Art and Environmental Protection

The article highlights the alarming and ongoing environmental crisis in India, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), where air pollution, toxic water bodies, and unmanageable waste are leading to severe health complications and, in extreme cases, even resulting in death of residents. Even though citizens and civil societies quickly critique the government, they fail to draw attention to public complacency, unawareness and lack of participatory action in combatting this crisis. Ironically, contemporary attitudes towards nature are contradictory to the cultural ethos of India. The ancient Indian tradition considered nature in its various forms as divine. The concept persists to this day, as is evident in many forms of nature worship. Unfortunately, the reverence for nature in the present day has become ritualistic, and the essence of nature worship, as understood by the ancients, has been lost due to heightened consumerism. The present article argues that art and culture can play a vital role in safeguarding the environment and maintaining ecological balance. By creating awareness about the Indian knowledge and value system reflected in ancient Indian art, literature and political discourses, the community can be made aware of the deep-rooted reverence for nature in Indic philosophies, where forests, rivers, and wildlife were regarded as sacred and protected through governance and cultural practices. The paper also emphasises the significance of contemporary art, which could be a potent tool in sensitising common people about the grave environmental crisis and facilitating their participation in environmental protection.