Soumyadeep Datta: A role model for young generation

Tianna Sharma Phukan

Soumyadeep Datta is one of the most renowned environment activists, from Dhubri, Assam. He is the founder – director of the environment activists group known as Nature’s Beckon. He is also an Ashoka Fellowship awardee and has been recently awarded with the highest civilian award of Assam, the Assam Gaurav in 2024.

He is a well-known writer and has also contributed several valuable books on the biodiversity of Assam and North-East. I have been lucky enough to have known this inspiring person since my very childhood.

He has always been a huge inspiring figure and role model in my life and continues to be one till this date. The following is an excerpt from his interview that I conducted.

Soumyadeep Datta: A role model for young generation — Soumyadeep Datta

Tianna: Today you are renowned as a nature activist. But what is nature activism, and who, in your views is a true nature activist and what does it take to become one?

Soumyadeep Datta: The absolute basics of true nature activism are that whatever activity you do should truly benefit nature. You must work for the true cause of nature conservation. Now the question arises as to what is nature? I believe that nature is not simply wildlife or living organisms. Nature involves many non living aspects as well. Because both the biotic and a-biotic components are combined in nature.

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And this affects nature conservation as well. For example, if you want to save a Sloth Bear, you can’t just think about conserving the animal alone. To ensure its true conservation, we must preserve its habitat as well. And preserving the habitat means preserving the stone caves in which the animal lives, preserving its food sources, etc. What I want to say is that, this conservation should benefit the entire nature as a whole.

And if nature is benefitted in a true sense, then ultimately even we humans will be benefitted because humans are not outside of nature, in fact we are very much a part of it. But in today’s world, the artificial lives that we lead cause us to destroy nature at times due to our ignorance. That is why the basic concept of nature activism is that, in some way or the other, your work should benefit nature.

In many cases we also see that through nature activism, people talk about the benefit of humans. But I personally believe in a philosophy that this world does not belong to just us humans, it is not just about the anthropogenic ideas. We must think about all the hundreds of different species of living beings that have come before us.

Maximum people have thoughts for the benefit of humans. For example, they plant trees because humans will get oxygen and we will be benefitted. But our thoughts should include every tiny insect, bird or mammal that we share this world with as well. Planting trees benefits them as well. That is why we should work to conserve the entirety of nature as a whole.”

Tianna: Which was “what events in your childhood or what events in your life drove you towards becoming a nature activist?

Soumyadeep Datta: I am from a small town named Dhubri. At least 50 years before now when I was a young child, there were several forests surrounding Dhubri. There were orchids and several bird and insect species. The Brahmaputra and Godadhar rivers flowed through the town and there were very few people living in the area. But as time commenced, I began to notice that the population slowly began to increase, and along with it the destruction of forests.

That was when I first realized that deforestation at such a rate would lead to complete destruction! And I would also like to point out that the first person who pointed this out to me was a man named Kamal Narayan Choudhury. He was the first person who taught me that simply looking at this destruction and feeling bad about it would lead to no change if I didn’t work for it. When I was young, people had no idea about things like bird-watching.

Turtle meat was widely available in markets and no one knew that turtle was an endangered species. There were laws, but the people had no awareness. They used to go hunting for migratory birds as soon as winter came, my own father included. So we started working for the awareness of the people. Eventually we found Golden Langurs in the Chakrashila area and the Chakrashila movement slowly began.

Then Chakrashila became a wildlife sanctuary, the first in the undivided Goalpara district of Assam. And all of this was made possible by the people’s participation. In many cases we look at the wrong people are doing and we start to blame them for their actions. But have we tried to teach them that their ways are wrong?

We haven’t. And we expect them to correct their ways without even teaching them that their ways are wrong. So we have to start bringing the awareness among the people. We have to work for the betterment of our country. Otherwise no nature conservation will be possible.

Tianna: You are the founder/director of the nonprofit nature activist’s organization known as ‘Nature’s Beckon’. I would like to know more about the journey of this organization and its many doings so far.

Soumyadeep Datta: Natures Beckon is a purely independent organization, but it is also a concept. I say this because all the people believe in a very simple philosophy that the earth does not just belong to us humans. In our 45 years as an environment activists group, we have had many successful journeys such as the creation of Chakrashila wildlife sanctuary or Dehing Patkai National Park.

