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Paper short abstract:

Early Indian traditions aligned the country’s growth with environmental protection and public welfare. In the era of reckless extraction of natural resources and exploitation of marginalized communities, revisiting Indian practices offers impactful lessons for a sustainable and inclusive future.

Paper long abstract:

While climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss are significant environmental concerns, at the same time, global poverty, illiteracy, gender discrimination, and lack of health facilities exist as an equally substantial menace to human survival. The root cause of these prevailing catastrophes can be traced back to the inception of the Industrial Revolution and the economic order that compromises the environment and the interests of marginalized communities. Based on a similar exploitative market model, the current global economies overlook the environmental impacts of unrestricted growth, limited natural resources, and the unjust sharing of developmental benefits. There lies an urgent need to reconsider our lifestyle and economic system to respond to the contemporary crisis.

Through his Separate Opinion in the 1997 Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Justice Weeramantry noted the significance of ancient civilizations and traditional legal systems in reconciling economic development with environmental law. India, as one of the ancient civilizations, has a rich history of sustainable and environment-friendly practices, including organic farming, rainwater harvesting, water conservation through check dams and irrigation canals, dependency on forest products, and cow dung as fertilizers. Along with constructing environmentally sound architectures and maintaining a sacred relationship with nature, India held nearly a world’s quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1 AD till the 17th century. The paper proposal aims to highlight ancient and medieval India’s environmental ethics, sustainable lifestyle, and elements of circular economy. It will determine strategies to create a clean, inclusive future harmonized with economic growth.