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You have travelled the world, attending conferences and taking part in protest marches. How do you raise resources for doing so?
Personal sources.
According to you, what is your greatest contribution to the planet?
That I did not work for the nuclear technology industry. It is a multifaceted answer; It could include my life story (laughs). Well my opposition to the arms race was a high priority during the cold war... recently it has been more of speaking for the environment, animal rights and biodiversity.
Gandhiji said that be the change you wish to see in the world. Do you practice that change?
The times have changed a lot since Gandhiji. When he said those lines the struggles were between the people but today the scenario is different. I am standing up for animal rights and environmental change against the people, it is a struggle between the biodiversity and humans. When Gandhiji died in the late 50’s the population of the world was less than 3 billion and the population of India was 300 million and today the population is 7 billion. The thought of species going extinct back then was also unusual but now you have list of endangered and extinct species. I remember of being afraid of being eaten by the tiger as a kid and now am afraid of people eating the tiger.
Who are your heroes and why?
Heroes come from the past and there are no heroes from the past for me. The future struggle is completely different and we have to make our own new heroes.
A vast majority of the world is urbanizing at a fast pace. Animal slaughter is on the rise. What is your prediction for this planet?
It’s not rosy, that’s for sure. Population control is a big issue, especially in Asia and particularly in India. I have been saying through my T-shirts that India’s population density is two and half of that of China and it houses almost half of the world’s poor. 30 years ago Sanjay Gandhi tried to do something about it but since then I don’t think that any of the political parties in India have even touched the issue. It’s not long before India will become the most populated country of the world. The Government should do something about it and not hold themselves back because of the religious and cultural issues persisting in the country. It’s time some strong measures should be done to control the multiplying population of the country.
You walk around wearing T-shirt in Delhi while everyone around you is wrapped in woolens… Do you have a mindset of a man who walks on burning coal?
Burning coal is hot… (laughs). It was quiet easy for me since I am use to much colder temperatures.
How many countries in the world have you been to?
I don’t count countries. I think countries are just boundaries in people’s head. I try to be a part of event held anywhere in the world where I can make a difference to the health of the planet.
Mr Chaitanya Kalevar attends the 1st Global Indian Business Conference, seated next to FICCI Secretary General Dr A Didar Singh
The issues in Africa are different than say colder climes of Canada. In your forthcoming book, are you going to deal with this diverse range of issues?
My book “Climate Change in the Nuclear Age” largely deals with carbon and uranium related issue. These are two elements out of the many in the periodic table.
You are an engineer and an activist. Please tell us something about yourself…
I am smart and committed. I go on the race with the leaders of the world and ask them to turn back. This is what I do when I see the world going in a wrong direction. Rest you can wait for my autobiography to come because I am sure that I will be writing it very soon.
Did your grandfather inspire you to become an engineer?
No, he did not. He indeed was an engineer but he died when I was 1 year old. All I have heard about him is that he helped build the city of Indore more or less. Otherwise engineering is more of family tradition, passed on through generations. But what encouraged me was an incident from the mid 50’s … when the Russians sent a dog “Laika” in the space and they could monitor the heartbeat of the dog going around the planet. I thought how could they do that from thousands of miles away when I couldn’t hear the heartbeats of my dog sitting right next to me. That is what drew me into the electronic engineering.
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