Manmohan Singh Legacy: Pioneering Environmental Reforms and Tribal Rights.
Manmohan Singh Former PM of India passes away, he was 92, he died last night with legacy as wide as he deep-from economic reform to climate action and environmental protection. Mr Singh served as Prime Minister for twelve years consecutively between 2004 and 2014, playing a significant leading role in the formulation and implementation of policies that balanced the growth of the Indian economy with environment conservation and provided rights for tribal communities.
Some of Singh’s significant environmental contributions are promoting and introducing the Forest Rights Act, 2006 as pioneering legislation focused on the restoration of land rights to India’s tribal communities and the traditional inhabitants of the forests. Till that time, scheduled tribes in India were marginalized, not possessing much control over the forestland they had protected for generations. This is the area that the FRA changed- recognising and granting rights to these communities for access, use and management of forest resources.
About 25 lakh land title granted up till now, and over 23.7 lakh to individual titles have been received among Scheduled Tribes and others traditional forest dwellers of old. This was part of wide efforts by the UPA-1 government, while in situ under Singh leadership. Singh had been committed to the deliverance of justice towards such communities for decades now. He had, as many would recall, written back all the Chief Ministers of this country in July 2008 asking them to fast-track forest land rights of the tribal communities. He emphasized the fact that it is a duty of the state government to provide the benefits of this segment of the society. It was due to him that such a long-felt need for rights among tribal communities all over the nation was bridged.
Other than the FRA, the Singh government did quite a few things regarding climate change. Perhaps the most prominent of his initiatives is probably the one that initiated National Action Plan on Climate Change, otherwise known as NAPCC in 2008. This consisted of eight core missions framed to ease the stringent effects of global warming, which ultimately led India into a future of sustainability. These include, the National Solar Mission which was designed as a foundation to lead the world in clean energy in India, and the Green India Mission which involves a focus on improving biodiversity and restoring degraded lands as a means of building resilience towards climate change.
Singh was one of the strongest clean energy advocates. His emphasis on clean energy towards sustainability at the 4th Clean Energy Ministerial in 2013 would subsequently turn out to be a masterstroke in the near future with acceleration in climate change. The aggressive attitude of his government in terms of action on climate and renewable energy not only saved the environment but also positioned India in the league of elite countries fighting the ill impacts of climate change.
India has been industrially industrializing; yet, Singh averred that his country had done the least to contribute to the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases. Singh was simply repeating the argument that climate justice was what India needed when he went around engaging international organizations that also included the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. He declared to the world that his country would not allow any kind of international arrangement that limits the development process of the country. He advocated for policies that can allow developing nations, like India, to meet energy needs without compromising their rights to economic growth and the alleviation of poverty.
The National Green Tribunal was instituted in 2010, and that is a landmark during the tenure of Singh as Prime Minister, which accelerated the legal action concerning environmental protection. This body has been empowered to speed up decision-making processes in pollution and deforestation cases as well as issues concerning wildlife conservation. Gradually, it has become an indispensable watchdog body that delivers judgments in timely manner on burning environmental issues throughout the country.
Being an unassuming leader as the prime minister, whose deep intellect and consensus-seeking approach have gained him much praise from his people and countries abroad, this period was so uniquely special as it saw balance being created between the very ambitions for economic growth of a rapidly developing India and the increasing need for social and environmental considerations.
Conclusion:Singh’s death marks the end of an era in India’s economic and environmental landscape. He is remembered not only for his economic reforms, which transformed India’s financial sector and helped the country emerge as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but also for his dedication to environmental sustainability, climate justice, and the empowerment of tribal communities. Undeniably, his legacy will continue in building India’s economic policy; however, one remembers a much broader role encompassing his tenures related to environmental conservation and action in climate change. It has left behind a committed course for policies to be adapted toward protection of Indian ecosystems and the rights of tribals as well as action on climate change, leading toward making an indelible impression on environmental governance of today in India.
Source: Associated Press, December 2024