Indigenous communities in the two ecologically fragile Himalayan States are routinely excluded from this narrative that fuels reckless growth. Article written by Manshi Asher published on 21/09/23 in Frontline The monsoon of 1999 is etched vividly in my memory. At 23, shortly after finishing my master’s, I was to join a project that worked on […]
Article Manshi Asher published on 07/02/22 in The Wire Science Last year on this day, bone-chilling images emerged from a tragic disaster in the Himalaya. A group of workers desperate to save their lives were huddled under the roof of the Tapovan Dam barrage in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, even as a deluge roared over them. Someone […]
हिमालयी क्षेत्रों में जल विद्युत विकास को स्वच्छ और अक्षय ऊर्जा के नाम पर बढ़ावा देने की होड़ पिछले दो दशकों से चल रही है। हिमाचल में बड़े पैमाने पर इन पनबिजली परियोजनाओं और संबंधित टावर लाईनों का निर्माण हुआ है और इसके लिए हज़ारों हेक्टेयर वन भूमि का हस्तांतरण भी किया गया है। वन […]
The disastrous flash floods in Uttarkhand in June 2013 turned the spotlight on a frontier region in the Western Himalayas, at least for a time. Was it a cloud burst or heavy rainfall? Could it have been predicted and prevented? Did the meteorological department mess up or was the problem the state government’s slow response? […]
In a travesty of the Forest Rights Act set up to protect indigenous communities, members of the Lippa tribal village in Himachal Pradesh are being denied individual forest rights. Text by Manshi Asher Photographs by Sumit Mahar Himachal Pradesh, a State where two-thirds of the landscape is categorised as forest and 90 per cent of […]
A Himalayan village’s struggle to assert its forest rights Manshi Asher 01 September 2019 Karam Sain led the way through the narrow paths of the temperate forest near the tribal village of Lippa, located in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The cool May air was filled with the scent of dried chilgoza pine cones, […]
हिंदी के लिए नीचे स्क्रोल करें Lack of safety compliance in Hydro Projects invitation to disasters: Community representatives, activists to authorities This Lok Sabha elections both major national parties, the BJP and Congress in their manifestos speak of “Protecting the Himalayas”. However both parties and their candidates remain silent on a grave issue of concern […]
25th August, 2018 To The Chairperson Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley Projects, Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, New Delhi Subject: Regarding Environment Clearance consideration for 219 MW Luhri Stage I Hydro Electricity Project for EAC meeting on 28th August, 2018 Dear Madam/Sir, This is a submission vis-a-vis the environment clearance consideration for 219 MW Luhri […]
As the state’s situation worsens, the only two choices in front of the Himachali people will be mass agitation or mass exodus. Himachal Pradesh is located in the region of the world considered to be the water tower of the Indian subcontinent. But what happens when the high mountains – repositories of snow and thus […]
10 insights on the political ecology of Himachal today Manshi Asher and Prakash Bhandari The morning ritual of eagerly scanning the Himachal edition of The Tribune (the only English paper in print that has meaty coverage from the region) has never been so rewarding, offering in one glance, deep clarity on what is going on […]