The slogan that public speakers took fascination to say with pride that society used to hear until not too long ago, namely unity in diversity, applied to the land’s masses, seems to have become not only outdated but also suffered a time-warp. Considering the number of causes triggering road shows in their pursuit by well-marked sections of the country’s population expressing disenchantment with the policies and measures of successive governments, one cannot but feel amazed at the nation of multiple faiths, lingos, ethnicity, economic disparities and Constitutional privileges still holding together unlike during the past many centuries with more than 500 rulers of their territories waging wars, giving an open invitation to many alien forces, two of which stayed in the land and took complete charge of the country, about which one can read in the pages of the land’s chequered history. Although the country is endowed with the presence of persons whose wisdom and upright character are unquestionable, their voice have been subdued and their influence on societal behaviour hardly noticeable. In this context, setting aside human diversity for a while, one is justified to focus on biodiversity and ponder over safeguarding that nature’s gift on top priority.

The land’s scholars of yore, many of whom immortalised themselves as authors of scripts dedicated to nature in all its forms, both life forms and inanimate forms, have left a rich legacy of knowledge that should serve as guidelines in the daunting task of sustaining biodiversity as the lifeline for human existence for all times. But, these guidelines are followed more in breach than conforming in our times.

The fallout of diversity in the land’s population on counts of faiths, languages, ethnicity, economic disparities and rights of the well-marked privileged sections of the land’s population, finding its expression through protests, marches, bandhs and strikes by salaried employees both in Government Departments and industrial establishments, often paralysing orderly life of the people, is proving beyond the capability of administrations, no matter which political party is at the  helm. However, sustaining biodiversity, perceived in the form of flora and fauna, soil, water sources, hills, deserts (or as stated in Kannada: Sthaavara, jungama) and air can be dealt with brazen apathy only to the ultimate end of human populations sooner than later.

In the backdrop of the foregoing preamble, the Conference of 196 countries held in Egypt last November with the agenda of how to safeguard biological resources rightly pointed the accusing finger at human populations across the world in mismanaging biodiversity. Mysureans have an opportunity to be a part of the world’s community in making a difference from the past, in however small way.