Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91
Vol. XXXIV No. 19, January 16-31, 2025
How would it be if the Cooum, the Adyar and the Buckingham Canal and the rest of our long-suffering waterways and waterbodies were to sue us in court? The imagination boggles at the possibility. And yet, this may be reality if not tomorrow then certainly in a few years. If this were to happen, it may force a sharp rethink as regards the way we treat our water resources and extending from that, our other natural resources as well.
Nature has traditionally been viewed as a resource to be exploited. This was the capitalist way of thinking and challenge to it came from Professor Christopher D Stone, who was with the USC Gould School of Law and is considered the father of environmental advocacy. It was he who in 1972 first mooted the idea that environment ought to be given legal personhood, just as corporate entities are, with humans acting on their behalf having the right to challenge in courts of law any act that is destructive or damaging. There have since been debates galore with many opposing points of view, but many countries have been taking steps in keeping with Stone’s postulate.
Ecuador began the trend in 2008, when it gave Nature rights that were enshrined in the Constitution. Others have since followed suit – and most recently, Canada gave its Magpie River nine rights, including the rights to flow, safety from pollution, and legal status. Magpie, or its guardians can sue in a court of law. India too has taken very tentative steps. In 2017, the Uttarakhand High Court gave legal person rights to the Ganga, the Yamuna, their tributaries, glaciers and catchment areas. This was subsequently
To tackle the persistent issue of stray cattle, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has earmarked a budget of approximately Rs. 12 crores towards the establishment of new cow sheds and the renovation of existing ones. New sheds will reportedly come up at Shenoy Nagar, Tondiarpet, Madhavaram and Sholinganallur while renovation will take place for current sheds at Nolambur and Kodungaiyur.
The cattle sheds are expected to help remove stray cattle
The Madras Literary Society (MLS) in Chennai – known for its vast collection of rare publications across genres – is one of India’s oldest libraries with a catalogue exceeding 50,000 books. It was established to promote the study of science, art and culture with a focus on South India. “Madras Literary Society began in 1812 as a small library on the DPI campus,” said Uma Maheshwari, the current librarian. “The current building was completed in 1906.”
There’s much to admire about the heritage structure,
Niels Studsgaard Fuglsang, born in the small Danish village of Holeby, pursued studies in philology, theology, and medicine in Copenhagen. Following in his father’s (Hermann Jørgensen Fuglsang) footsteps he became a vicar. At the age of 33, Fuglsang expressed a desire to spend time in Tranquebar, then a Danish colony in present-day Tamil Nadu. He applied for the position of pastor-cum-astronomer, previously held by Henning Munch Engelhart, who had died while surveying the Nicobar Islands in 1791. Fuglsang left Denmark aboard the ship Disco in October 1792 and arrived in Tranquebar on September 15, 1793.
Last issue, we carried a covid-era piece on Chennai’s suburban trains from Karthik Nagappan. In this issue, we present Karthik’s take on the vegetable market at T Nagar.
– Associate Editor
At the bustling vegetable market at T Nagar, you must keep your wits sharp when you shop, lest you’re put on by a veteran selling his wares in peak hour. You see, you must create an impression with the vendors so they don’t fail to recognize you as a ‘regular’ – frequent customers are greeted