled my family and I to the hotel. We planned to spend one night at the hotel before renting a car and driving to the sanctuary.

    Driving through the countryside was a pleasant experience. We watched the local cotton farmers sow cotton seeds in their fields in anticipation of the coming harvest season. The driver of the bus informed us that the farmers were eager to plant their seeds. Two years prior, in 2002, they purchased a new type of seed called ‘Bt cotton’ from the US-based Monsanto. Although the seeds were expensive, the 2002 harvest was successful, and the farmers were hoping for similar successful years.

     The bus driver repeated what he had heard

Cotton plant (Source: US Department of Agriculture)

from a Monsanto salesman. He told us that the high upfront cost of the seeds should be offset by a reduced demand for chemical pesticides and reduced losses from bollworm infestation. We watched out the window of the vehicle as the farmers sowed their new seed. They looked happy, and the local villages were bustling with people and street vendors. Everything seemed right with the world.

    Arriving at the hotel in Satara, we were served a dinner of roti, dal, and a mixed green salad. The staff shared some tips regarding local tourist attractions and popular areas to view bears and bison within the sanctuary. We thanked the staff for their advice and went to bed, eagerly anticipating the activities of the following day.

    The next morning, we rented a car and drove two and a half hours west to Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary. Our new hotel was located near the boundary of the sanctuary. After checking in, we purchased a map of the area and hopped back in the car. We made sure to mark the locations which were recommended by the hotel staff the night before. There was not enough time to search for wildlife before dark, so we simply made a plan for the next day’s adventures and returned to the hotel.

     Upon our return the next day, our primary goal was to locate a herd of Indian bison or a lone sloth bear. We eventually found our way back to a large watering hole and waited in the distance for one to appear.

    After eight hours of waiting, seeing nothing but mosquitos and other tourists, we decided to call it a day. As we started to turn the car around and drive back, we began to hear the sound of clicking camera shutters. The other tourists were all facing the same direction, towards one stand of trees about 50 yards away. We stopped the car and walked over to the other people. As we rounded a bend in the road, we instantly spotted the animals. Three adult bison and two calves were emerging from a tree line and slowly walking towards the water. My family and I stood in awe of the magnificent creatures. For the next hour, we watched the animals drink from the watering hole and graze the surrounding grass. In that moment, we decided to return to the park in the future to relive this amazing experience.


Part II
    Ten years later, in 2014, we returned to India for a second visit. Our first vacation to Maharashtra was so enjoyable that we deemed it worthy of a return trip. In planning our activities, we booked the same hotel in Satara and planned to search for sloth bears and Indian bison in Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary once again.  This time, however, was very different.

    Our flight took us from San Francisco to Singapore. After waiting three hours for our connecting flight, we boarded the plane to Mumbai. Although this would be our second visit to India, we were just as excited to experience the food, culture and scenery as the first trip.

    Landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, everything seemed normal. The same bus service picked us up outside the airport to drive us to Satara. Although the driver was different, he drove the same route.

    Driving through the Maharashtra countryside 10 years after our first visit, my family and I were shocked. The villages and people, once happy and energetic, now appeared to lack them. The atmosphere felt nothing like our first visit. Cotton farms which were once green and well-maintained were now shriveled and dry, with some appearing abandoned. Farmers moved more slowly, as if they felt their efforts were futile.

    After the bus dropped us off at the hotel, I walked back to the nearest farming village. Luckily, one of the older village children spoke broken English and I was able to ask her why the surrounding cotton fields were in such poor condition. Through a thick accent, she told me all about the recent decline of her family’s cotton plantation.

    The young girl told me that her father committed suicide in 2010. After receiving a loan to purchase a new type of cotton seed, he realized that he may never be able to repay his debt. The new seeds, called Bt cotton, were successful during their first two years of use; however, they soon began to fail. Pesticide use initially declined as the plants deterred bollworm infestation. But in the absence of bollworms, new pests took over. Farmers were required to purchase new types of pesticides for their crops, thus increasing their pre-existing debt.

    Additionally, the young girl’s father did not speak the language printed on the seed packages. He did not realize that the seeds lose vigor after only a few generations and then require new seeds to be purchased [2]. If he had known this, he would never have purchased the seeds in the first place.
To make matters worse, the farmer attempted to remove the Bt cotton plants and reintroduce the native variety. Unfortunately, however, the Bt cotton plants released toxins into the soil which prohibited other plants from growing [3]. It was at this point that the girl’s father took his own life. Other farmers in the village did the same. She told me that her mother has been struggling ever since.
My family and I were heartbroken by the news. We also felt saddened by the needlessness of the situation. Had Indian farmers not been scammed, the community may still be intact. If not for Monsanto, the girl’s father may still be alive.

