Book by Meghaa Gupta, Review by Samriddhi Prem Kumar
Unearthed: An Environmental History of Independent India by Meghaa Gupta is a book that focuses on the impact of Independent India on the environment, like the name says. The book is a product of the author’s marvelous coalescing of history and ecology.
The book is a rather short one, but the author does not fail to succinctly summarize the beneficial and adverse effects of everything Indians have done since 1947 on the environment. From Partition to the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC), Gupta does not fail to give us valuable and riveting information on everything the Indian environment has been through for scores of years.
The book covers different time periods of Independent India, and while giving us a glimpse of life in the past and the historical facets of that period, the chapters’ primary focus is how our evolution over the decades has impacted the ecosystem and the Indian part of the biosphere, both positively, and negatively. Some sublime feats of Indians that have had a positive impact on the environment (like Seed Banks, Project Tiger, and the National Green Tribunal) are delineated in the book, while some truly harrowing and poignant events that have negatively impacted the environment (like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the poaching of animals like tigers and elephants, and Uranium poisoning in Punjab) are also explicated in the book.
There are also tidbits of information on some (mostly not-so-known) environmentalists who have played substantial roles in conserving, developing, nurturing and protecting the environment.
Interspersed with humorous, touching, and magnificent cartoons and illustrations, and written in a casual and lucid language, Gupta terrifically triumphs in making this book a very alluring and captivating read.
Personally, this book was very appealing to me, so much that I read the whole book in one go (with a scolding from my parents for finishing a book too fast 
). I also loved how perfect every aspect of the book was, and could find no errors at all. I would recommend this book to budding environmentalists, children, and young adults; and in particular, to those who love historical, ecological, and nature-related books.
This book is sure to kindle an interest in nature and the environment (that is, if you don’t have that interest, already), and will also prove to be a riveting read.