Blog by Nityanand Jayaraman- cross posted
Is Jairam Ramesh a smooth, cunning and crafty fox? That's what he claimed to be at a journalism school convocation in Chennai on May 3, 2011. Invoking philosopher Isaiah Berlin's spin on an ancient parable called “The fox and the hedgehog,” the Indian environment minister used the metaphors to explain his stance on the environment-growth debate. No other environment minister has spent time or thought on this dilemma, leave alone articulate it. But that is not the only reason why Jairam's thoughts are important. The minister's flourishes to the decade-old neoliberal reformation of the environment ministry, triggered by the 2002 report of the Govindarajan Committee on investment reforms, will probably have the deepest and farthest reaching effects. In a sense, it really matters that we know whether Ramesh is a fox or a hedgehog. Will the Jairam tantra really reconcile the imperatives of environmental sustainability and enduring growth? Or will it come in the business-as-usual package of hurting the environment and less privileged communities?
According to the fable, the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. Isaiah Berlin's version eulogises the fox to argue for pluralist views over “hedgehoggy” monism, where the one big story overwhelms and overrides all others.
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http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/blog/element-doubt-about-jairam-ramesh
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