Sources:

[1] “Complete Guide to Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra.” Trans India Travels, Trans India Travels, 28 May 2018, www.transindiatravels.com/maharashtra/koyna-wildlife-sanctuary/.
 
[2] Ware, Daxton. Biotechnology and Insect Pest Management. ED-Tech Press, 2019. Indian Agricultural Research Institute.
 
[3] Yasin, Sanaullah, et al. “Impact of Bt-Cotton on Soil Microbiological and Biochemical Attributes.” Plant Production Science, vol. 19, no. 4, 2 June 2016, pp. 458–467.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Past, Present, Future

By: Gabriella Dodgson
April 2020 - Reflections on Bhopal Gas Tragedy

As the Corona virus slowly begins to dismantle everything around us, it becomes more apparent how important public health is to the entire world. Viruses and environmental disasters of anthropogenic or natural origin are closely linked in the affects that they can have on communities and economies globally. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy on December 3, 1984 is still  remembered as  one of the worst industrial accidents in history. The poor management of the large industrial plant in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India led to the accidental release of over 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas causing thousands of morbidities.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Background information NBC News Report (1984) The Economist's Review (2014)

The effects of the disaster can still be seen today nearly 36 years later, thus showing how important regulations are in protecting the health of communities near and beyond industrial sites. The Bhopal Gas Tragedy occurred due to three main problems within the plant; poor management practices due to neglect, failure of multiple safety mechanisms and failure to alert proper authorities to protect public health. It is my hope that as we face public health crises with the current Corona virus, we learn from events such as the Bhopal Gas tragedy.

Initially discussions of the incident focused on the failure of several safety mechanisms within the plant. After further research, there were actually several reasons that the plant released the toxic methyl isocyanate.  The main problems with the plant noted included the introduction of water that created the catastrophic chemical reaction and the failure of the flare to burn off escaping gases. According to the New York Times, one of the main causes of the accident was, “A workers whose training did not meet the plant’s original standards was ordered by a novice supervisor to wash out a pipe that had not been properly sealed. This procedure was prohibited by plant rules [1]". This shows how poor the management at the Union Carbide plant was, I think this is significant in understanding how severe accidents can occur and how  strict standards must be put in place when working with harmful chemicals that can severely affect people’s lives. It should be noted that the neglectful management was in large part due to the company planning to sell the plant and thus not investing in proper training. The poor training of these managers shows that the Union Carbide Corporation was negligent in providing proper training and resources for those who worked at the plant.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy was a devastating public health event. “Estimates of the number of people killed in the first few days by the plume from the UCC plant run as high as 10,000, with 15,000 to 20,000 premature deaths reportedly occurring the subsequent 2 decades (Broughton 2005).” The current data also likely under-represents the true extent of adverse effects on public health, some individuals left Bhopal almost immediately following the accident and were lost to follow-up with. “At the end of October 2003, according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, compensation was only awarded to 554,895 people for injuries received and 15,310 survivors of those killed, the average amount to families of the dead was $2,200 [2].”  It is clear that local governments should not allow industrial facilities to be in close proximity to urban areas. Industry and governments must work together to improve safety for the public in terms of industrial accidents. At the time of the incident, no emergency plan was put in place within the state. It is important that this event is seen as a warning to other states that there must be plans put in place to protect the public during emergencies.

Today the Bhopal Gas Tragedy is still affecting thousands of families. The entire population of old Bhopal is affected. “ The toxic wastes from the factory site have been piped into three huge solar evaporation ponds and these have slowly leaked into the soil and groundwater [3].”  Union Carbide constructed these ponds in 1977 and have dumped several thousand tons of toxic waste and byproducts into these sites. The wastes were separated from the soil beneath by a thin plastic barrier sheet made of polyethylene. The ponds in principle are just giant polluting holes in the ground leaching chemicals into nearby groundwater. This means that second and third generation children are being affected by the actions of the Union Carbide Corporation. As a corporation social responsibility should be an essential pillar of conducting business. The Union Carbide Corporation failed to protect the community that they worked in, ultimately this will affect these communities for many years to come.

