A Life Shaped by Land, Learning, and Responsibility: A Climate Reflection
Dr. Devinder Pal Singh
Dr. Devinder Pal Singh
I was born into a newly independent India, a nation still discovering itself after the long shadow of colonial rule. The optimism of that era was unmistakable. Large dams, universities, research laboratories, and ambitious development projects symbolized hope and self-determination. Yet beneath this optimism lay deep structural challenges: poverty, illiteracy, social inequality, and the immense pressure of a rapidly growing population. As a child, I absorbed these contradictions unconsciously, but they would later shape my understanding of development and progress, and of their hidden costs.
My early years were marked by instability and uncertainty. India faced successive wars, food scarcity, and dependence on international aid. The Green Revolution emerged as a decisive response: an extraordinary scientific and agricultural intervention that transformed food security. Punjab, my home province, became the epicentre of this transformation. I witnessed firsthand how science, policy, and human effort converged to overcome hunger. As a student, I proudly spoke about these achievements in declamation competitions, celebrating how Punjab became the “Breadbasket of India.”
However, history rarely unfolds in straight lines. What initially appeared to be an unqualified success gradually revealed its long-term consequences. Prosperity brought intensification, three or more crops per year, heavy dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, aggressive groundwater extraction, and the replacement of native biodiversity with monoculture and invasive species such as poplar and eucalyptus. Forest cover shrank alarmingly. At the time, a few of us asked what we were sacrificing for abundance.
By the time I entered my professional life as a college professor and later completed my doctoral studies in physics, the ecological costs of the Green Revolution had become impossible to ignore. Punjab, though occupying only a small fraction of India’s landmass, was being pushed to its ecological limits. The paddy–wheat cycle drained aquifers, cancer cases linked to chemical exposure rose, and large-scale burning of crop residue degraded air quality, increasing respiratory illnesses and destroying pollinators. Development had fed us, but it was now slowly harming us.
My scientific training encouraged me to look beyond symptoms to root causes. I realized that environmental crises are not isolated ecological events; they are deeply intertwined with economic choices, social behaviour, and political priorities. This realization compelled me to write extensively for newspapers and magazines in Punjabi, English, and Hindi. My articles addressed issues such as environmental pollution, unsustainable agricultural practices, industrial emissions, spatial degradation, and the growing threat to sustainability. Over time, several of these articles were formally incorporated into graduate and postgraduate curricula, including the M.A. (Punjabi) programme at Punjabi University, Patiala, M. A. (Pub. Admn) programme at H. P. University, Shimla, the B.A. (Honours) programme at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and the curriculum of the Department of Adult, Continuing Education and Extension at Panjab University, Chandigarh. This academic recognition reaffirmed my belief that environmental awareness must be embedded within mainstream education rather than remain a peripheral concern.
Action followed awareness. Between 1992 and 2003, I served as a resource person in several science and environment workshops organized by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology across the state. As a member of the District Environment Committee, Ropar, and later the Environment Brigade of the Government of India, I worked on ground-level issues: air pollution from factories and brick kilns in Nangal, illegal slurry dumping into the Sutlej River, unregulated mining, pollution from the thermal power plant, and the indiscriminate cutting of trees for road widening projects. These interventions, though often incremental, demonstrated that informed advocacy can lead to meaningful remedial action.
Between 1997 and 2001, I served as an Official Observer with the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology as part of India’s National Environment Awareness Campaign. My role involved monitoring and evaluating environmental activities undertaken by NGOs such as Arpan (Dubeta), H. R. D. Center (Saini Majra), S. W. R. D. Center (Nurpur Bedi), and Shivalik College of Pharmacy (Nangal). This engagement provided firsthand insight into grassroots environmental action and the role of NGOs in translating national objectives into locally relevant initiatives. The experience highlighted the importance of community participation, contextualized environmental education, and sustained dialogue in fostering effective and meaningful environmental awareness.
One of the most defining achievements of my environmental journey was securing recognition for the Nangal Wetland. What many viewed as an ordinary water body, I understood as a fragile ecosystem supporting tens of thousands of migratory birds from the trans-Himalayan region. Persistent engagement with government agencies eventually led to its inclusion in the National Wetland Conservation Programme (2008) and later its designation as a Ramsar Site (2019). The wetland stands today as a living example of how local ecological stewardship can gain national and international significance.
Alongside conservation work, environmental education remained central to my mission. In 2004, my book Vatavarni Pardushan (Environmental Pollution), published by Singh Brothers, Amritsar, examined ecological challenges in Punjab and globally. The book soon became a widely used reference text, with chapters regularly broadcast on the radio as part of community outreach programmes by Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana. At the beginning of the 21st century, as environmental studies entered university curricula, this work helped bridge scientific understanding with regional realities.
My academic engagement deepened further in 2007 when Punjabi University, Patiala, invited me to co-edit the book “Vatavarni Masle Atay Smadhan” (Environmental Problems and Solutions). Published in 2008 by the University, the book offered a structured, interdisciplinary examination of environmental challenges and practical solutions. It was formally prescribed as a textbook for the B.A. degree curriculum for several years, marking a significant milestone in integrating environmental thought into undergraduate education in Punjab.
Equally close to my heart has been environmental education among children. I firmly believe that lasting ecological change begins with young minds. To this end, I authored and staged plays such as “Tree, Man, and Environment,” and wrote science- and environment-based stories for children’s magazines. I co-edited special science and environmental issues of Nikkian Krumballan and authored numerous plays and storybooks, including “Dhari Maan Bimar Hai atay Hore Natak” (2021), “Robot, Manukh tay Kudrat” (2022), “Jassi atay Jalgahan di Dunia tay Hor Kahanian” (2025), and “Chinku Khargosh tay Shehar di Sair” (2025). Works such as “Satrangi Peengh Te Hor Natak” (2019), published by the Punjabi Baal Adbi Board, Lahore, were even distributed free to schools in Pakistan, reinforcing my conviction that ecological consciousness transcends political borders.
Relocating to Canada in 2008 did not sever my bond with Punjab or India. Instead, it expanded my sense of planetary belonging. Environmental degradation respects no borders. Through articles, television programs, radio talks, and international forums, I continued to speak; sometimes as an educator, sometimes as a witness, always as a learner. Training with the Climate Reality Leadership program (2020), in the USA and learning from global thought leaders like Vice President Al Gore further refined my understanding of climate science and communication, equipping me to engage more effectively with diverse audiences.
Looking back, my journey mirrors the trajectory of modern development itself: from optimism to excess, from ignorance to awareness, and from awareness to responsibility. I have learned that science without ethics is incomplete, and progress without ecological wisdom is ultimately self-defeating. Climate change is not merely an environmental issue; it is a moral reckoning with how we live, consume, and relate to the Earth.
My story is not exceptional. It is one among millions shaped by land, history, and conscience. Yet if it holds any lesson, it is this: silence is a choice, and so is stewardship. I chose, imperfectly but persistently, to speak, write, teach, and act. The future, especially for our children, demands nothing less.
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