This Fissured Land: An Ecological History of India is a book written by Madhav Gadgil and Ramachandra Guha. It explores how natural resources have been used carefully or wastefully throughout history and the results of these choices. The book explains India’s ecological history, starting with the first humans, then moving through periods when people hunted and gathered food, farmed, ruled by empires, and lived under the British Raj.

Outline

The book is divided into three parts:

Part 1 introduces the idea of "modes of resource use." According to Sonja Brodt of the University of Hawaii, the authors created this classification by building on the "Marxist 'mode of production' framework." They added ecological factors to this framework because the original version did not fully consider how resources affect the environment. The book focuses on a materialistic perspective, meaning that the authors believe economic systems, social structures, and ideas all come from how resources are used. There are four modes of resource use: gathering/shifting cultivation, nomadic pastoralism, settled cultivation, and industrial society (whether socialist or capitalist). A society may use more than one mode at the same time. These modes are different based on technology, economy, social organization, ideas, and their impact on the environment. There are conflicts both between and within these modes.

This section also explains the difference between sustainable and unsustainable resource use. Sustainable use includes limits on using (1) ecologically important species, (2) ecologically sensitive areas, and (3) certain life stages (such as young animals). These strategies may be based on trial and error, as seen in early humans and modern tribal societies, or on observation and study, as seen in most modern societies. Sustainable use causes little harm to the environment, allowing societies to last for long periods without major changes. Unsustainable use, whether based on science or not, leads to the quick loss of resources and damage to both society and the environment.

Part 2 discusses major ecological events in India's history. It explains that the shift from early hunter-gatherer societies to large-scale agricultural societies caused an environmental crisis around the fourth century CE. Over time, a system of village-level conservation developed. Growing awareness of the environment is reflected in Buddhist and Jain teachings and writings. Some of these teachings, such as non-violence, vegetarianism, and mixed farming with animal domestication (especially cattle), are still practiced in India today.

Part 3 examines important ecological events during and after British rule. Colonial forestry practices, such as those promoted by Baden-Powell, destroyed village-level conservation systems. At the same time, little action was taken to follow Dietrich Brandis’s suggestions for a centralized conservation strategy, as Germany had done. The book argues that this lack of action is a major reason for India’s ecological problems. The section also compares industrial and state forestry with village or social forestry, concluding that the latter is more effective for conservation.

Sonja Brodt notes that the authors avoid common stories about conflict and do not rely on simple, black-and-white descriptions of colonial resource exploitation in the Global South. For example, while British forestry policies are identified as a major cause of forest loss and conflict, the authors provide evidence that some administrators opposed these policies. They also do not excuse all Indian rulers for their role. This approach leads to a balanced and honest analysis.

The final chapter states that it is too early to determine if a new, more sustainable mode of resource use will emerge from the current environmental crisis. This is because "ecological communities are complex, making it difficult to create clear rules for using living resources wisely." Sonja Brodt agrees, saying that "readers must carefully study the historical analysis to find any lessons it may offer."

Publication

The first version of the book was released in 1992. A paperback edition was published by Oxford India in 1993. A new version came out in 2013 as part of the "Oxford India Perennials" series.

Reception

E. P. Thompson observed that the book kept a negative tone, similar to many environmental texts. He wondered why this was the case for a book that focuses on an area with so much natural and cultural diversity.