Sources:

[1] Diamond, Stuart. “THE BHOPAL DISASTER: HOW IT HAPPENED.” The New York Times. The New York Times, January 28, 1985. Link

[2] Broughton, Edward. “The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a review.” Environmental health : a global access science source vol. 4,1 6. 10 May. 2005, DOI:10.1186/1476-069X-4-6. Link.

[3] “Disabled Children of Bhopal Gas Tragedy.” Pulitzer Center, July 29, 2019. Link.

Thoughts on the UCC’s reaction to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy

By: Nicole M. Miller
April 2020 - Reflections on Bhopal Gas Tragedy

My original thoughts after learning about the gas tragedy of Bhopal, were shameful towards the American company who placed their plant in an unfit workplace. From a realist perspective in terms of capitalism, it is understandable why they put a plant in Bhopal. Bhopal is in central India, so the location is prime. Also, it is much cheaper to employ workers in India then in the United States. However, safety precautions should never be ignored. These precautions were blatantly ignored because it was cheaper to do so. They also did not consider that in the area, the public heath infrastructure was poor and even something as simple as tap water was only available a few hours of the day [1].

The night before the accident, there was a small leak of MIC and pressure was increasing in the storage tank and the vent gas scrubber (that neutralizes toxic discharge) was turned off for three weeks. Not only that but, the refrigeration unit was also shut off, so pressure and heat continued to build up in the tank, and the gas flare safety system was also shut off for three months. After I learned about this, I understood that it was out of money saving tendencies as to why the safety precautions were shut off and ignored. According to Broughton (2005), “the facility continued to operate with safety equipment and procedures far below the standards found in its sister plant in Institute, West Virginia” [1]. This was because local workers were instructed to prepare the plant for selling (due to lack of profit), but no one would purchase it.

The reason why the safety precautions were ignored was the company was performing bad in terms of finance so they could not afford to keep them up and running. I believe that if money was the issue, they should have stopped production all together instead of continuing production and just simply ignoring safety precautions. However, the city of Bhopal had to suffer the consequences, which is simply not fair. India and the United States had business treaties in which were guaranteed but violated in Bhopal [2]. It is important to try to look at tragedies like these as warnings in order to prevent it from happening again. This event could have been a hard lesson learned for the UCC, however it appeared to me that they tried to ignore the problem rather than learn from it. They took no responsibility and they withheld information from the public. The entire process was delayed because the case went back and forth between courts of India and the United States. To this date, there is no released information on what was exactly leaked from the factory in December [1].

A section of the UCC plant (Bhopal, India) several decades after the disaster
(Source: Simone.lippi at it.wikipedia / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

A survivor-activist Rashida Bi summarized his opinion on the situation in Bhopal by stating, “Those who died while asleep on Dec 2, 1984, were lucky. Those who survived are dying bit by bit every day. We are being treated as if we are culprits” [2]. Overall, I believe that the UCC is to blame for this tragedy. It is a hard lesson learnt and justice has yet to be served. The path of industrialization (especially in developing countries) is a difficult path. By this I mean, businesses have to make sacrifices and learn from mistakes. This tragedy can be looked at as insight gained in terms of not letting something like this happen again.

Sources:

[1] Broughton E. (2005) “The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a review.” Environmental Health, 4 (6). DOI: 10.1186/1476-069X-4-6 Link

[2] Sharma, D.C. (2005) “Bhopal 20 Years On” The Lancet, 08 January 2005 Link

Bhopal Gas Tragedy Response: A Photographer’s View of the Tragedy

By: Alannah C Gee
April 2020 - Reflections on Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Seeing the world through a camera can distance a photographer from the pain they are capturing. In the moment, we can hide behind our industrial box, perfectly designed for capturing and sharing moments. We try to hide, try to throw ourselves into the process of creation.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Background information NBC News Report (1984) The Economist's Review (2014)

No amount of mechanical distance could allow photographers to hide from the pain of their subject on December 3rd, 1984. Tragedies often do this; overwhelming pain surrounding the camera seeps through the lens and infuses photographs with the deep sorrow felt by the people affected by them. The gas leak in Bhopal was one such pain infused tragedy and photographs resulting from the aftermath hold such deep heartfelt pain, even today.

