Digital Humanities, Social Science and Cultural Preservation
How Colonialism, Militarization, Insurgency and Adivasi Movements Have Shaped Indiaâs Landscapes
Abstract
Soshina Nathan and Niranjan Aravind
Conflicts are often assessed through casualties and political outcomes, yet their ecological toll on land, water, air, and biodiversity remains underexplored. While the environmental impacts of wars have been widely documented, the subtler but enduring consequences of low intensity and protracted conflicts receive far less attention. This paper examines how such conflicts have reshaped India’s landscapes, tracing pathways of ecological harm from colonial extraction to contemporary insurgencies and resistance movements. Recognizing these environmental consequences is essential, not only for understanding the full cost of conflict but also for designing policies and research agendas that integrate ecological resilience into peacebuilding and sustainable governance. British colonial rule established the foundations of ecological disruption through deforestation, monoculture plantations, introduction of invasive species, and the displacement of indigenous stewardship systems. Postcolonial conflicts intensified these legacies: militarization in the Himalayas fragmented habitats and accelerated glacial decline; insurgencies in the Red Corridor and Northeast fuelled resource extraction, deforestation, and biodiversity loss; while Adivasi movements in Jharkhand and Kerala emerged as counter currents, defending land, water, and forests against state and corporate exploitation. Together, these cases reveal how conflict-driven ecological change is cumulative, often invisible, and deeply entwined with social justice. By situating India’s present environmental crises within this historical continuum, the paper argues for integrated approaches that combine indigenous knowledge, community rights, and ecological restoration as essential pathways toward environmental peacebuilding and resilience.