This important new contribution to the literature on religions and ecology presents three case studies of communities in India that have environmental sensibilities rooted in traditional or indigenous sources: the Swadhyaya movement, the Bishnois, and the Bhils.
The book devotes a chapter to each community, and these are framed by chapters at both beginning and end devoted to theorizing about religion and ecology in India. The first study is of the Swadhyaya movement founded by Pandurang Shastri Athavale and active in India's western states where its activities include the establishing of tree temples. The second concerns the Bishnoi people of Rajasthan, famous since the early eighteenth century for their commitment to animal and forest protection. The third study, although not as developed as the other two, is on the tribal Bhils and their sacred groves. The argument is that environmental protection advocated by these groups is not derivative. Jain distinguishes...