On the morning of December 3rd, photographers arrived in the city of Bhopal India, one of the most notable being Raghu Rai, ready to walk among the people whose lungs had accumulated pieces of the massive, around 40 ton, cloud of toxic gases released from a neglected, unsafe pesticide plant the night before [1]. What these photographers witnessed and captured gave a visual face to the harsh neglect of the large industrial company responsible for the leak, Union Carbide. These photographs are hard to even look at and must have been much harder to take as they capture scenes of children being buried and husbands carrying their dead wives across the now desolate city [2]. They also captured victims of the tragedy, suffering from injuries like blindness. One powerful image taken by Rai shows the Union Carbide plant surrounded by lingering gas and shows the proximity of the lower caste housing whose residents were all greatly affected by this gas leak. The photographs by Rai go on to chronicle the processes of cremation and later entire bags full of skulls [2]. He shows just a piece of the immensity of this tragedy but yet is able to so directly capture the gut-wrenching pain in fixed images.

Source: https://bit.ly/2FUiaOv

It is hard to imagine what being a photographer in this tragedy would have been like, but I imagine it would have been strikingly similar to ones capturing other historical tragedies enshrouded in human based pain, like 911 or various wars. Rai’s photographs give me a strikingly similar feel as the ones taken in the Vietnam War of children running naked away from napalm bombs [3]. The intentionality of these situations is vastly different, but both involve helpless citizens running from pain that is descending from the sky, running from poison threatening to fill their lungs and bring them to their knees or even their graves.

Walking through the streets of the areas around this plant in the days after the tragedy must have been difficult. Being surrounded by confused, uninformed, dying people with no resources to cope and then looking up at a massive industrial plant that existed in this town simply to take advantage of the developing economy and cheap labor must have been sickening. Learning that this happened because the company essentially gave up on the plant and stopped caring about safety measures must have felt like they had given up on the people surrounding it too. If it is still so infuriating to consider the predatory negligence of Union Carbide, it must have been completely depressing walking the streets among the victims in pain knowing how they had been hurt by greedy industry. And then picking up a camera and fixing these images in time must have been impossible. Struggling to capture the truth and authenticity of the pain, struggling to give the unheard victims a voice, these photographers were doing important work. It is easy to look at the statistics of a tragedy and understand the lack of appropriate monetary reparations after the tragedy but without looking at the faces of the people affected, it is impossible to understand the core of the pain. It is impossible to feel the deep cut to the community without hearing the victim's stories and hearing what they have to say. Photography has become an incredible tool for these stories to become widely shared and allow the emotion to be conveyed to all. It also becomes a visual historical record so that now, 32 years after the tragedy, people like me can go back and look at these photographs and understand another small sliver of the drastic effects on the community that this industrial negligence had.

Sources:

[1] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Bhopal Disaster.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Jan. 2020. Link

[2] BHOPAL. Raghu Rai Foundation, Szuveren Media, 22 Mar. 2019. Link

[3] Stockton, Richard. “The Widely Misunderstood Story Behind The Iconic Image Of ‘Napalm Girl.’” All That's Interesting, All That's Interesting, 23 Sept. 2019. Link

India: A Spritual Odyssey

By: Dylan Sollenberger
July 2019 Trip to Coimbatore, India


At a Hindu temple near my hometown of Peoria, Illinois, I once asked a man who spent half his life in India and half in the United States, what the difference was between people from both areas. With a big smile on his face, he explained to me that the difference between people is like an onion. Sounds odd, but like the layers of an onion, superficial differences can be peeled away till there is nothing there. No real difference at all. I understood what the man was saying but until my travels to Coimbatore, India I couldn’t capture the full scope of his wisdom.

Before any mention of the trip, I had always wanted to travel to India. My exploration into Eastern Philosophy had greatly intrigued me back home. Upon moving to Laramie, Wyoming to continue my education, I was curious to see how my academia and spiritual endeavors would intersect. I was elated when I found there was an Environmental Policy in India course offered in the spring. My main research project for that course focused on environmental action taken on behalf of spiritual communities near important religious sites. What began as a case study on specific environmental/religious initiatives broadened into an overall study in the relationship between spirituality and biological conservation. When my teacher asked if I would like to travel to India to further explore this theme as part of an elective course I couldn’t refuse. What seemed to be separate roads of academic pursuit and spiritual journey were now appearing to be as one.

After landing in New Delhi International Airport with fellow
student Emma Dixon and Ramesh Sivanpillai (Instructor)

After never thinking I would get out of a plane seat or an airport, I finally arrived in Coimbatore, India. I must admit, it was a lot to take in at first. I had never traveled outside of the United States. I’ve barely ever flown before. Now I’m trying to buy food that I can’t pronounce with money I’ve never seen. Not to mention, I have a hard time understanding solely English-speaking people. Let alone a country where there are many different dialects and accents (you quickly realize the limits of only being taught one language). The traffic, oh my goodness. It seemed to be as if there were more guidelines than actual rules when it came to the road. Sort of a free-for-all, which to people from this area was completely normal. They seemed to navigate the roads almost flawlessly without any conflict. Before getting overwhelmed, I reminded myself of what the man back home said. “Superficial differences”.

