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With environmental crisis looming, how shall we remember D’Monte?
Today, citizen environmentalists are much more active than ever before, as is the scale and pace of environmental destruction. Many know less than they need to–they seek nuances. Even going to court requires a fine understanding of the issue one wants to influence, otherwise you get counter-productive orders.
Trailblazer journalist Darryl D’Monte is being widely mourned. His environmental writing is of special importance–and these are times when it’s important to look back at the value and richness of his work.
Darryl D’Monte wrote most prolifically in the era when the print media was a key source of news, and it made space for environmental issues. In contrast to today’s environmental plain-vanilla reporting, his work made data-driven arguments that took a side. Such writing is particularly important because it empowers the reader, not merely offers them news.
By making an argument about, say, the increased price of diesel, he pointed to energy poverty in India. In the same piece, he used data to show that actually, the poor were not about to be hit by this move, only the air cleaned up. When writers join the dots, readers are able to understand the issue, even if they don’t agree with the writer. It helps create opinion.
Today, citizen environmentalists are much more active than ever before, as is the scale and pace of environmental destruction. Many know less than they need to–they seek nuances. Even going to court requires a fine understanding of the issue one wants to influence, otherwise you get counter-productive orders. Environmental issues are not common-sense, as an international NGO’s gaffe with CFL bulbs in India showed. Writers like Darryl D’Monte understood this. He’s gone now, but with an environmental crisis looming, it’s important to debate, analyse and discuss environmental issues on the front pages.
(The writer is the founder and director of Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group)
