Integrating Nature and Gender: A Study of Indian Environmental Movements

Abstract: The paper explores the structural intersection of environment, gender, caste, and land rights within Indian environmental and social movements. Unlike Western ideological feminism, Indian ecofeminism emerges from grassroots struggles for basic livelihood, water, and survival. Historical systems like feudalism, patriarchal texts, and colonial/post-colonial land ownership patterns traditionally denied women material resources and land rights. However, through the contributions of activists like Kamla Bhasin, Bina Agarwal, and Sushma Iyengar, along with landmark struggles like the Chipko movement, the Bodhgaya Land Movement, and the Telangana peasant revolt, women successfully transitioned from passive victims of environmental degradation to active agents of change. By reclaiming spaces in public domains, courts, and agricultural practices (such as ploughing), lower-caste and marginalized women effectively challenged both patriarchal control and Brahminical caste hierarchies to demand social justice and sustainable development.