Once we got to Amrita University where we were staying, I remember having the overwhelming feeling that I made the right decision coming on this trip. The University was basically located in the middle of the jungle next to these beautiful mountains. It was as if the buildings were part of the nature there, like the grass and the trees. In many highly developed areas you get a feeling of the development choking out nature, but here it all seemed to be perfectly integrated. Walking around campus didn’t feel like a stressed time crunch to get to class, but rather a meditative walk through the forest. Which is another thing. Almost everyone here seemed to walk at a much more relaxed state. I remember on one of my early walks with a good friend I made by the name of Shashank, having to constantly remind myself to slow down. The plants and abundant wildlife on campus really seemed to facilitate this idea of soaking in the little things while going about your daily life. I had yet to meet my spiritual teachers who along with Shashank and a few other amazing students, would be the strongest aid to my research; but I was already beginning to understand the links between spirituality and nature.

Combining conservation and spirituality: Temple under trees

Something I was not aware of before coming on the trip, was just how grounded in spirituality Amrita University truly is. I knew it would be tied to Eastern Philosophy, especially Hinduism, but not on the level I discovered. Founded by the renown spiritual leader, Amma (Mother), Amrita University focuses on blending tradition and materialism. Amma, who I’ve come to appreciate on a monumental scale, believes that the University is like a tree that should be rooted in spirituality and branched in materialism. Instead of thinking of the two as separate, think of them as one that must rely on the other for wholesome survival. She also has the quote that is on all the buses at Amrita University saying, “Love is my Religion”. If there is any way I could explain the power of Amma this quote would be it. Her presence and words have the ability to offer spiritual sanctity to many across the world, and I was beginning to understand why.

An evening stroll

Another vital spiritual leader that helped with my research was a man whom I called Swamiji. Swamiji is Sanskrit for “he who is one with his self” and is usually termed for an ascetic or yogi who has been initiated into a religious monastic order. He oversaw the spiritual practices and offered spiritual advice to students on campus.

Upon meeting him, I was immediately taken back by his kindness and wisdom. He was the one who really laid the framework for the connections into spirituality and conservation that I was exploring here at Coimbatore. He would explain concepts to me that would range from the universal core of all religions to the art of meditation. He was able to elaborate on Eastern concepts that I briefly learned in Illinois but didn’t fully understand. He strongly believed that the core of all religions remains the same, and that there are only superficial differences that give off the false perception of difference. The man and his onion story from back home was now ever so clear.

Whether spending my days studying the different plant and animal species near campus or learning from spiritual gurus who taught insight into the appreciation of these lifeforms, my research was coming along great. I was really starting to understand how having a certain view spiritually can affect how you treat other living organisms and subsequently acts of biological conservation. I was also receiving enormous help from many students on campus, whom I now considered good friends. Which is another important thing to note. I don’t think I met one rude person during my stay in Coimbatore! It was my birthday on one of the last days and the students even threw me a surprise birthday party!

Surprise (Happy) birthday party hosted by Amrita's Center for Computational & Engineering Network (CEN) students

All the different help I received, the man who probably helped me the most was Bill. Bill is an interesting fellow who was introduced to me by Swamiji. He is from California and although he isn’t originally from the Coimbatore area, he understood the mysteries of the universe better than anyone I met. I won’t get too much into Bill as I believe he would prefer the ambiguity as well as I’ve already rambled on too long for this blog (I could talk about India forever). Let’s just say he was a true guru to me during my stay and the spiritual knowledge I gained from him could never be put into words. He helped me find who I was, which in turn had the most substantial effect on my research. I was now looking at this new and different place I was in but no longer seeing a difference. The traffic, buildings, animals, languages, people, all which seemed like crazy differences, were now like the superficial layers of the onion and not actually real to me. Just like the previous perception of myself, which allowed superficial differences to dictate that I was something different than everything around me, I could now understand the concept of universal oneness. The main concept my research was now based upon. Without my trip to India none of this could have happened. I would never have had the opportunity to do research on such an important subject and my own personal spiritual would never had been jump started in such a way that continues to push me today.