Satyagraha for Conservation

Dwivedi proposition of a satyagraha for conservation, a movement towards a more Hindu lifestyle, though having the ability to potentially help with the current ecological problems does not take into account several factors. The first point that should be noted is that even in India's past, when the entire country was Hindu and there had been no foreign culture introduced yet, there were people who had lavish palaces, armies of merchants, brothels, and went about business in a cut throat manner. Regardless of the religion in a given area nearly every culture around the world has had people who exploited something, or who were always looking for ways to get one up on everyone else. Though the caste might have had positive effects for the environment, within each caste there was still competition. War was not a foreign concept to India, nor were merchants who horded massive amounts of wealth. It seems almost naive to assume one religion has the power where others do not.

Aside from the competition within each caste, the caste system itself left hundreds of thousands of people in ill health, poverty, and without personal freedoms. Something like the caste system would have a hard time being imposed again, and if it somehow was accomplished you have no promise of the environment improving, only the degradation of peoples' homes, and most likely physical health.

I agree with Dwivedi in that religion can play a key factor (religions guide the lives of millions of people), but there are just so many other factors at play that one cannot simply look at this with only one type of lens. With Dwivedi it's not only a religious lens though, it's a Hindu lens, something that in many peoples' eyes will just cause more problems.