In the last 30 years, Himachal Pradesh has lost 50 per cent of its glacier area. When the state’s chief secretary said this at Himachal’s administrative academy, earlier this year, there were no gasps of shock among the audience. The outsiders in the conference hall were mostly experts who knew these trends in detail. The local people seem inured to this reality. They suffer every year as raging torrents of melted glacial waters devastate lands, roads, and homes.

And yet, the gathering was dedicated to “Samridh Himachal 2045”. How can the hill people even dream of a prosperous future when all the data indicate that they are now facing an indefinite period of cascading disasters? Or could it be that climate chaos might actually lead to a redefinition of “development” and “value”?

A meaningful answer to the first question is not that “hope springs eternal”. Hope alone can become delusional. A futuristic “samridh” narrative is worthwhile only if it combines defiant determination with wisdom.

It is easy to identify the greed of both private companies and political masters as enemy number one of the Himalayan ecosystems. This is........

© Indian Express