ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS CULTURAL FALLOUT

The recent passing away of Ratan Tata Ji, an iconic entrepreneur and philanthropist, marks not just the end of an era in Indian entrepreneurship but also highlights an unsettling shift in cultural and religious traditions due to human-induced climate change.

- DR FAUZIA KHAN

"The earth, the air, the land, and the water are not an inheritance from our forefathers but on loan from our children."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Unlike other Parsis who are traditionally taken to the "Tower of Silence" under the practice of "Dakhma Nashini", Tata was cremated. This departure from religious practice is a poignant example of how environmental degradation driven by anthropogenic activities is disrupting millennia-old rituals, beliefs, and ways of life.

The ancient practice of "Dakhma Nashini" involves placing the deceased on stone towers (Dakhmas), where vultures consume the bodies, allowing Nature to complete the cycle of life and death without burial or burning. This practice symbolizes the Parsi belief in minimizing harm to the earth and preventing contamination of the elements. However, in recent years, the ritual has become increasingly difficult to sustain due to the drastic decline in the vulture population of India. The primary culprit? Diclofenac, a veterinary anti-inflammatory drug introduced in the 1990s, which causes kidney failure in vultures when they consume the carcasses of cattle treated with the drug.

THE EXTINCTION OF VULTURES: A RIPPLE EFFECT

Between 1992 and 2007, vulture populations in India plummeted by more than 97% due to the widespread use of Diclofenac. The Indian white-backed vulture (Gyps Bengalensis), the long-billed vulture (Gyps Indicus), and the slender-billed vulture (Gyps Tenuirostris) were hit the hardest. A 2022 study by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) shows that, despite bans on Diclofenac in 2006, recovery has been slow and inadequate. Vultures, which once numbered in millions, now hover around in a few thousands.