Rights of Nature in India

Namrata Kabra, a legal researcher specializing in environmental and climate change with deep expertise in India and South Asia, explores how the Rights of Nature movement in India bridges judicial activism and traditional ecological knowledge. She highlights how State High Courts have granted legal personhood to rivers, glaciers, and ecosystems, though key rulings have faced reversals by the Supreme Court due to enforcement and jurisdictional complexities. At the same time, Indigenous communities, especially Adivasis, continue to protect biodiverse Sacred Groves under national conservation laws. Kabra argues that advancing Nature’s rights in India requires both legal recognition of Nature’s intrinsic value and the empowerment of local guardians.