The Two Cultures Revisited: Some Reflections on the Environment-Development Debate in India

The speech is mainly about the "two cultures” (modern society—the cultures of the science and that of the humanities) syndrome—the apparent gap between those espousing the case for faster economic growth and those calling for greater attention to protection of the environment. On the face of it, there should be no gap at all—who can argue against faster economic growth since that alone will generate more jobs and at the same time who can argue against the preservation of our rivers, lakes, mountains and wonderful biodiversity in its myriad forms, since that alone will make for sustainable development. [Text of 11th ISRO-JNCASR Satish Dhawan Memorial Lecture delivered at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientifi c Research, Bangalore].