But we have always tried to focus on habitat conservation because when you work for the conservation of the habitat of a large mammal, we are involuntarily protecting all the different plant and small insect species that also live in the area. As a group, we have always worked in the grassroots of nature conservation. We have had several interactions with people in villages; we have made education material for school children and have done several other campaigns to raise awareness about nature conservation amongst the people of Assam.

Tianna: You are also known as a prominent writer and have contributed several valuable books on Buddhist philosophy and Buddhism in India. You yourself are also an avid follower of Buddhist principles and philosophies. What drove you towards these aspects of Indian Culture and history?

Soumyadeep Datta: I first started writing books focused on nature conservation itself. But I’ve always been interested in history. So, when I first started reading about Buddhist philosophies and teachings, I realized that the first person who had talked about nature conservation was none other than Mahapurush Gautam Buddha. After learning about this I became very drawn towards Buddhist teachings and I began to research on these topics.

After having read several texts however, I realized that there were no writings about these topics in the Assamese language. So I started writing books in Assamese about Buddha’s teachings and his philosophy. The most interesting thing is that unlike all other religions, you don’t have to become a Buddhist in order to follow Buddha’s philosophies.

We have a group known as Buddha Chetana Bharat that is trying to promote Buddhist philosophies in Assam and North-East India. The most essential part of Buddhism are the five principles of Buddha which I feel should be followed by every student in this world. The five principles are that:

I will not lie
I will not steal
I will not perform any kind of sexual misconduct
I will not introduce any kind of intoxicating substance into my body
I will not kill any living being

These five principles are the very basic philosophies of Buddhist teaching and I feel these are essential in the life of every student and human in this world.

Tianna: You have also been raising awareness about the Tibetan freedom movement with specific focus on Assam and North-East India. You have raised a forum known as ‘Free Tibet- a Voice from Assam’. What is the purpose of this movement and what do you believe is the future for this movement? Tell us more about it.

Soumyadeep Datta: Firstly, I would like to say that our whole efforts in this particular movement have been excellently voiced in the book ‘Free Tibet: A Voice From Assam’ by Novanita Sharma and I feel that everyone who has any interest in this topic should definitely read this book. The book gives an excellent overview of all the important details about this movement.

And about the main topic, I would like to say that Tibet has always been our rightful neighbor. China has illegally occupied Tibet and claims to have right to the land. And I believe that Tibet should be freed for three reasons, the first that to oppress any member of any ethnicity, race or gender around the world is a direct violation of the basic human rights that China is doing to the Tibetan people in Tibet.

And I genuinely feel that this needs to be stopped immediately. Secondly, when Tibet was a free, sovereign nation, the borders between India and Tibet were so peaceful that India never had to employ more than a small border police force to keep the relations steady. As we can clearly see that is not the case with China. Every year, the Indian government spends crores of rupees for the safekeeping of the border which should rightly be called ‘Indo-Tibet’ not ‘Indo-China’.

If this was not the case, and we had a peaceful neighbor such as Tibet, all of this money could be invested in the development of our nation. Thirdly, Tibet is the place where maximum of Asia’s rivers originate from. With China having control over these vast resources, we have no idea when they might build dams and divert the rivers that are our lifelines. Due to this pressing issue, we have raised a campaign known as the ‘Save Tsangpo-Siang-Brahmaputra.’

This river conservation campaign focuses on protecting the Yarlung Tsangpo-Siang-Brahmaputra River basin which act as a lifeline for the people in the North-Eastern region of India, especially Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. I think that all of this put together rightly justifies why this movement is so important for the welfare of not just the Tibetan people, but us Indians as well and that is why I believe the freedom of Tibet is necessary for our safety and security.”

Tianna: What your message is to today’s students and youth?

Soumyadeep Datta: Three things that I feel are necessary for today’s youth to understand is that you must have compassion and love for everything. You must love your country, you must love those who have always supported you in life and you must have compassion even for those who you consider to be your enemy. And simply loving something is not enough, you must work for what you think is right and what you believe in. And this should begin from the early stages of student life in order for them to achieve true success.

(Tianna Sharma Phukan studies in Class IX, in Delhi Public School, Guwahati. novanita_21@yahoo.co.in)

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