Tribal Politics and Discourses of Environmentalism

In India, state-led developmentalism has recently been challenged by the discourse of environmentalism. Among the various streams of environmentalism, Ecological Marxism has been the most dominant. Its marrying of two concerns—social justice and ecological sustainability—has made this ideology highly appealing to social activists working with tribal communities in western India. Yet closer examination reveals that the dynamics of tribal politics often strain against the discourse of environmentalism and have an ambivalent attitude towards development. This paper analyses conflicts between middle-class activists and tribal leaders within a trade union of tribal peasants in Madhya Pradesh and argues that their disparate political strategies and postures stem from sharp differences in the ways in which they conceptualise the place of the `tribal' in relation to `nature'. The paper shows that the discourse of environmentalism is neither consistent nor complete, but consists of the interweaving of often contradictory political thought and action.